<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Look up Indian giving in Wiktionary, the free dictionary . </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Look up Indian giving in Wiktionary, the free dictionary . </Td> </Tr> <P> "Indian giver" is an American pejorative expression, used to describe a person who gives a "gift" and later wants it back, or who expects something of equivalent worth in return for the item . It is based on cultural misunderstandings that took place between early European explorers (like Lewis and Clark) and the Indigenous people with whom they traded . Often the Europeans would view an exchange of items as gifting, believing they owed nothing in return to the Natives who were generous with them, while the Indigenous people saw the exchange as a form of trade or equal exchange, so had differing expectations of their guests . </P> <P> The phrase is still in colloquial use to describe a negative act or shady business dealings, but the racial implications are seen as not only inaccurate but offensive, especially by Native Americans . </P>

What is the definition of an indian giver