Speaking to reporters, Donald Trump claimed that the use of the word “Indian” is no longer “allowed” unless it refers to “Indians” from an Asian nation. “You mustn’t use the word ‘Indian’ anymore… The only people who want you are the Indians,” he said.
“I will never tell you to change,” Trump said. A video of the US president’s remarks has since been widely circulated on social media.
In the video, Trump refers to Native American communities and uses the term “Indian,” a designation that dates back to Christopher Columbus’ mistaken assumption during his voyage in 1492 that he had reached the outer reaches of Asia — then known in Europe as the “Indies.” Believing he had arrived near India, Columbus applied the term to the indigenous peoples he encountered in the Caribbean.
Despite the quick realization that he had discovered lands unknown to Europeans, the misnomer persisted and became enshrined in colonial records, treaties. Over time, many have argued that the term is outdated or offensive because it is rooted in historical misunderstanding and carries the weight of colonial misclassification and dispossession.
POTUS also made the “Tomahawk gesture” when answering a question mentioning “slash.”
Many Native American advocacy groups consider the gesture, team names (such as the former Washington NFL team and Cleveland Indians mascot) and associated imagery to be harmful stereotypes.
Donald Trump’s ‘Indian’ remarks come amid controversial moves by POTUS and repeated criticism from Native American groups.
Native American groups criticize Trump’s call to bring back the Redskins name
Earlier this year, in July, Trump faced criticism after he threatened to block a planned NFL stadium in Washington, DC, unless the local team reverted to its former name, the Redskins — a name that stuck in 2020 after decades of criticism that it was a racial slur.
In posts on the Truth Social platform, Trump said there has been a “strong demand” for the team, which has been called the Commanders since 2022, to return to its former name and that “our great people of India” want it. Trump also called on Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Guardians, who changed their name from the Indians in 2021, to follow suit.
In July 2020, the Washington NFL team retired the Redskins name and logo — featuring the profile of a red Indian with a feather in his hair — that had been in place since 1933.
But some Native American groups criticized Trump for pushing for a return to what they called harmful names.
The Association for American Indian Affairs said such mascots reduce Native peoples to stereotypes and erase living cultures.
“These mascots and names disrespect Native peoples — they reduce us to caricatures,” the Association for American Indian Affairs said in a statement. “Our diverse peoples and cultures are not relics of the past or mascots for entertainment,” the association said in a statement – previously reported by Reuters.
