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American Indian
Also written: American Indian, American Indians
self-id-requiredlegal-termcapitalization-ruleevolving-usage
At a glance
Source-by-source
“Use American Indian or Indian when requested by a particular interview subject …”
NGC capitalizes American Indian as a racial/ethnic/cultural identifier, but does not use it as a default. The organization's preferred general terms are Native people, Native, or Indigenous; American Indian (or Indian) is reserved for cases where an individual self-identifies that way or when the term appears in a direct quote. The default is self-identification.
“When referring to a Tribal nation, we should refer to the specific nation (Dine, Cheyenne, Nooksack, etc.), not 'Tribes' generally. Though Native nations are often generalized in collective terminology (Native, Indigenous nations, Indigenous peoples, Native American, American Indian), it is best to refer specifically to the nation.”
Sierra Club lists American Indian among the acceptable collective umbrella terms (alongside Native, Indigenous nations, Indigenous peoples, Native American), but consistently prefers the specific nation name. Use of any generalized term — American Indian included — is acceptable only when a specific nation isn't being referenced.
“Either term is generally acceptable and can be used interchangeably, although individuals may have a preference. … Native American and American Indian can be used interchangeably; however, the term is used only to describe groups of Native Americans — two or more individuals of different tribal affiliation.”
NAJA treats Native American and American Indian as interchangeable in the general case, with individual preference taking precedence whenever stated. The guide adds an important precision rule: both umbrella terms apply only when referring to two or more people from different tribal affiliations — for an individual or for coverage of a single tribe, the specific tribal name is required.
“American Indian and Native American are both generally acceptable and can be used interchangeably, although individuals may have a preference. … In 2016, President Barack Obama signed legislation (HR 4238) that replaced the term American Indian with Native American in federal laws.”
DSG mirrors NAJA on interchangeability and self-identification, then adds the legal context: 'American Indian' has a specific federal definition (membership in a federally recognized tribe, with each tribe setting its own enrollment criteria), and the term was formally replaced with Native American in federal laws by HR 4238 in 2016. Both terms remain in active use; federal usage has shifted toward Native American.
“Whether to use the terms African American or Black, Hispanic American, Latinx or Latino, Native American or American Indian, and Pacific Islander or Asian American depends on a variety of conditions, including your intended audiences' geographic location, age, generation, and, sometimes, political orientation.”
RET frames Native American / American Indian as one of several active term pairs where the right choice is audience-dependent — varying with geographic location, age, generation, and political orientation. RET does not prescribe a default; it positions the choice as part of a wider pattern of evolving racial-ethnic terminology.
Synthesis
American Indian shares almost all of its style-guide treatment with Native American — every guide in the set discusses the two terms in relation to each other. NAJA and DSG treat them as interchangeable umbrellas; Sierra Club lists both among acceptable collective terms; NGC reserves American Indian (or Indian) for cases where a subject requests it or it appears in a quote, defaulting instead to Native, Native people, or Indigenous; and RET frames the choice as audience-dependent. What the sources do share: specific tribal names are preferable to either umbrella, and self-identification overrides any default. NAJA’s precision rule applies equally — American Indian, like Native American, describes two or more people from different tribal affiliations, not an individual.
American Indian differs from Native American on legal weight and chronology rather than preference. “American Indian” carries a specific federal definition: membership in a federally recognized tribe, with each tribe setting its own enrollment criteria (DSG). The term predates Native American as the mainstream U.S. descriptor; “Native American” gained traction in the 1960s, and HR 4238 in 2016 replaced “American Indian” with “Native American” (DSG) — though only within two 1970s statutes (the Department of Energy Organization Act and the Local Public Works Act of 1976), not across the broader body of federal Indian law. American Indian remains in active use today — for legal contexts (federally recognized tribes, Indian Country, Indian Health Service), for individuals who self-identify with the term, and in the published names of long-established organizations (the National Congress of American Indians, the American Indian Movement).
NGC is the most prescriptive source here: capitalize American Indian when it appears, but use it only when an individual requests it or when quoting another work. Sierra Club includes American Indian on its list of acceptable collective umbrellas alongside Native, Indigenous nations, Indigenous peoples, and Native American — without ranking them — but consistently prefers the specific nation name. RET, as in its framing on Native American, treats the choice as audience-dependent rather than rule-based.
Audience notes
- Legal, policy, and federal-program contexts. American Indian is the operative term in federal law for membership in a federally recognized tribe and remains the canonical descriptor for treaty rights, federal Indian law, Indian Health Service eligibility, and similar legal categories. Substituting Native American in those contexts can introduce ambiguity. The 2016 HR 4238 change reached only two 1970s statutes and does not edit the broader body of federal Indian law that uses the older term.
- Quoting and self-identification. American Indian remains the term many older Native individuals and several long-established Native organizations use for themselves. NGC’s rule — “use American Indian when requested by a particular interview subject or when quoting another work” — is a tight, workable default for non-Native communicators.
- Generational and geographic variation. RET’s framing applies cleanly here: the preference between American Indian and Native American varies with age (older speakers often prefer American Indian), geography (some regions and tribes use one consistently over the other), and political orientation (the term has been used and reclaimed across the political spectrum). Don’t assume a single answer; ask when you can.
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