1965: it's "the never-ending, facetious use of such terms as heap big chief, paleface, redskin, ugh, firewater, wampum, squaw, warpaint, Injun, brave, wigwam, papoose, and others that infuriate me.”

We live in Indian Country and we think all of us could take to heart the following article with the title "Indian Summer," which was published in Roy H. Copperud's column in Editor & Publisher, trade publication of the newspaper business: 

Indian Summer

1965, Aug 3 Idaho State Journal 

      “Newspapers no longer refer to a Negro woman as mammy or to a Negro child as a pickaninny, so why should they continue to use demeaning words in referring to Indians?

      “The writing about the Indian dances at the White House does not give the dances nor the dancers the kind of dignity and respect to which they are entitled. What it does is to maintain a public image of Indians which I am afraid many people have.

      “A couple of years ago there was newspaper criticism of the annual Mummers Day Parade in Philadelphia, pointing out that it held the Negro up to ridicule. This is exactly what I am trying to point out about the way newspapers write about Indians – they only succeed in continuing to hold them up to ridicule.

      “Under a picture of Ernest Borgnine, who is playing the part of an Indian in a television show was a caption reading “Him versatile to keep using these clichés. Silly captions like this would not be used if the role was that of a Jew, Negro, Chinese, or anything else.

      “ I wrote to a reporter once about his use of the term Injun, pointing out that it is as derogatory as the words kike, wop, mick, and all the others. His reply was the Injun was used in a humorous manner and was not intended to be derogatory. 

      “What is more derogatory than this kind of humor? As one who is half Indian, I’d rather be called a dirty, good-for-nothing Indian than an Injun. It shows ignorance or complete lack of understanding to use these words.

      “Let me point out a couple of other examples of ignorant or condescending writing about Indians. A sterling silver necklace given by Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson to a visiting dignitary was referred to as an Indian curio, and the wrong tribe was named as having made it.

      “When Mrs Annie Wauneka was one of the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and  was referred to as a redskin and the cliché Indian giver was used in the news story, Marian Anderson got the medal at the same time, but the story about her was tastefully done, and it was not considered necessary to refer to her as a black or a mammy.

      “Believe me, I am not interested in special treatment for Indians, and I hope I never reach the point where I cannot appreciate genuine humor about Indians. It’s the condescending tone, the threadbare attempts at humor, and the never-ending, facetious use of such terms as heap big chief, paleface, redskin, ugh, firewater, wampum, squaw, warpaint, Injun, brave, wigwam, papoose, and others that infuriate me.” 

1965, Aug 3 Idaho State Journal