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Glite Dictionary
🪶 Native identity 🇮🇳 Indian character
Indianness

Indianness

8.3
The culture, traditions, and way of life of Native American people
  • noun
  • /ˌɪndiˈænəs/
  • US
translation icon : indianidad
  • Many communities are working to preserve their Indianness by teaching young people their native languages and customs.
  • sense of Indianness
  • symbol of Indianness
  • own Indianness

Examples

  • Powwows are musical performances that designate a sense of "Indianness" based on the common history and dance traditions of Plains cultures.

    Academic text (1994)

  • Rather, they have attempted to reclaim their own Indianness through performance and protest.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Others did quite the opposite: they decided their entitlement to Indianness could earn them a place in the world.

    Academic text (1997)

  • Indians are all different; overarching Indianness makes them all alike.

    Academic text (2004)

  • However, SMEs in the textiles and jewellery sectors sell different understandings of their 'Indianness' through their products.

    Academic text (2018)

  • What was this anxiety held within my heart, mixed-blood hysteria, grasping at anything linking myself to Indianness, my Indianness?

    Academic text (2004)

  • Leftist political discourse often draws on "Indianness" and "Indian blood" to contest colonialism in all its dimensions.

    Academic text (1991)

  • However, Richard also betrays his inability to grapple with the complexities of Indianness that confront him in the museum.

    Academic text (2004)

  • Powwows celebrate the cultural identity and traditions of American Indians, expressing a strong sense of Indianness.

  • The artist's work reflects her deep connection to her heritage and explores the essence of Indianness through vibrant imagery.

Synonyms

indigeneity
vsIndianness
  • Formal
1 9.7

A state of being native to a place and keeping the culture and rights of the local people

is limited to the cultural identity of native peoples in the Americas
aboriginality
vsIndianness
9.8

Being part of the first people and their culture in a place

is specifically about the Americas native cultural identity rather than general original status

How Detribalized

detribalization
  • Specialized
9.9
assimilation
19 5.7
acculturation
  • Specialized
2 8.2
Indianness
  • US
8.3

Surface Forms

Indianness singular
Indiannesses plural

Morphology

Indianness = Indian (transparent) = Indian + ness

Formed by the adjective 'Indian' (meaning American Indian) plus the noun-forming suffix '-ness', indicating the state or quality of being Indian.

Etymology

The word Indianness comes from Indian, a name early Europeans gave to the native peoples of the Americas after Columbus wrongly thought he had reached India, plus the ending -ness, which means 'state of being'. So Indianness can mean the cultural identity, traditions, and character of American Indians as the 'state of being' Indian.