I, Indian

Mo's family has a summer house in Cooperstown, NY called "The Wigwam"where the whole family gathers for Labor Day weekend each summer. (It's worth mentioning that the area is famous for being the setting for the historical fiction of James Fennimore Cooper, such as "The Last of the Mohicans". And the area is rich in archeological remnants of the First Americans that actually DID inhabit the land before Europeans destroyed thier way of life.) Thus, the name, "The Wigwam" has always struck me as a bit ironic, however, recently, the relative inappropriateness of that name became comedically apparent.

I bought a "Play & Discover First Words" game at TJ Maxx for $2. It has a word for every letter in the alphabet, and for the letter “I”, the word is “Indian”. Oh yes, I do mean THAT Indian. The picture of a cartoonish little man with a huge round red nose, huge red lips, a feather, who appears to be in some sort of dancing position with one hand up and one leg up, pow-wow style could not possibly be more politically incorrect.

Unfortunately, it was too late to take the “I” away when we were playing the game and of course, Little J was very puzzled by the picture. I wasn’t sure what to do because I do want him to learn the letter “I”, so I tried my “less is more” question answering technique and simply said “Indian” when he asked me what it was. But NOOOOOO this is the one time when Little J decides that’s not quite a satisfactory answer. “What is an Indian?” he asks. Seeing the picture for the letter “W” I quickly said, “It’s someone who lives in that.”

"A TENT?”

“No”, I said, “a wigwam”… Needless to say, Little J is was still confused. However, enjoying the reversal in the irony of that name, I chose not to try to correct the only logical conclusion: that somehow Mo’s side of the family is related to cartoon "Indians".