timber nigger

English

Etymology

From timber, presumably a reference to the stereotypical forest habitat of the Ojibwe people, and nigger. Arose in Wisconsin in the late 1980s during public outcry and protest from outdoor enthusiasts over the Ojibwe exercising the right to spearfish in non-reservation lakes granted to them by treaties.[1][2][3]

Noun

timber nigger (plural timber niggers)

(ethnic slur, derogatory, slang) A Native American person, especially one of Ojibwe descent.
- 2004, Mary Relindes Ellis, The Turtle Warrior, Penguin Books (2005), →ISBN, page 161:
  Or like his neighbor Morriseau, who probably got a government subsidy because he was a timber nigger.
- For more examples of usage of this term, see Citations:timber nigger.

Synonyms

(ethnic slur for Native American person): prairie nigger,

red nigger, redskin, tree nigger

References

"As spears of racism pierce the north", The Milwaukee Journal, 13 May 1989
Eric Partridge, Tom Dalzell, & Terry Victor, The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, Routledge (2008), →ISBN, page 652
Philip H. Herbst, The Color of Words: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Ethnic Bias in the United States, Intercultural Press (1997), →ISBN, page 217

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[1] "As spears of racism pierce the north", The Milwaukee Journal, 13 May 1989

[2] Eric Partridge, Tom Dalzell, & Terry Victor, The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, Routledge (2008), →ISBN, page 652

[3] Philip H. Herbst, The Color of Words: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Ethnic Bias in the United States, Intercultural Press (1997), →ISBN, page 217