Consideration in naming products (was: Re: Apache Server Announcement)

Hello there.

I just found out that there is a server called the "Apache."  I've got to 
wonder whether the people who are developing this server have contacted 
the Apache nation to find out whether it is ok to use their name.

It is, unfortunately, common practice to use names of American Indian 
nations as if they were mytical or historical -- like "The Trojans."  
However, there are real people involved here -- who have a culture and 
the right to be treated with dignity.  Indigenous peoples, in 
particular, have had so much stolen from them -- their land, their 
culture, even some of their spiritual traditions -- that it seems 
particularly important to be sensitive about using their name as well. 
It is possible that the Apache nation would be proud to have a server 
named after them, but it would seem proper to ask -- if this hasn't 
been done already.

Yours,

Steve Habib Rose

Received on Saturday, 22 April 1995 18:32:49 UTC