A Case Study: Eva Pollinger-Middleton '

Introduction
The collaborating individual chosen for this case study is Eva Pollinger-Middleton, a twenty-three year old undergraduate student in the College of Education at the University of North Florida. Eva is majoring in Secondary English Education and is currently in her junior year. Eva is ethnically Lumbee, which is a Native American tribe native to the north Florida Area. Although Lumbee is not a federally-recognized distinct tribe, Eva is highly invested in furthering her culture’s recognition in educational settings, including both increasing Lumbee presence in curriculum relating to Native American studies for students in the general education program and in furthering educational opportunities for students who are Lumbee. Eva is

Teachers should make personal efforts to research preferred terminology for students and use language respectfully. For Native American students, this can be a challenge because there is controversy both within and around the Native American community about self-identification and ethnic markers. I have used the group marker “Native American” throughout this case study because this is Eva’s preferred term, but there are a variety of ethnic names individuals and particularly teachers should be aware of within the Native American population. Historically, Native Americans have had the group name “Indians”, resulting from a mislabeling during colonization (Lowe 2005). While some Native American individuals consider this to be an ethnic slur, others have chosen to re-claim this title and identify as “Indian” or “American Indian”. “Indigenous”, “Aboriginal”, and “First Nations or First People” are other variations of ethnic identification that some Native Americans have chosen to adopt. Still other Native Americans disagree with grouping all tribes under a single ethnic group, and instead argue to identify by regional markers. These include ethnic markers such as “Pueblo-dwelling People”, “Plains Indians”, “Inuit”, and “LDN Peoples (Lakota, Dakota, Nakota Peoples)”. When I asked Eva on her personal opinion on how to address self-identification of students who are Native American, she advised that I “not be afraid to ask students what they prefer to be called”. For educators, being aware of these discrepant identifiers and being receptive to students’ individual identity choices should be considered for Native American students, and educators should keep up to date on research and professional language standards for these populations of