In spring 2021 Steven Folsom approached Laura Daniels with a question: how might we address the fact that our catalog records use the subject “Iroquois Indians” when the people described by that term call themselves Haudenosaunee? This question, and the ensuing discussion about the issues of accurate representation as well as retrieval, led to an investigation that has resulted in at least one subject heading change proposal to the Library of Congress, a deepened appreciation for the complexity and the importance of direct communication around terminology in controlled vocabularies, and ongoing questions around what is and what should be considered an authoritative source. This case study outlines the process through which the authors sought guidance and received feedback from members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and Indigenous scholars. Provided is an account of challenges encountered (both with communication and with accurate representation of words and names), decisions made, and unresolved questions and concerns related to the representation of the Haudenosaunee and Indigenous people more broadly in controlled vocabularies such as Library of Congress Subject Headings.