The term ‘Indian Summer’ is technically defined as a period of warm and sunny weather that extends past the first killing frost in late September or early October.Just don’t call it that.Whatever the term, according to Environmental Canada, the prairies all the way out to the West Coast are in for a good one even though weather forecasters in this country are increasingly reluctant to call it one.In its most recent seasonal forecast the government weather agency predicted with 61% probability that Alberta — along with much of British Columbia and Saskatchewan — are in for some bright and summer days all through to the end of October.Ditto for eastern Canada and the Maritimes, although the pattern is classified as ‘changeable’.“The very strong signal for above-normal is further east in the country, but the signal all over Alberta is still pretty significant,” said ECCC warning preparedness meteorologist Natalie Hasell..The consensus is shared by The Weather Network — Canada’s most trusted news source (but not necessarily its most accurate) — which is predicting above seasonal conditions through much of September.“The focus of warm weather (and even hot weather at times) will fall across Western Canada, especially on the western Prairies where conditions will adopt a midsummer feel at times,” it said.That much is agreed on. What’s less unanimous is whether to actually call it ‘Indian Summer’.The term is believed to have originated among European settlers to North America who observed it as a favourable time for native and indigenous hunters during the warm autumn days.However, it has since passed as a technical term to describe fall weather patterns all through Britain, Australia and even in Scandinavian countries. .And indeed, a simple Google search reveals hundreds of examples from no less an authority than the British Met Office and respected mainstream news sources such as The Copenhagen Post.But the term is falling out of favour in North America, where it is being replaced with terms like ‘late summer’ or ‘false summer’.According to Saanich, BC-based Indigenous Corporate Training centre, the term ‘Indian Summer’ is up there with ‘circle the wagons’, ‘Indian giver’, ‘rain dance’, ‘on the warpath’ and even ‘hold down the fort’ as terms with negative connotations against indigenous peoples and ought to be avoided in formal settings — even if there is no outward harm or insult intended..In a post entitled Use These Culturally Offensive Phrases at Your Own Risk, ITC specifically calls out ‘Indian Summer’ as a term that promotes negative stereotypes against native people.“The inference can be that all Indians are late and that an Indian summer is a late summer. Many people in response have said, ‘But I use this phrase in the highest respect for a beautiful time of the year’,” it reads. “Remember that it may not be your intention to offend anyone but the phrase has a history and by using this term you may have a negative impact on the people with whom you are trying to work.”
The term ‘Indian Summer’ is technically defined as a period of warm and sunny weather that extends past the first killing frost in late September or early October.Just don’t call it that.Whatever the term, according to Environmental Canada, the prairies all the way out to the West Coast are in for a good one even though weather forecasters in this country are increasingly reluctant to call it one.In its most recent seasonal forecast the government weather agency predicted with 61% probability that Alberta — along with much of British Columbia and Saskatchewan — are in for some bright and summer days all through to the end of October.Ditto for eastern Canada and the Maritimes, although the pattern is classified as ‘changeable’.“The very strong signal for above-normal is further east in the country, but the signal all over Alberta is still pretty significant,” said ECCC warning preparedness meteorologist Natalie Hasell..The consensus is shared by The Weather Network — Canada’s most trusted news source (but not necessarily its most accurate) — which is predicting above seasonal conditions through much of September.“The focus of warm weather (and even hot weather at times) will fall across Western Canada, especially on the western Prairies where conditions will adopt a midsummer feel at times,” it said.That much is agreed on. What’s less unanimous is whether to actually call it ‘Indian Summer’.The term is believed to have originated among European settlers to North America who observed it as a favourable time for native and indigenous hunters during the warm autumn days.However, it has since passed as a technical term to describe fall weather patterns all through Britain, Australia and even in Scandinavian countries. .And indeed, a simple Google search reveals hundreds of examples from no less an authority than the British Met Office and respected mainstream news sources such as The Copenhagen Post.But the term is falling out of favour in North America, where it is being replaced with terms like ‘late summer’ or ‘false summer’.According to Saanich, BC-based Indigenous Corporate Training centre, the term ‘Indian Summer’ is up there with ‘circle the wagons’, ‘Indian giver’, ‘rain dance’, ‘on the warpath’ and even ‘hold down the fort’ as terms with negative connotations against indigenous peoples and ought to be avoided in formal settings — even if there is no outward harm or insult intended..In a post entitled Use These Culturally Offensive Phrases at Your Own Risk, ITC specifically calls out ‘Indian Summer’ as a term that promotes negative stereotypes against native people.“The inference can be that all Indians are late and that an Indian summer is a late summer. Many people in response have said, ‘But I use this phrase in the highest respect for a beautiful time of the year’,” it reads. “Remember that it may not be your intention to offend anyone but the phrase has a history and by using this term you may have a negative impact on the people with whom you are trying to work.”
