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Indian giver is a North American English expression used to describe a person who gives a gift (literal or figurative) and later wants it back, or something equivalent in return.
The term "Indian gift" was first noted in 1765 by Thomas Hutchinson, and "Indian giver" was first cited in John Russell Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms (1860) as "Indian giver. When an Indian gives any thing, he expects to receive an equivalent, or to have his gift returned."
The phrase is sometimes offensive, particularly to Native Americans.
Etymology
It is unclear exactly how this expression came to be, but the consensus is that it is based on Native Americans having a distinctly different sense of property ownership as opposed to those of European ancestry. One theory holds that early European settlers in North America misinterpreted aid and goods they received from Native Americans as "gifts," when in fact they were intended to be offered in trade, as many tribes operated economically by some form of barter system, or a gift economy where reciprocal giving was practiced. It is also theorized that this stereotype may have been coined or exaggerated by the conquering European groups to denigrate the native people as dishonest and thereby justify their conquest.
It is possible that this expression has its origin in early American Property Law, exemplified in cases such as Johnson v. M'Intosh. Native Americans, though possessors of the land, did not have the ability to transfer title. True dominion and title belonged to the United States government. This is known in property law as the theory of acquisition by discovery. This method of real property assignation was relied on for centuries in Europe, and later it was adopted and espoused by the European colonizers of America. Under this doctrine, the government that first "discovers" land has ownership rights to that land. The Native American tribes were not considered true owners of the land, as only "civilized" nations (ie. Christian nations) had the ability to own title. John Locke's labor theory of property ownership bolstered this view, as only "improved land" was seen as owned land, and the Native American way of life did not reflect such recognized improvements. A discovering government, per this doctrine, could grant possession rights to others, eg. the Native Americans, or they could claim sovereign title and grant the land (convey title) to others, but Native Americans had no right to sell or trade their land to any save the discovering government. As such, Native Americans, not knowing of the European property standard, sold or traded land rights to early settlers, and such settlers were later be told that their title was worthless, that the only true title or grant came from the U.S. government.
See also
Sources
- , "An Indian gift is a proverbial expression, signifying a present for which an equivalent return is expected." (Thomas Hutchinson, "History of Massachusetts Bay," 1765).
- , The OED's earliest citation for "Indian giver" is John Russell Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms (1860)
- "indian giver - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary".
- Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries (2006). The American Heritage dictionary of the English language. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-70172-9.
Indian giver n. Offensive: One who gives something to another and then takes or demands the gift back.
{{cite book}}:|author=has generic name (help) - "Watch Your Mouth | Reconnecting the Circle".
- ^ ."Indian giver".