A recent editorial in Indian Country Today describes the modern
day use of the word. A small town in Maine is deeply embroiled
in a struggle over the word. Insensitivity abounds. The town is
near the Penobscot Nation. Tribal members attend city meetings
to discuss the issue. Here's an excerpt from the editorial: One
woman, who is a teacher, asked me, "What do we call you Native
American Indian women if we can't call you [squaw]?" That
question is loaded, and it prompts me to ask all of you who work
with children's books---writers, teachers, librarians---what
role might the use of the word in children's historical fiction
play in the way that teacher responded to the Native woman?
Let's look at the award winning Sign of the Beaver. Remember---
the author of the book and the perspective in the book are not
Native. The main character is a white boy named Matt. He meets a
Native boy named Attean. This isn't Attean's story. It is Matt's
story. According to Amazon's nifty "search inside this book"
option, the word '