Talk:Squaw

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[edit] Controversy

There was an indication that citations are needed for the claim that "squaw" does not mean "cunt", so here and here.--droptone 05:15, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

THIS PAGE IS BIASED! Just wanted to put that obvious point out there. One of the references is to Squaw Peak's website. That's like saying the Rebel Flag is not bad, and then having a link to "sons of the confederacy" website. There's an obvious subjective slant. Ugabuga

the word squaw referred to the female genetalia, not to the young woman...Men of the tribe did not go ariund calling their women "squaws" anon user

Where is the evidence that the word 'squaw' was ever used in reference to 'vagina' or 'cunt'? Anyone who has read any primary documents knows that the white/euro authors seldom minced words and were very candid in displaying what we recognize today as racist terms. Given that, why has no one to date been able to document a single example of 'squaw' = 'vagina'? If such evidence exists, cite it. The evidence shows that this idea is of recent origin, a creation of uninformed activists minds. Many otherwise neutral words can be USED in a pejorative way.. "It's THEM again", "It's the INDIANS again" Enough real racism exists - we don't make the case better by exaggerating or asserting fanciful claims. Qureus1 10:28, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

As part Algonquin, I'm impressed by the article. My parents didn't have patience with political correctness overlaid upon the language by others, and my mother used squaw freely, meaning a woman, usually one married or of marriageable age. It was often used like the word 'Mrs'.

--UnicornTapestry (talk) 21:12, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "Greedy" white man?

"Although labelling 'white man' as greedy was not without foundation".

I don't understand how THIS is not a racist statement.

Replace any other racial group for "white man", and it would be considered racist.

This should be removed. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 63.162.143.5 (talk) 03:13, 28 February 2007 (UTC).

It should perhaps be rephrased a little—"Although using 'greedy' to mean 'white' man is understandable" or some such. However, I think that whole paragraph could go. It's enough to show that Sanders and Peek were wrong. If anything is needed, maybe it's a parenthetical note that wasichu literally means "one who takes the fat", and readers can draw their own conclusions about S. and P.'s reliability. After all, we Americans sometimes use "Caucasian" with the same meaning. A translation into Iroquois might just note that it means "white" without adding that it literally means "from the Caucausus mountains". I'll wait a little while before I do this, though, in case anyone objects. —JerryFriedman 17:38, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, I got started editing and couldn't wait. If anyone objects, we can resolve it. —JerryFriedman 16:39, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Reversion of citeneeded tags

I put the two tags back in this sentence:

During the 1970s, some American Indian activists objected to the term, and a number of false etymologies emerged,^{[citation needed]} apparently arising from the assumption that European settlers had always regarded Native women as easy sexual partners, and that, therefore, the word "squaw" must have been equivalent with the English word "vagina."^{[citation needed]}

There's no citation below that there were a number of false etymologies, or that Europeans thought Native women were "easy", or that "squaw" must have meant vagina or vulva. In fact, without citations after two months, all those claims should probably be deleted. But I'll wait a little longer. —JerryFriedman (Talk) 03:24, 18 January 2008 (UTC)