There are about 600 different tribes in the United States, each with their own different culture, language and traditions. In Wisconsin, where I currently reside, there are 12 such tribes, and in Arizona, where I grew up, there are 23. In my lifetime, I’ve had the privilege of meeting some different tribal members in both states, and I’ve tried to refer to them in terms that are respectful and kind.

It turns out that the different ways have an offensive tone to different segments of people, and even the most innocent expression can offend. A lot of it comes from the fact that there are a lot of differences between tribes even though we try to lump everyone together.

First of all, calling them Indians is a definite no-no. This term extends back to when Christopher Columbus was trying to find an alternate route to India and arrived at what is America today. He thought he’d arrived in India and called the inhabitants that were there Indians, and the term stuck with the colonists for centuries.

In today’s society, most of us know that members of different tribes are not “Indians.” That lead to the reference to tribal members in the United States as American Indians. Some organizations still bear the reference, such as the American Indian College Fund, but the reference is outdated, not to mention a slight to those who are against being referred to by the wrong culture.

An irony that I should note when it comes to tacos made from frybread. Many vendors who are affiliated with a tribe call them Indian tacos. One noticeable exception is the Navajo tribe, where many of them insist on calling them Navajo tacos. I’m not sure I have a point to make here, but it makes for an interesting contradiction in terms.

That’s when the modern term of Native Americans came up, a term that mainstream in the 1960s. Most tribes have always resided on these beautiful lands where we live, and it’s a term I’ve used when writing about tribal issues. However, there have been objections to that term in recent years, as well, and so I’ve tried to find another term.

That’s when I found some of the tribes in Wisconsin prefer the term Indigenous, which means being native to the area. I’ve been clutching to that term for a couple of years and using it in writing about tribal issues, thinking that I’d finally found a blanket term that would not offend tribal friends and neighbors.

It turns out I was wrong again. Wally Brown told me so.

Now, I know you might be asking, “Who is Wally Brown and what business is it of his?” Wally is a Navajo elder that I got to know over 20 years when I was living on the western border of the Navajo Nation. He and I had a number of discussions about tribal culture, taboos and the like, and I’ve respected his opinion most of the time on issues.

I haven’t spoken with Wally since I moved to Wisconsin 15 years ago, but I’ve reconnected in a way through a YouTube channel he and his son started a while back called Navajo Traditional Teachings. Recently, he posted a video that points out that people are not “Indigenous” and that the term threatens tribal members’ cultural identity.

“Every Native American tribe, they are not identical,” Wally said in the video. “They don’t speak the same language. They have their own traditions and cultural ways, but they try to be recognized as a Native American person or an American Indian. The thing that happens is that people don’t realize there are over 600 different tribes here in the United States, and they have their own language and own ways. We are not the same.”

The point Wally made in the video is that it’s best to refer to someone by their tribe. You wouldn’t call a Navajo a Hopi because they’re two different tribes. You wouldn’t refer to a Menominee as Oneida, or a Cherokee as Algonquin. We’ve taken the concept of America as a melting pot and tried to make different tribes seem alike, which is not right.

Is there an answer out there? Not one that’s universal. The best solution seems to be using the tribal name—or names for people affiliated with two or more tribes—and avoiding blanket terms altogether.

I think Wally Brown would approve.