[or-roots] Historical Correctness

[Aloha Analanie]

My Goodness!  Of course these words are offensive! 
They are racial stereotypes.  They are slurs used to
denigrate a race of people and to make them objects of
fun or objects of scorn. 

Mr. Davies, you chose one theory of the origin of the
word squaw.  There are at least two other scholarly
theories.  There is also oral history given by the
elders.  The origin of the word is not as important as
the history of usage and that history speaks for
itself.

I am sure that these words were used on this list in
ignorance and were not meant to offend. But,it is
necessary to address ignorance so that the ignorant
may become educated.

If you must have your lesson buttered with Oregon
history, here is a bite for you to savor:


"The majority of the first Emigrations to Oregon were
from Missouri, and among them it was customary to
speak of the Indian man as a Buck; of the woman as a
Squaw; until at length, in the general acceptance of
these terms, they ceased to recognize the rights of
Humanity in those to whom they were applied. By a very
natural and easy transition, from being spoken of as
brutes, they came to be thought of as game to be shot,
or as vermin to be destroyed. This shows the force of
association, and the wrong of speaking in derogatory
terms of those we regard as our inferiors."  

John Beeson, Oregon Pioneer and Civil Rights Activist

If any are interested in reading the "rest of the
story" of the Southern Oregon Indian "war", here are
some good links:

http://id.mind.net/~newkirk/johnbeeson.html
http://www.csusm.edu/nadp/d40.htm
http://homepage.mac.com/fotl/plea/plea.html

Aloha A.




		
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