I'm glad you phrased this in this way! We just contributed to the Southwest Indian Foundation: https://www.southwestindian.com

Everything you said makes sense to me. I have a Black friend my age (I'm white, born in 1957) who has been (just in our lifetime — we met in kindergarten) colored, negro, Afro-American, African American, and Black. When asked what he likes to be called, he smiles gently and says, "Walter is fine."

If someone was putting together a foundation to assist tribes in the North American Southwest, I can see that using "Indian" might be an easy way to avoid misunderstanding with potential contributors?

But you are the Native American writer I just started following. And I look forward to reading more. 😊