By Zachary Gorchow
Executive Editor and Publisher
Posted: November 1, 2017 5:17 PM
It is one of the great debates of our time, what to call those of us who live in this peculiarly shaped state of two peninsulas, Michigan.
Michigander vs. Michiganian.
Actually it’s not much of a debate at all in the sense that there are only a few stubborn pockets of resistance clinging to Michiganian, most prominently The Detroit News. But those Michiganders who call themselves Michiganians for some reason are fierce in their misguided convictions.
I’ve obviously already revealed my opinion on the topic. I hate, hate, hate the term Michiganian. When The Detroit News awards its “Michiganian of the Year” award, I half want to ask the winner if they plan to take the award somewhere to have the “ian” erased, buffed, whatever and replaced with “der.”
Michigander has the support of the majority of the state’s residents, based on public opinion polls. Governor Rick Snyder uses it. Virtually every news publication, including this one, uses Michigander. President Abraham Lincoln popularized the term as an insult to then-U.S. Sen. Lewis Cass, but it no longer is seen as pejorative (editor's note: this story corrected to indicate Mr. Lincoln popularized the term; it existed before his use of it). Most of Michigan’s current elected officials use it, though I do see Attorney General Bill Schuette using Michiganian.
The few defenders of “Michiganian” – and they are a sad lot – note that some recent governors used Michiganian. And they emphasize the negative origin of “Michigander.”
But those defenders of Michiganian, ill-advised as they are, do have one major argument in their favor: the Michigan Compiled Laws.
Yes, the official statutes of Michigan have many references to “Michiganians” and exactly zero references to “Michiganders.”
That may finally be about to change. A relatively obscure bill, SB 562 , received final approval in the Legislature today and will soon go to Mr. Snyder for his signature.
It amends the Michigan Historical Markers Act. It would allow the Department of Natural Resources to enter into an agreement to help administer the historical marker program with various goals.
Under current law, one of those goals is to “encourage the public to preserve historic resources indicative of Michigan history and to develop a sense of identity as Michiganians.”
Under the bill, the goal would change to “encourage the public to preserve historic resources and to develop a sense of identity as Michiganders.”
As far as I can discern, this would be the first toehold Michigander has gained in the Michigan Compiled Laws.
There are many more references of “Michiganian” that would have to be replaced in Michigan statutes before the cringe-inducing term can finally be consigned to the ashbin of history. Even if that improbably happened, the defenders of “Michiganian” still have one bulwark – the News. Unless and until my friends at the newspaper decide to amend their style, the Michiganders who call themselves Michiganians will always at least have that in their favor.