Native/American Indian Neighbourhoods in NYC? (New York, Ramapo: fit in, crime, house)

[choctawmicmac]

All I see everywhere is comments on which are the Latino areas, which are the Black areas, which are the Italian areas, the Irish areas, etc. Which ones if more than one, are the Native American areas -- or are we just lumped in with the Latinos?! If I even go there I don't want to go into the wrong areas and, say, get attacked by Blacks because even though we are both Native American, my Cree boyfriend "looks White" and people think it's "interracial" and all that garbage.

I'd like to be able to say that NYC was better than that, but it won't be if the same thing keeps happening everywhere we go (except San Francisco) !!

[arel]

I am not aware of any Native American neighborhoods, but I could be wrong.

You might want to check out the American Indian Community House. Or even speak to staff at the Museum of the American Indian.

Good luck.

[INeedAChange]

There is actually "Ramapo Reservation" in northern New Jersey, but I don't know if any NA's actually still live in that area.

[arel]

And there is the Seneca reservation on Long Island. And the reservation in Connecticut that owns Foxwoods.

[arizonawolf7]

Originally Posted by INeedAChange

There is actually "Ramapo Reservation" in northern New Jersey, but I don't know if any NA's actually still live in that area.

I live in the city, I have friends that live on Ramapo, I am Cherokee are there any other Indians on this site?

[SilkCity0416]

Originally Posted by choctawmicmac

If I even go there I don't want to go into the wrong areas and, say, get attacked by Blacks because even though we are both Native American, my Cree boyfriend "looks White" and people think it's "interracial" and all that garbage.

That is the most racist **** I've ever read. And garbage is what your comment really is. Anyways, try Queens. Queens has everybody.

[mead]

Ummm by the Ramapo Reservation in Northern NJ I suspect you are referring to the Ramapough Mountain Indians otherwise known to the locals as the "Jackson Whites" or more simply "mineys" (if you ever meet one don't call them these names though, as they find them to be very offensive). They are kind of a crazy bunch, I don't think this is what the OP is looking for at all. Most of them live up in these mountain villages (almost akin to hideouts) along the NJ/NY border in Mahwah & Ringwood.

Even though they wouldn't care to admit it, the Jackson Whites are more plain old mullato than they are Native American, but they have a VERY strong attachment to whatever Native American ancestry they have. Originally the Jackson whites were the freed slaves of the original Dutch people who colonized Northern NJ/Rockalnd County NY. As the years progressed during the 18th/19th centuries they intermarried often with the local white hillbillies as well as the native americans who inhabitied the area way back when. Their legal rights were curtailed more and more throughout the years as a result of racism which resulted in the current situation where they all live in these little enclaves set apart from the rest of the people living in the area. They also have a very strange take on the world as they are very suspicious and hostile to non-Ramapough indians.

The other thing that sets the Jackson Whites apart from most regular Native Americans is that they have a serious problem with imbreeding, which has resulted in all 3,000 of their members only having about half a dozen surnames (Van Dunk, DeGreese, DeFrie, Mulligan etc).

Don't go looking to wander around on their property either if you aren't one of them. They are known to be heavily armed and get into somewhat frequent encounters with the local law enforcement officers in these towns where they live (one of them was shot and killed by a park ranger during his own birthday party, I think it was a year or two ago).

Originally Posted by INeedAChange

There is actually "Ramapo Reservation" in northern New Jersey, but I don't know if any NA's actually still live in that area.

[Jason_Els]

The Jackson Whites aren't necessarily all that. A few families from that area live here in Warwick (DeGroats and VanDunks). They are striking people with very dark hair but light brown skin and frequently piercing blue eyes.

I would agree with you on not trespassing. Not even the government goes up that way. They are, however, a fascinating holdover from a time long since passed and all the more remarkable for their proximity to the city, whose skyline they can see very clearly from their mountain aerie.

[NooYowkur81]

Originally Posted by choctawmicmac

All I see everywhere is comments on which are the Latino areas, which are the Black areas, which are the Italian areas, the Irish areas, etc. Which ones if more than one, are the Native American areas -- or are we just lumped in with the Latinos?! If I even go there I don't want to go into the wrong areas and, say, get attacked by Blacks because even though we are both Native American, my Cree boyfriend "looks White" and people think it's "interracial" and all that garbage.

I'd like to be able to say that NYC was better than that, but it won't be if the same thing keeps happening everywhere we go (except San Francisco) !!

Your comment about being attacked by Blacks came off a bit ignorant. Also what would be so bad about being "lumped," with Latinos?

Anyway...

NYC doesn't really have any sizable Native American population. So there are no "Native American areas," I've lived here all my life (I'm 25). I think I can count on one hand the Native American people I've met here.

I think most people in NYC probably wouldn't be able to tell you and your boyfriend are Native American from the description you gave. They would probably think your boyfriend is White, and they would probably assume you are mixed or Latin, or they would assume both of you are Latino. This would happen because people just aren't used to seeing Native Americans around here.

People in NYC really don't care about interracial dating for the most part. You get the occasional odd stare here and there, but nothing escalates past that, so if you and your boyfriend look like an interracial couple you shouldn't worry.

As someone who has a mixed background and looks like I could be an assortment of ethnicities, I'm used to the occasional odd stare or people asking about my background. Sometimes I'll walk into a place and I can feel a person's eyes on me as they try to figure out my background by looking at me. As annoying as it gets here sometimes, it has actually been much worse in other parts of the country.

[arizonawolf7]

Many of the ramapough people are Indians, there are no Senecca Reservation on Long Island. They are Shinnecocks, Unkechunks, Montouks, Setalcotts or Setauketts, few Carnarsies, Mintenecocks, etc. Comments about going into bad neighborhoods I find to be a bit of racist, there is much crime in good neighborhoods, many Indians in New York have Black blood and embrace their heritage, American Indian Community House deals a lot with Drug, Alcoholism, Gay Indian issues. This is all fine and good however there are a few of us that do not fit in these categories. Also some non-native
people think the Indians in New York are not real only on Reservations out west.