Random Thoughts: On being an "Indian Giver"

Where did the term "Indian giver" come from, I wondered this morning. I checked out dictionary.com and first I was warned that it is an offensive phrase. Apparently, we should be saying Native American giver (kidding!). Actually, the phrase is a derisive reference to a Native American practice of expecting to receive a gift in return for one given. Yet, that is not how we use "indian giver." Someone is an "indian giver" if he gives a gift and later takes it back or asks for its return. That's not the Native American practice at all. The Native Americans seem to do what we New Americans do every year around the holidays or birthdays. We take people off our gift-giving lists who did not give to us last year. Not because we don't like them, but because we believe in a little quid pro quo, a little reciprocity.

The nasty implications of the modern term "indian giver" has very little to do with reciprocity, and everything to do with greed. So I propose we change the phrase to "Jackson giver" as President Andrew Jackson was the real indian giver. Prior to Jackson's presidency, America's policy had been to permit Native Americans to live peaceably east of Mississippi River as long as they gave up being nomads and became acculturated to the way of life of the budding nation. But playing by the rules still gets you a handful of nothing if you don't have the vote. In 1830, President Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law (an ugly name, 120 years later we would euphemize the term, calling it "urban renewal" and focus on poor, mostly colored neighborhoods). The Indian Removal Act authorized Congress to enter into treaties with Native American tribes to move them off of their tribal land and into the newly acquired American West (at that time, the west was Oklahoma. Mexico was still in possession of what is now the American southwest). Under this act of eminent domain writ large, some tribes moved voluntarily after receiving payment and new lands. Others, such as the Cherokee, were forced, resulting in the Trail of Tears during which 7,000 people died. Still other tribes fought back against their evictions, such as the Seminoles in Florida.

If "Jackson giver" doesn't stick, we could try the more general "American giver" or "imperialist giver." I'm just proposing that we give the Native Americans a break. Other than dreams of making a fortune at Foxwoods, what gift did they ever give and then successfully wrest away?A glance at the map above shows that Native Americans were all over North America before Indian Removal became national policy. History shows that we were the ones who consistently tricked and lied to them, giving and then taking away. And to add insult to injury, we tagged them forever with the reputation of being stingy, insincere "indian givers."