Indians on the Reservation

Where I teach, at Piñon High School on the Navajo Nation, we have one Indian on staff.  His name is Udai Singh, and he teaches Chemistry.  He has an earned Ph.D. and is originally from India.  Therefore he is an Indian, right?

Columbus Day is coming next month.  We won’t be celebrating it on the Navajo Nation.  When he crossed the Atlantic Ocean and struck land, Columbus thought he had arrived in India.  He called the natives he encountered “Indians.”  Unfortunately, the moniker stuck.  To this day, I have yet to meet a Native American who originated in India. But, on the Navajo Nation, I have an Indian friend, Udai Singh.

Interestingly, Udai (Dr. Singh), tells me the British called his dark-skinned people, native to India, “Niggers.”  Oh, the arrogance of cultures that think they are better than others!