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[WARNING! Reading this may cause headaches, dizziness and other symptoms! If this happens, take two aspirin and lie down for 20 minutes. ]
An excellent description of a universal problem! Unless we're very, very careful, all of us are likely to suffer from something called ethnocentrism:
Ethnocentrism is the tendency to believe that one's ethnic or cultural (or religious, or regional, or... -- Nighteyes) group is centrally important, and that all other groups are measured in relation to one's own. The ethnocentric individual will judge other groups relative to his or her own particular ethnic group or culture, especially with concern to language, behavior, customs, and religion. These ethnic distinctions and sub-divisions serve to define each ethnicity's unique cultural identity. Ethnocentrism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It is child's play to see that it is simply not possible for every culture to be right. It takes some effort, however, to recognize the very real possibility that every culture could be wrong!
All humans form ethnocentric assessments of other ethnic/cultural groups with which they interact. These assessments become the basis of our collective perceptions of those cultures. Other ethnic/cultural groups, with which we have little or no contact, do not fall victim to similar ethnocentric comparisons. Therefore they can easily be viewed through what some would call "The Halo Effect."
This goes a long way toward explaining why, in certain areas, Blacks are viewed as "better" than Mexicans, while in other areas the reverse may be true. You can, of course, fill in the names of any ethnic groups you choose.
Another phrase for consideration, if you're up to it, is cultural stereotypes. [Just take three Motrin and lie down for 45 minutes...)
Alot of Americans have native american ancestry. Just because a person has blonde hair and blue eyes that does not mean much. Even a person that is a 1/4 Native American can have blue eyes. Its more common then you think.
I want to point out how accurate the above statement is. I can testify to this having lived in Southwest among many Navajo, Hopi, Apache and Havasupai. I personally know a woman who is half-blood Navajo and husband was white...her son is pale as can be, blond and blue eyed. I also know a full-blood Hopi girl whose boyfriend was white...their daughter is white with light sandy brown hair.
i have proof of my cherokee ancestry (if you can't tell just by looking at me), but many people are always claiming it without being able to back it up
Having NDN blood is irrelevant from a cultural perspective if a person knows nothing of their people other than that which can be gleaned from a book. If you didn't grow up in it, if you have no family or friends that live it, if there is no one in the tribe that claims you, you aren't one of them. The nations decide who is one of them, not the individual. That's just the way it is.
People often confuse ancestry with tribal citizenship and/or enrollment. There is nothing wrong with people celebrating or honoring their ancestors. But, they cannot claim to be one of the tribe if the tribe itself has not declared it to be so.
No one said people couldn't be proud of their heritage, couldn't be proud that they have a native ancestor, but the simple fact is: they are not members of a Tribal Nation unless the Nation itself says they are. So while they may have the heritage handed down like someone from another country it is up to the Tribal Nation in question to determine if they are or are not tribal citizens and by extension whether they are NDN Tribe X. It is the sovereign right of the Tribal Nation to make that determination and not anyone who just wishes they were Indian in their heart or may or may not have had a native ancestor. For example, a person who is descended from Italian ancestors but isn't an Italian citizen can claim their heritage, claim their ancestry but they can not claim Italian citizenship or Italian identity if the Italian nation doesn't acknowledge them.
Last edited by Fullback32; 09-22-2010 at 11:00 AM..
I am halfblood Choctaw by blood quantum, and more than that by upbringing. My Choctaw ancestors (on both sides of the family, btw) were those who remained behind in Mississippi during the Removal. For clarity's sake I characterize myself as "Mississippi Choctaw" because there are some cultural and social differences between the Mississippi and the Oklahoma Choctaws. Neither is better or worse; they're just different.
However, I am always careful not to state or imply that I belong to the Mississippi Band of Choctaw. I do not, and I never will, because I cannot meet the documentation and other requirements of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw. I talked of this in another thread.
Now that I live in California, I have become loosely associated with the Okla Chahta ("Choctaw People") Clan of California. They know I'm not a card-carrier, and in general they don't seem to care.
I would just like to add, with all respect, while it is certainly possible to have descendants with light eyes and hair, when you're speaking of native heritages it's statiscally and genetically not as common. Basic genetics explains most of this, brown/black hair and brown/black eyes are dominant traits.
I would just like to add, with all respect, while it is certainly possible to have descendants with light eyes and hair, when you're speaking of native heritages it's statiscally and genetically not as common. Basic genetics explains most of this, brown/black hair and brown/black eyes are dominant traits.
It all depends on how far back in the hereditary chain the "pure" blood is. In my case its a full three generations back, and it comes from both sides of the family (8 of my 16 great-great-grandparents). Due to the mysteries and tricks of genetics, I look more German than Choctaw while my sister looks pure Choctaw. This is me:
I personally know of other halfblood Choctaw with red hair, blue eyes and fair skin.
Hehe! I am quite proud of how long my post has become! Quite some good dialog.
Anyhow, I was revisiting the thread because, once again, I have met someone who claims "I'm half Irish and half Cherokee". Keep in mind, this girl looks like she is straight from Sweden. We are now friends on Facebook and I came across a picture of her parents. Lets just say that neither of them have any noticeable traces of Native American in their ancestry.
This man is only 34% Native American. If you and all your relatives are rosie white, I highly doubt you have any trace of native american blood in your veins, let alone 50%. Where do these myths come from?
If you and all your relatives are rosie white, I highly doubt you have any trace of native american blood in your veins, let alone 50%. Where do these myths come from?
Well if it's a few generations back or more it's unlikely you'll have much in the way of Indian physical traits or any others inherited from a small subset of your ancestry.
When I was growing up, amongst my black friends, everyone was always trying to say, "I got Indian in me." I always laughed because they thought just because they had high cheek bones. Yes, there are good bit Black Americans who have Native ancestry in different areas, but I think people should only be claiming it when they know that to be true (have actually met their relative or have researched).
Last edited by SoEdible; 10-12-2010 at 06:38 PM..
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