Shamanism discussion

Forgive me if I am incorrect, and I certainly would love to be corrected if I am, but while the Native Americans did not use the word 'shaman' to describe their priests or medicine men, their practices are strikingly similar to those of European shaman so much that the Europeans who immigrated to American, while definitely not condoning their behaviour, donned the name to them.

My father who claims to be a shaman, uses the word interchangeably to describe both his practises of European Shamanism and Native American beliefs, despite the fact that these things are different.

Although any self respecting full-blooded Native American would never describe himself as a shaman, but rather a medicine man. But I have heard the term to be applied to legitimate workings from people I know to be legitimate.

So the term is now used as blanket term rather than a description of an exact practise.

Please correct me if I am wrong, because the term has caused me confusion in the past, for a while I even thought the word described people who were Norse paganists as well ( though I now know that this is incorrect )