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From: tindall@mercury.interpath.net (Bruce Tindall)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban,alt.education.english
Subject: Re: Semantics of "Indian Summer"?
Date: 18 Sep 1994 04:45:36 -0400

According to the Oxford English Dictionary: "The name is generally attributed to the fact that the region in which the meteorological conditions in question were originally noticed were still occupied by the Indians; but other more specific explanations have been essayed [see below]. In its origin it appears to have had nothing to do with the glowing autumnal tints of the foliage, with which it is sometimes associated." (I interpret this last sentence to mean that the term is probably not derived from the association of red autumn leaves with so-called "redskins.")

The OED's first citation is from 1778. The term also appears in an English translation of a French book in 1804 in which the original was "l'ete sauvage." Other etymologies quoted but not given a nihil obstat by the OED are: (1) "...a name which is derived from the natives, who believe that it is caused by a wind, which comes immediately from the court of their great and benevolent God Cautantowwit, or the south-western God", from an 1812 reference, and (2) "...because it afforded the Indians with another opportunity of visiting the settlements with their destructive warfare," from an 1817 reference. (As opposed to "constructive warfare"?)

So whether or not it's offensive would seem to depend on which etymology you believe to be correct. Unfortunately, I don't have a good rule of thumb with which to guide you here.