Indigenous

 100% I understand the meaning and history behind International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples.

However. The name. It sounds like it is celebrating the indigenous people of the world, or in other words Earth.

Like the 

    indigenous people of North America are the Native Americans

    indigenous people of Australia are the Aborigines

Doing a basic google search of the word indigenous, google summarized Merriam-Webster's online dictionary definition to be: born or native to a specific place.  

Well than, who are the indigenous people of the world? The native people born on Earth? Well, to me the name International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is celebrating humans; Earthlings, if you will. Us. Everyone.

No, I am an educated person and I know that is NOT what the United Nations meant when they proclaimed International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples in 1994. 

This is exactly what I thought the definition meant: someone who was born in a specific place. I always thought it was weird that people could say they were native to a specific state, saying they were born there, they didn't migrate to a new state. For example I don't live in the state I was born in, but my children and my husband were. So they can say they are native to [the state]. But they can't say they are native to America.

Others have explained to me that it means that it also means that your ancestors lived there, dating back a long time. Well, how long? How far back? No real answer because I have ancestors dating back over 400 years. Does that count? No. Well how long? No one has been able to answer. I'm not stupid, I know what it means to call someone indigenous but it still brings many questions because I really want to know how far back you have to go because if you look at world history, some country is always conquering some other country and historical records are not always available dating that far back. We clump all the various tribes of the United States one category: Native Americans. But even those Native American tribes of Arizona admit they weren't the first people in that area. The Hohokam were there before they were. Those early cultures referred to them as the Hohokam meaning, "those who have gone" or "those who have vanished." They didn't know who they were but they knew they were there before. And yet we clump them together with all of the Native Americans. 

Now, I decided not to take google at face value and decided to see what Merriam-Webster actually said. "of, relating to, or descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a place and especially of a place that was colonized." Okay that makes sense, I guess. But what does it actually mean to colonize a place? If you look at ancient world history, people were nomads until they stopped and started settling in developments and learned agriculture and husbandry. Is that technically colonization?

I decided to look that up too. Meriam-Webster's online dictionary says it means "to take control of (a people or area) especially as an extension of state power : to claim (someone or something) as a colony."

Okay, we are getting close and yet not.

So to take control over an area, that would explain the ancient world's people settling down into settlements. But they weren't taking control of another people. Not until countries started forming, then they started taking over other areas but in early ancient history we don't call that colonization, we call the war, especially when they were trying to extend their state power. Ancient Rome was not the first one to do this, however they were one of the most successful in the fact of how much they were able to take control. But in 2026 are they referred to colonizers? I don't think so and yet according to that definition, they did.

So we talk about indigenous people all the time but what about the middle east where ancient world history claims history begins (people started settling down - stopped being nomads). In a Google search Google AI says there is not singe indigenous group, because the people there have been there for a millennia; major groups living with smaller indigenous communities. So you have to live there for 1000 years? So in the year 2600 indigenous won't really matter in North America? Somehow I don't think so. I would like to think that we would have evolved to be a more united people on this planet but somehow I don't think that will happen necessarily.

Now let's look at American history, which is relatively new. These "colonizers" who came to the "new world" in the 1600 were not coming to expand their state power. They were coming to escape persecution or oppression. Sure, some people were trying to colonize, some who actually started the colonies but the people who moved there were mostly trying to find a freedom they couldn't enjoy in their country of birth... native country?.... 

Oooh. This leaves too more questions. What does colony mean and what does native mean?

Again Meriam-Webster says a colony is, "an area over which a foreign nation or state extends or maintains control." So again, that doesn't describe my ancestors who moved to Jamestown over 400 years ago. They came to the colony to escape oppression or to start a new life. Not because they wanted to maintain control over another people. 

Now, that I am finished with my tangent. Let's look at the difference between native and indigenous. So I suppose that is the true confusion that I have. I am not indigenous to America but I am native to America and yet I can not be called Native American. The Native Americans are not indigenous either because technically someone was here before them but then went a way: Hohokam. So were does that leave me and the word native.

Meriam-Webster says native means to belong to a particular place by birth or belonging to or associated with by birth or living or growing naturally in a particular region. It also states that it is often referred to as an original or indigenous people. So herein lies the problem. I want to use the word native as it is intended to be used. I am native to [this state], I am native to the USA, I am native to Earth. But I can't use the word to describe myself native to this country because it's implied definition is indigenous. When my ancestors came to this country over 400 years ago there were inhabitants already living here. And to be honest, not all of my ancestors came here to escape. One came to escape oppression, one came to start a new life, and one indeed came to extend foreign control in behalf of the monarchy but I think it probably also was partially to escape that monarchy control as well. But that is only 3 of the ones I know of from over 400 years ago. There may be more that I still have not learned about yet.

So bottom line, I am indigenous to the world but can't claim I am indigenous. I am native to American but can't claim I am native American (notice I did not put a capital on native). And most importantly the name International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples implies something different than what it means. I believe in respecting and honoring the culture of the people who were here before. I also believe in understanding the definitions of words 😂