“…The terms "Capitalism” and “Capitalistic Production” are political catchwords. They were invented by socialists, not to extend knowledge, but to carp, to criticize, to condemn. Today, they have only to be uttered to conjure up a picture of the relentless exploitation of wage-slaves by the pitiless rich. They are scarcely ever used save to imply a disease in the body-politic.
From a scientific point of view, they are so obscure and ambiguous that they have no value whatever. Their users agree only in this, that they indicate the characteristics of the modern economic system. But wherein these characteristics consist is always a matter of dispute.
Their use, therefore, is entirely pernicious, and the proposal to extrude them altogether from economic terminology, and to leave them to the matadors of popular agitation, deserves serious consideration…“
April 20th: What are your thoughts on terminology? (ie, high functioning and low functioning vs high support needs and low support needs, nonspeaking vs nonverbal, person first vs identity first, etc)
I don’t care for functioning labels, and I kind of feel like “low support needs” is just an attempt to rebrand functioning labels without addressing the issues that make functioning labels an issue in the first place. From what I’ve seen it’s generally assumed that “high functioning” = “low support needs” and “low functioning” = “high support needs” and…that is literally the whole problem with functioning labels to begin with. Stop assuming and start listening, presume competence.
I also hate mental age language. No autistic adult is “mentally a child”.
I personally prefer identity first language. Autistic, Autistic person, Autie, or Autist are all fine with me.
April 20th: What are your thoughts on terminology? (ie, high functioning and low functioning vs high support needs and low support needs, nonspeaking vs nonverbal, person first vs identity first, etc)
Personally I don’t use functioning labels for myself because I know the issues with how they’re used, and I know not every autistic person fits into these categories neatly. But I’ve also seen people who use the term low functioning for themselves because they find that it describes them well, and I have nothing against that. We all get to decide what terminology we use for ourselves and what terminology others should use for us.
As for high/low support needs, I think that terminology can be helpful, because it gives an idea of how much help the person needs with everyday things and it emphasizes the importance of support in our lives. Although I’d personally use these terms in the context of describing my needs to others so they know how to handle me (like, I consider myself to have low support needs so I’ll manage a lot of things). But I could be wrong. Again, everyone decides for themselves what terms to use for themselves.
I personally use identity first language for myself because I feel that person-first language is usually used for us by those who see being autistic as a disease, but if others prefer to use person-first for themselves and want it used for them, I’m okay with that, as long as they decide for themselves.
This is pretty much all I can type right now (I’m tired and have a headache) but TL;DR I think every autistic person has the right to decide what terms fit them and what they want to be called.
some dumbass: inclusive language makes no sense all words in spanish are gendered and replacing the ‘a’ and the ‘o’ with an ‘x’ makes everything literally unpronounceable and is useless outside of written language
These are how I personally view these terms and use them on my blog, though you’ll find a lot of other witches use them the same ways I do.
Spell:
Spells differ from other methods of magic because they can be so versatile and can have so many different effects. Essentially using your power to influence, change, or accomplish a goal would be considered a spell. Spells can have many components or none at all and can be traditional or new. Some spells suggest you cast circles before performing them and others do not. Some call for specific placements of altars or herbs and some are spontaneous and chaotic. Both forms of spellwork are valid because ultimately we’re just trying to achieve a result.
Charm:
Charms are physical objects made for a specific purpose that must be left in specific places to carry out their intentions. For example if you make a charm to ward off nightmares you would keep it above your bed. The difference between charm and enchantment is that when you have a charm you’ve made it for a specific purpose. You make a necklace to ward off worrying. You make a satchel, or a cake, or a painting and therefore it is a charm.
Enchantment:
An enchantment is an object that already exists and performing magic on it for a purpose. You would enchant a necklace to help ward against worrying. You would enchant your shoes to help you run faster. You would enchant your lip gloss to help you speak clearer and be more charismatic.
Curse:
A curse is a spell that is casted with negative intentions or outcomes for the target. There are no rules as to why curses should be cast, nor “real reasons” for them. Some people feel curses aren’t for them and that is perfectly acceptable. Some people feel like cursing people for no reason and that is also perfectly acceptable. Cursing itself has no ties to 3 folds, laws of returns or anything of that nature. Those specific beliefs are not curse related, they are typically though not always either Wiccan, or Neo Wiccan beliefs.
Hex:
A hex is similar to a curse as it is a spell with negative intentions on a person. However a hex grows and develops and binds closer to its intended target when certain actions are performed. For example you may hex someone speaking ill of you. Every time they do a negative effect would take place and with increased frequency the hex would become stronger and more powerful.
We all know the push at the start of last year. We wanted to be recognized. We wanted to be talked about. We wanted to be taken seriously. We helped change the popular definition of aromantic to be “little to no romantic attraction” to include more people. But at the beginning of last year, there was another push. A push to push aros who have romantic attraction out of their labels.
It started off pretty small. Individuals getting sick and tired of “aros and arospecs” but getting told they were using arospec wrong when they claimed this identity for themselves. “Arospec is for anyone who is on the aromantic spectrum! Including aromantic people!” Then why are you calling us that. Then why are you using it to distance us from your community.
I am using that word because you called us that, to make us seem like we aren’t one of you. You gave us a label, thank you. But also, fuck you for trying to take it away. I get told again I can’t use it that way. I give up, I have no label, and I feel isolated.
Thanks, aros.
The argument continues. I call myself aro. I get told that the word only means no attraction ever. I get told it’s not my word. It’s not my word. I get told I don’t belong under that identity. I get told to use arospec. I dont want to use arospec, you told me I was using it wrong. I start hearing things you dont realize you are saying.
“Arospec is for the whole community, use that if you want to talk about the community as a whole. You aren’t aro. Don’t call yourself that. Aro is not an umbrella term, and arospec doesn’t mean you. It’s not your word.You have no language. The common language we use to refer to ourselves and you isn’t for you. It’s not yours.You can’t call yourself what we’re calling you, and you can’t use the only word we use to talk about the community.”
Again, I have no label, I feel isolated. But this time, I get angry. I get PISSED. I stand my ground, and I defend us. I flip the script, aros get pissed, and then… And then. The post. The damn fucking post.
A word lost to discourse: greyromantic. “This is what you are.” This damn post was sent to me every time I talked about being shoved out of the aromantic community. “Look! There is a word for you!” This damn post was sent to me every time I talked about being told my language was wrong. “You can use this word instead! No need to use ours.” This damn post was sent to me any time I brought up the treatment of partnering and sometimes-romo aros. “Why don’t you just use this word instead? See? We’re listening to and supporting you.” This damn post was used again and again and again by people who HAVE NO PLACE to tell me what my identity can be.
This post specifically was used to talk over me. This post was used to silence my voice. OUR voices. This post was used, primarily by aros who have never experienced romantic attraction, primarily by aros who will never fall under this umbrella, to tell me what I am. To tell me what I can and cannot be. To tell me that my language was wrong and I cannot use the language I had been using for myself.
and I won’t fucking use that label.
So what labels do I use? What label do I like? Why do I like them?
I go by romo aro. It was a private word me and my microcommunity had been using this whole time, that by the end I started promoting and making content for. This is my favorite and preferred label, because it can cover anyone who fits outside of the stereotypical aro alignment. Sometimes-romo, romo favorable, partnering, polyaff/polyam, queerplatonic aros, aros who enjoy romo content. and Anyone who would’ve been shoved under that “arospec” umbrella instead of aro. This word is inclusive, this word is radical, and this word can mean me, no matter what that means for me in that moment.
I use this word mostly because it is the only label that no one else forced onto me, and I will never force it onto anyone else. I prefer it because it is, and always has been, mine. I always had a choice, and it never belonged to anyone else. This word is mine, and I will not let anyone take it away from me.
I also use aro. While people kept arguing against me, for I while I just dropped talking about my identity as a romo aro altogether. I went by aro because it was easier and because it can be an umbrella term. The definition started shifting to mean “little to no romantic attraction” and I am forever grateful. This is a word I’ll keep, because no one forced it on me, and because people told me I couldn’t. Using this word was an act of defiance, and using this word was an act of belonging and assimilation. And now people recognize that this word can also belong to me.
And finally… I use arospec. It took me months (and by months i mean about 7 to be able to comfortably use it again) but this word was the first word I identified with. Public perception of this word has shifted, and people recognize that it can mean multiple things. People recognize that arospecs are allowed to talk about their experiences under this label, including how aros have wronged them. Slowly, people are able to recognize that this was a word used for aros to distance us from themselves, and that this was the first word a lot of us had. This word is a good label, and while it started as a reclamation, now it’s solid identity that people can recognize as being separate and different from the umbrella term. And that’s really really good.
I want to say I don’t hate the creator of that post. I don’t hate aros and greyros. But you NEED to start listening to romo aros and arospecs.When we say something is hurting us, people need to believe us and learn to start recognizing damaging language. And there CANNOT be tolerance in the aromantic community for people who will talk over people- especially aromantic minorities. And the aromantic community as a whole HAS to shut down and learn to STOP telling people if their identityandlabelisvalid or not. I HAVE to stop seeing people in my notifications saying that my words are wrong. It HAS to stop. There was a mass exodus of arospecs last year around this time. My whole microcommunity is gone, and a huge portion of the community is missing, with most aros not even noticing. We HAVE to fix things for them. We NEED to make sure that will never happen again. We NEED to make sure that arospecs of all sorts belong.
This community does not have the time or space or numbers to be exclusionary and perpetuating erasure. It’s needs to stop. It’s time to start listening to arospecs. It’s time to start respecting people who have long since been ignored. It’s time the aro community takes a stand with us.
The aro community has grown, but it’s time to start doing more than what passive little it has recently learned to do. It’s time. Grow more. Take a stand.
This is completely right. When I started this blog, there were absolutely no resources for aromantics who weren’t strictly no-attraction. And since then I have seen pushback against aromantics who do.
The most important thing about a label is not what it means to other people. The most important thing is what it means to you. None of us experience life the same way. None of us experience attraction the same way. None of us experience non-attraction the same way. We don’t even experience the things we see and hear and taste the same way, let alone something as complex as the hormones that our brains sent hurtling throughout our circulatory systems.
I am reblogging this in solidarity for people who don’t feel comfortable identifying as grayromantic or arospec rather than just aro. Your journey is your own. Your self belongs to you, and you are not hurting me or anyone else by using a different word to describe yourself. You are not hurting non-attraction aromantics by using the same word. You have my support.
inaequic aroace / ay - someone who is both acespec and arospec, but relates more to the aroallo experience due to feeling a higher intensity/frequency of sexual attraction than romantic. coined with light-greysexual arospecs in mind, but anyone who feels as if their attraction is uneven in this way can use this term. inaequic comes from the latin word ‘inaequale’, meaning unequal or uneven.
ánisic aroace / ay - someone who is both acespec and arospec, but relates more to the alloace experience due to feeling a higher intensity/frequency of romantic attraction than romantic. coined with light-greyromantic acespecs in mind, but anyone who feels as if their attraction is uneven in this way can use this term. ánisic comes from the greek word ‘άνισος’ (romanization = ánisos), meaning unequal or uneven.
the stripes don’t have any specific meanings, but both flags are based off of the aroace flag. the colours on the inaequic are based off both the aroace and aroallo flags, and the ánisic colours are based off of the aroace + alloace flags :) there’s a high potential i might redo these in the future as i’m not that sure of the flags lol
please read my pinned post / DNI before interacting, thank you !!
“ yeah i think labels cause more problems than they solve. yeah i want to keep coming up with more labels to describe myself. we exist” - A good friend of mine
Hello aspecs who aren’t strictly aro and/or ace!
Ever feel alienated by the split between alloromantic-aromantic and allosexual-asexual? Ever feel like you place on the spectrum is a thing all of its own, rather than having to pick a ‘side’? Thought of the non-sam or neu label but found it limiting to omit their sexual and/or romantic orientation?
Well, as someone who’s sexuality, no matter how limited, is deeply important to me, and who is tired of swapping between the labels of non-sam, aroallo, and angled aroace, I decided to coin my own terms! Maybe a community will arise from this, because I know I’m not the only one who feels weird about the divide, and who have not found comfort in the terms neu or non-sam, and perhaps dialogue can arise from that.
ANYHOW.
The flags are all amalgations of the aroace flag by @aroaesflags In place of the orange (community and union) and yellow (forms of love outside of sex and romance) are shades of green for aromantism and purple for asexuality, the multiple shades representing community and diversity among aromantics and asexuals. The middle flag uses shades of grey in place of yellow and orange. The term grey is used for those who find themselves in between a lack of and presence of attraction (greysexual, greyromantic). As the blues represent a combination of asexuality and aromantism, those remain present, as does the white stripe for unity.
Aromid - Someone who is strictly aromantic, but not strictly asexual, while still being on the asexual spectrum.
Alternatively, someone who is strictly aromantic, but not strictly asexual or allosexual.
Amid- Someone who isn’t strictly aromantic or asexual, but on the spectrum of both asexuality and aromantism.
Alternatively, someone who is not strictly asexual, aromantic, allosexual, or alloromantic.
Acemid - Someone who is strictly asexual, but not strictly aromantic, while still being on the aromantic spectrum.
Alternatively, someone who is strictly asexual, but not strictly aromantic or strictly alloromantic.
EDIT: Slight additions to the definitions to adhere to different experiences/be more inclusive.
I’ve been getting a lot of asks/DMs about it so I want to put it put there: If you want to use these labels for whatever reason, even if they’re not exactly 101% accurate, or you want to use one of these labels over the other despite the other being technically more accurate, you can just. Do it. You don’t need my permission. You don’t need my validation. You don’t need to explain yourself to me. I’m not about label policing. If it helps you better understand yourself or you resonate with it just. Go for it, y'know? These might be labels I coined, but they don’t belong to me. You don’t need to ask my permission to use them. They’re for anyone who resonates with them, even if for reasons I don’t understand.
[[Of course I only find out NOW that Bidesh actually means “foreign land”, not “homeland” like I thought it did. Oops.
I suppose it does make the position of Bangladesh/Bengal’s magical community in the larger context a little more *interesting*…definitely adds to Ayesha’s perpetual foreigner angst.
Speaking of which: in the very first post here I wrote that she left the magical world after O.W.L.s when I really meant N.E.W.T.s. Then when I looked up timelines I saw that if she was 28 now she would have been old enough to attend Hogwarts at the end of the war, which I didn’t want her to do.
I’ve currently got it so that reconstruction plus migration means she enters Hogwarts around age 13 (so second/third year - I don’t understand how you Westerners do school cutoff dates srsly) but if I kept the reference to O.W.L.s then she’s only involved for about 2-3 years, which seems short.
Should I retcon? If so, which way do I retcon - entry date, end date, both? Any other ideas?]]
Witchcraft uses a lot of words you might not have heard before; here’s a breakdown of some of the most common!
Basics
Intent:The goal or desire; the will for something to come into being.
Visualisation:A technique used in magical workings in which the witch pictures the desired effect within their mind’s eye.
Manifestation:The process of a desired intent being brought into reality.
Charging:The act of filling an object with energy.
Cleansing: A magical working with the intent of removing all lingering energies from an object, place or person, be those energies negative or positive.
Grounding:A magical technique in which the individual removes excess unwanted energy (often by ‘pushing’ it into the ground while sitting down) and aligns themselves with the energy of the earth.
Banishing:A magical working with the intent of sending something away, removing an individual from your life or cutting out negative acts and behaviours.
Warding: A magical working in which the individual creates ‘Wards’. Wards are barriers of energy which deny any unwanted entity entrance to the place warded. Wards can also be placed upon oneself to prevent a magical attack.
Deity:A supreme being. Often represented by Gods and Goddesses though not limited to these terms.
Tools, Objects & Symbology
Grimoire: A personal magical inventory of beliefs, spells, ingredients and anything else deemed essential to a witches path.
Altar:A sacred space in which to enact magical workings, meditation and worship.
Wand: A pointed object used to direct energy.
Priapic Wand: A phallus-shaped wand.
Athame:A knife used in ritual to cut out a sacred space and to direct energy. Typically you will never use this to cut solid objects.
Book Of Shadows: A personal magical inventory of beliefs, spells, ingredients and anything else deemed essential to a Wiccan’s path.
Boline: A knife, often but not always a sickle, used for the cutting of ingredients, inscribing of candles and carving of wood.
Besom: A broomstick used to cleanse an area.
Cauldron: A metal pot used for spellwork. (Boiling, mixing, stirring).
Chalice:A goblet, cup or class containing ritual drink. Typically containing offerings.
Dark Mirror: A black piece of glass or reflective material used for scrying.
Pentagram:A five-pointed star widely used amongst many Pagan religions.
Pentacle:A pentagram with a circle around it, typically worn as a necklace for protection.
Inversed Pentagram: A symbol relating to Satanic practises and beliefs.
Septagram:A seven-sided star, usually used in reference to workings with the Fae.
Triquetra: An ancient Celtic symbol which has lost its initial meanings which is today adopted by Pagans of varying paths to mean different things. In Christianity referred to as the trinity knot and believed to represent the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. A secular way of viewing this is that it represents life, death and rebirth. In Wicca believed to represent the triple Goddess.
Amulet:An object that has innate magical properties used as a necklace.
Charm:An object that has been given magical properties.
Talisman:An object that has been created with the intention of having a specific magical property
Hag Stone: A stone with a hole worn naturally worn through it in which the other side is visible. Thought to be used to see the ‘unseen’ and often the Fae.
Poppet:An object designed to take on the likeness of an individual upon which spells are used. A taglock is used to bind the person to the poppet.
Taglock: The personal effect of an individual that can be used in spellwork as a link to that target.
Festivities, Holidays & Events
Wheel Of The Year: A name used to refer to the cycle of the eight holidays observed in Wicca; synonymously used to describe the turn of the seasons.
Solstice: Two points in the year in which the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky. The longest and shortest days of the year.
Esbat:A meeting upon the full moon.
Sabbat:Used to refer to any of the eight holidays observed by Wiccans and others.
Skyclad: To be naked. Believed to promote a greater connection to nature during ritual and worship.
Equinox:The time in which day and night are of equal length as the sun crosses the celestial equator.
Coven:A meeting of witches with the intent to perform magic or worship as a group.
Circle:A temporary space marked out by a magical practitioner that is capable of containing, enhancing and binding magical energy.
Further Reading
Mage: Another term for a magical practitioner.
Aether:The fifth element after Earth, Air, Fire and Water meaning Spirit, Energy, Life Essense & Soul.
Abjuration:Practices of magic relating to the protection of oneself through the suppression of spells cast by other magic practitioners.
Conjuration: Practices of magic relating to bringing desired effects into reality.
Divination:Practices of magic relating to gathering further insight on desired topics, including knowledge of the past and the future.
Enchantment: Practices of magic relating to enacting influence over the minds and decisions of others.
Evocation:Practices of magic relating to working with raw, sometimes uncontrollable forces of power.
Animism: The belief that all things are alive or have a soul.
Glamour:Practices of magic pertaining to achieving desired intent via altering, enhancing or changing one’s appearance.
Blasting:A magical working with the intent of causing infertility and ill health, in both people and crops.
Sigil:A magical symbol created by the individual, usually constructed by breaking down a word or sentence and using the letters.
Seal: A magical symbol. Often used to finalise a working.
Elemental (Noun): A force, being, entity or representation of an element given form and sometimes rudimentary conscious thought, though not in a way thought to be understood correctly by humankind.
Elemental (Adjective): Pertaining to any workings regarding the elements
Witchcraft Types
Secular:The practice of witchcraft at its core. Devoid of any influence from religion or spirituality.
Atheistic:The practice of witchcraft from an Athiest perspective.
Elemental: The practice of witchcraft in which the individual utilises the power of the Elements as their primary source of energy and spell structure. E.g Water Witch, Fire Witch, etc.
Wiccan:Belonging to Wicca, a relatively new nature-based religion born in the 1940′s/50′s in which Witchcraft is expressed as the main form of worship for the God and Goddess.
Traditional: Witchcraft that predates the rebirth in popularity of Witchcraft during the 20th Century.
Hedge:A solitary practitioner who utilises herbs in their practice. Once used exclusively for witches who follow the practice of ‘Hedge Riding’ this term has opened out to encompass those following the archetype of the ‘village witch’ providing salves and potions.
Stregheria:A form of Italian witchcraft, often centred around the worship of Leyland’s version of Aradia and Diana (though the term can also be used for other forms of Italian witchcraft).
Christian:The practice of witchcraft from a Christian perspective.
Witchling / Baby Witch: Terms used to describe new practitioners.
It took me a few reads to realize this author is not using “Fennomen” as some kind of a jarring neo-synonym of “Finns” on the model of “Englishmen” etc.
…but rather, either is unaware or is pretending to not know that the second part of Swedish fennoman / Finnish fennomaani means ‘maniac’ (= French -mane) and not 'man’, thus the usual plural is Fennomans
maybe this is intended to be polite, even? but given the current-day negative flair of “Chinaman” (and others? has there ever been a “Thaiman” or the like?), it at first reads more as the opposite
“I’ll tell you,” said Vimes. “A monarch’s an absolute ruler, right? The head honcho–”
“Unless he’s a queen,” said Carrot.
Vimes glared at him, and then nodded.
“OK, or the head honchette–”
“No, that’d only apply if she was a young woman. Queens tend to be older. She’d have to be a…a honcharina? No, that’s for the very young princesses. No. Um. A honchess, I think.”
Vimes paused. There’s something in the air in this city, he thought. If the Creator had said, “Let there be light” in Ankh-Morpork, he’d have got no further because of all the people saying, “What color?”
Solution obtained by boiling the plants in a covered saucepan for twelve to thirty minutes, then strained.
The Infusion:
Solution obtained by pouring boiling water over the chopped plants and then filtering.
Herbal teas:
Solution obtained from infusion of decoction or maceration prepared with a lot of water and very few plants.
Maceration:
Solution obtained by leaving the plants in contact with cold water, wine or oil for a few hours, a few days, or a few weeks.
The sirup:
Solution obtained by adding a large amount of sugar, up to 70%, to the infusion or decoction.
The Poultice:
Paste containing oils, starches, mucilages which are generally applied hot to the skin.
The Balm:
Fragrant resin that flows from certain plants, by extension, fatty preparation for external use that calms pain or heals.
The Ointment:
Perfumed oil based on the aromatic essence of plants.
The dye:
Solution obtained by macerating between 5 and 10 days one part of dried medicinal substance, reduced to powder in 4 parts of alcohol.
Medicinal Wines:
Solutions obtained by pouring wine over the plants in a glass container, letting the whole thing macerate and shaking it from time to time, then filtering it.
The Essential Oil:
Volatile aromatic substance obtained from plant raw material either by steam distillation preferably at low pressure or by a dry distillation process called pyrogenation, more precisely the essential oil is considered as the distilled essence of the plant and has the advantage of not containing any fatty substance.
Floral Water:
Or Hydrolat, is the condensed water vapor resulting from the distillation of an aromatic plant and / or a flower which naturally separates from the essential oil at the exit of the still and which is charged with molecules aromatic during distillation, rich in versatile active ingredients. Floral water has an aromatic molecule concentration varying between 0.05 and 0.1%. It complements and reinforces the action of the essential oil, thus allowing safe use.
The Extract:
These are aqueous or alcoholic macerations that are more or less concentrated by evaporation, in this way thick or solid fluid extracts are obtained.
Fresh Juice:
The fresh juice is obtained from crushed and pressed fresh plants. The juice obtained is put in the fridge for a day to let it settle and then it is filtered.
The powder:
Shade-dried plants are finely cut and then pulverized in a mortar. These single plants or in a mixture are sold in sachets (infusette) to make herbal teas that do not need to be strained.
I really hate on this website that we erased the term monosexism as it was a very useful term m-spec people have being using for years but terfs decided it was bad becuse it group them with straight people and all of you believed it.
Monosexism is the belief that people who are only attracted to one gender is somehow better or more superior to those who are not monosexual.
Monosexism seeing everything as only gay or straight and if your not you either lying or making things up.
Monosexism is erasing multisexual people are seeing them as less memebers in tge community.
Monosexism is seeing multisexual people are dangerous and dirty
Monosexism is seeing m-spec men as gay men who havent fully accepted themselves as gay.
Monosexism is seeing m-spec women as either lesbians or straight women depending on who your talking to
Monosexism is not seeing multisexual as a full identity and only half of something or on the way of realizing our ‘true’ sexuality.
But you guys all decided it was bad becuase terfs said it ‘group gays with the straights and that it was inherently evil for that.’ And you believed it.
This is just the basics of braiding. If you know these 8 basic braids, you can do billions of differend hairstyles. Here’s a roundup, from top to bottom, left to right. There’s always a link to a basic tutorial and then a few links to hairstyles you can do with that type of braid.
it’s indigenous peoples’ day in the usa! to celebrate i am here to help non-indigenous folks in north america to think about the terminology they use because i know not all of y'all know how the nuances of the many things we’re called. in general, when talking about an indigenous person or character and referring to their indigeneity, referring to their specific culture is the best option. i am indigenous, but more specifically i am cree. that said, let’s talk about terminology while recognizing that the following list is super simplified to give you a brief overview.
indigenous is an umbrella term that refers to the original inhabitants of a land. it is used to talk about indigenous people worldwide. we use it as a collective term because we share many interests, but we are all different peoples and nations. people who are māori or sámi or ainu are all indigenous, but they’re all from very different places and cultures. indigenous as a term unites us, but shouldn’t be used to erase our differences.
aboriginal is, like indigenous, an umbrella term that refers to the original inhabitants of a land. aboriginal was a favoured term in canada for many years and is still used by some multi-nation organizations. canada’s indigenous peoples’ day (june 21) is also sometimes called aboriginal peoples’ day.
native american is a term that refers specifically to indigenous people living in what is currently the contiguous united states of america. people living in alaska or hawaii may prefer the term native hawaiian or native alaskan. if you call someone in canada native american they’ll know what you mean, but it’s not the preferred term. like indigenous, it is an umbrella term and covers many different tribes/nations. it is a term assigned to indigenous people and adopted by us, but not one we came up with ourselves.
native alaskan is an umbrella term that refers to indigenous people living in what is currently alaska. they are culturally distinct peoples from native american cultures. you may be used to calling native alaskans “esk*mos” and if you are you should stop that right fucking now because esk*mo is a derrogatory term that comes from cree slang. some native alaskan people are inuit (see below), but not all are.
native hawaiian is a term for indigenous hawaiians. this is another umbrella term. native hawaiians were not included in federal programs for native americans until the 70s and some programs still exclude them, as do many discussions about native american issues even though they are also an indigenous group colonized by the usa.
native is an umbrella term used by indigenous people to refer to themselves. in north america, it may be socially acceptable to refer to indigenous people as being native, but ymmv and elsewhere in the world, it carries more racist, colonial baggage than it does here, where it is generally understood as a shortened form of native american.
american indian is a dated term that is still used in some official spaces in the united states. older indigenous people may use this (or the term indian) because they’re used to saying it. if you’re not indigenous, you should probably say native american or indigenous. amerindian is a portmanteau of this term and similarly isn’t really favoured anymore.
indian is a dated term for indigenous people in canada and the united states. it stems from the time of christopher columbus when columbus decided to call us “indian”. if you are non-indigenous, do not refer to indigenous people as indian. in canada, it is also a legal designation tied to the indian act that means some indigenous people hold “indian status,” which grants them certain rights. some indigenous people in north america have reclaimed the term indian to refer to themselves.
ndn is a slang term we use to refer to ourselves online. if you’re non-indigenous then bro. do not. it just stands for indian, you can’t!
first nations is a term analogous to native american. it is used in canada to refer to the many indigenous nations south of the arctic circle. as someone who is cree, i’m first nations. it is an umbrella term, but not every indigenous person in canada is first nations. unlike “indian”, it is not a legal term.
inuit is the term for indigenous peoples that live in what is currently canada’s north. some indigenous people in alaska (and elsewhere) may also identify as inuit because the american/canadian border is a new addition in the grand scope of their histories. inuit are culturally distinct from first nations/native americans. also inuit means “the people” and y'all my inuk friend is so fucking amused every time someone says “the inuit people” because y'all are out here saying “the the people people.” not all indigenous people in the north are inuit.
métis is a term for people who are descended from specific communities where indigenous people and non-indigenous settlers intermarried and created their own culture. they are specific, cultural communities within canada with their own culture and language. not everyone with mixed indigenous and settler ancestry is métis. for example, my dad is white and my mom is cree. i am not métis because i don’t have any connection to a historic métis community. again, this is not a legal term the way indian is.
esk*mois another slur. it’s an anglicized version of askipiw, a cree word which is more or less saying that inuit eat raw meat (i.e. that is implying they’re more akin to animals than people). again, even when you’re referring to sports teams that use the term in their name, don’t say it. it doesn’t matter what some white dude on QI told you, it’s not a “more acceptable” umbrella term for northern indigenous peoples. some people might use it to refer to themselves still, but, as with other terminology on this list, if you’re not indigenous, don’t say it!
