What Does “Anasazi” Mean, and Why Is It Controversial?
We were recently updating a page on our website and were surprised when we came across some text using the outdated term “Anasazi.” We recognized the need to change the term on that page, and to search the site for any other remaining references. Realizing that people visit the IPCC and our website from all over the world, and that many still search for information by that term, we decided that erasure and replacement wasn’t enough – as a cultural and educational organization, we needed to explain why.
The term “Anasazi” was established in 1927 through the archaeological Pecos Classification system, referring to the Ancestral Pueblo people who spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, including Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, Canyon De Chelly, and Aztec. The term is Navajo in origin, and means “ancient enemy.” The Pueblo peoples of New Mexico understandably do not wish to refer to their ancestors in such a disrespectful manner, so the appropriate term to use is “Ancestral Pueblo” or “Ancestral Puebloan.”
According to archaeologist Linda Cordell, “Anasazi” was first applied to the ruins of Mesa Verde by Richard Wetherill, a rancher and trader who was the first Anglo-American known to explore the sites in that area in 1888–89. Wetherill knew and worked with Navajos, and understood what the word meant. The name was further embedded in archaeological circles when it was adopted by Alfred V. Kidder, the acknowledged dean of Southwestern Archaeology, who felt it was easier to use than creating a more technical term.
“It is to my knowledge within our Pueblo communities that we have always referred to our ancestors with proper words to describe their next stage in life with honor and care according to our own language composition,” says Stephanie Oyenque (Acoma Pueblo), IPCC Cultural Education Specialist. “The term ‘Anasazi’ is a word not used within our Pueblo communities. Therefore, how can we, as a universal collective, honor our past people with dignity and respect? Now is the time to take back control of how to accurately describe our ancestral people.”
In pursuit of accuracy and respect, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and Shumakolowa Native Arts are dedicated to changing all mentions of Anasazi to Ancestral Pueblo or Ancestral Puebloan, and helping to educate others on the reason the term is no longer acceptable. It will only appear on our sites when part of a product or other official name, and in those cases a link to this information will be included.
Currently reading Lies My Teacher Told Me which reveals so much about Native Americans and their untold history in textbooks.
Finally, a change long in coming.
The inaccurate labeling of our Ancestral Pueblo People will now be corrected. Thank you.
Educating the broader audience of mainstream society about Pueblo People today remains a challenge for us all.
Respectfully,
Greg Ortiz
(Pueblo of Acoma)
You honor the Ancestors
Thank you for clarifying the origin of the term Anasazi.
People should be named by names they give themselves not names they are “assigned” by others – and scholars should be especially careful because their publications reach a wide group who have no first hand knowledge and will repeat what they are told. Students will continue to repeat the error in ignorance till it becomes common usage.
I have wondered also about Navajo and Eskimo which are other questionable names and used instead of Diné and Inuit.
It is certainly the case that we refer to Europeans as a group and then Italy, France, Spain, etc. in an English name that favors spoken English pronunciations. But calling the French “frogs” is not acceptable and if it became standard for naming French people by that term, the French would be understandably angry.
We have been burdened by terms used European explorer/traders with terms like Aborigines for the various groups that occupied Australia for thousands of years. And the term Laplander has been used in Scandinavian countries instead of Sammi.
I hope that someday educators in our public schools will show the map of this land where we live, before the Europeans came, to show the different cultural groups living here with their names properly assigned. And that original people of all lands around the world be named as they choose to be called – with respect.
I have heard the word Anasazi used also in movies referencing American Indian cultures. I never knew the meaning of it until now. It is a word that I can now use to refer to someone who is the enemy.
Your description is excellent. Thank you for educating us.
God Bless.