Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Americans have watched too dang many Western movies. They just don't get it that there is NATURAL VARIATION even within "native" peoples.
Besides- who's business is it anyway if someone is NDN or not? Why does it matter that we get down to precises how many drops of native blood a person has? Since when is it so "cool" to be NDN? It only seems to be a problem around here, since I do not encounter this in the real world... and I live in Oklahoma where a major portion of the population DOES have native ancestory. It is insulting for anyone to look at the color of someone skin or eyes and tell them that they are not of the culture and heritage they claim to be.
The reason there is variation within "Native Americans" is due to having lots of interracial sex with the Europeans. Racially pure Native Americans do not have phenotypes like Brett Favre, Quentin Tarantino, Kim Basinger, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Kevin Costner, Johnny Cash, Carrie Underwood, Burt Reynolds, Ava Gardner, Billy Bob Thornton, , etc. The reason I brought up those names is because they are all example of Caucasian celebrities who claim to have some Native American in them.
Like I said racially pure Native Americans look nothing like the White man. Racially pure Native Americans look different from Europeans just like Africans look different from Europeans.
At this point I am prepared to point to Tiger Blood and utter the word "troll". I can only speak for myself, obviously, but I do not intend to respond to any more of T.B.'s posts.
The above statement is one of the biggest issues I have with descendents of very little blood quantum enrolling. It's roll card, btw.
What I see is those who have been separated from tribal culture, who have not been raised as NDN, and have little connection to their tribe are the ones who enroll to see what things they can 'get'. To me, that is the European values coming out; those values that were established in the european immigrants' culture as America formed and grew as a nation. The 'what can I get', 'what can I fence', 'what can I own' is takes priority over 'who am I', 'how am I connected to my tribal family', 'how am I connected to place' is the priority of those NDNs who were raised NDN. They need no 'card' to know the who, where, what, when, and how they are connected to their place on this earth.
We NDNs now espouse many of those negative 'me first', 'money first' type philosophy that the Europeans brought to this continent. Those are the values that will break a culture.
It's human nature to form groups and subgroups that one identifies with, and most Native Americans (the ones raised Native) are not NDN because of 'what they can get', but because their very being, and their very existence is and will always be connected to their tribe and their culture.
Immigrants in America (euro immigrants) have spent more than 400 years trying to break that connection. They have failed at completly breaking the culture. They had the misguided belief that we would be better off if we 'assimilated' into Christianity, and the European philosophy of money and ownership first, family next and to hell with everything else. That is the philosophy that separates those who are Indigenous to North America the continent, and those who are descended from the illegal European immigrants who built America the country.
The Indigenous of North America bind together in a way I never see in non-NDNs of America. Don't get me wrong; we fight and bicker amongst ourselves with tribal politics and such, but when the push comes to shove we are NDN. Period. Being NDN is not about how many pills you can get at IHS. That's the concern of the Whites who have their 'card'.
I do not dislike Whites and I don't fault those who reach to make the connection to an ancestry they may or may not have. It's a driving force of human nature to feel a strong bond with a group that goes deeper than national ties. They are ties to this continent, and based on a spiritual element that has been passed through all of the generations of our tribe. That is being NDN.
It's just that I always hear people talking about how they'll give you pretty much anything you ask for. Wouldn't that make the hospital itself more at fault than anybody? I'm a little skeptical about it being only the white people with roll cards that do it.
Oh well, I may or may not be 1/64th or something, It really doesn't make much of a difference to me.
Last edited by ArkansasTgirl; 03-25-2011 at 05:21 PM..
It's just that I always hear people talking about how they'll give you pretty much anything you ask for. Wouldn't that make the hospital itself more at fault than anybody? I'm a little skeptical about it being only the white people with roll cards that do it.
At this point I am prepared to point to Tiger Blood and utter the word "troll". I can only speak for myself, obviously, but I do not intend to respond to any more of T.B.'s posts.
Regards,
-- Nighteyes
You're being charitable. The obsession with what is and isn't "racially pure" reminds me of another creature entirely.
It's just that I always hear people talking about how they'll give you pretty much anything you ask for. Wouldn't that make the hospital itself more at fault than anybody? I'm a little skeptical about it being only the white people with roll cards that do it.
Oh well, I may or may not be 1/64th or something, It really doesn't make much of a difference to me.
You made me smile. Would you please tell my tribe that? I absolutely will not come on here and bad mouth my tribe. That said, you shoud hear us tribal members talk! We can gripe and disagree just as badly as if we were over on the politics and other things thread.
The truth is what tribal members receive from their tribe varies among the tribes. Some tribes have very little financial means, others have more. Most tribes do NOT make 'per cap' payments, either. (where the tribe pays you a set amount of money when you reach 18).
I'm getting too far away from the thread topic, sorry.
My dads grandma was Choctaw and spoke the language according to my mom. From what I can get my dad either didn't know her very well or at all because she "died a long time ago".
Wow, that would be an 1/8th, thats pretty neat. Getting information out of my dad was worse than pulling teeth so there is a lot I don't know about him.
My mom is convinced there is some Cherokee on her side but I'm not 100% convinced.
You made me smile. Would you please tell my tribe that? I absolutely will not come on here and bad mouth my tribe. That said, you shoud hear us tribal members talk! We can gripe and disagree just as badly as if we were over on the politics and other things thread.
The truth is what tribal members receive from their tribe varies among the tribes. Some tribes have very little financial means, others have more. Most tribes do NOT make 'per cap' payments, either. (where the tribe pays you a set amount of money when you reach 18).
I'm getting too far away from the thread topic, sorry.
It's not that everybody is just out to get high, some people are. It's just supposed to just be easier to get what you need than going to a doctor in here in Fort Smith, even if it's just antibiotics or something.
The reason there is variation within "Native Americans" is due to having lots of interracial sex with the Europeans. Racially pure Native Americans do not have phenotypes like Brett Favre, Quentin Tarantino, Kim Basinger, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Kevin Costner, Johnny Cash, Carrie Underwood, Burt Reynolds, Ava Gardner, Billy Bob Thornton, , etc. The reason I brought up those names is because they are all example of Caucasian celebrities who claim to have some Native American in them.
Like I said racially pure Native Americans look nothing like the White man. Racially pure Native Americans look different from Europeans just like Africans look different from Europeans.
Yes. AND NA's look different from EACH OTHER. Example: My 1/2 Choctaw, 1/2 Cherokee student has a milky complexion (think 1/2 strength coffee mixed with milk) compared to a girl I grew up with who is 1/4 Cherokee, 1/4 Comanche, and 1/2 Sioux who's skin color is more of a chocolate brown. And my full-blood Muscogee friend is somewhere in the middle. All 3 are full blood NDN's but look NOTHING alike. You cannot oversimplify this and say all Native American's look alike anymore than you can say all "Asians" or all "Africans" or all "Europeans". There is natural VARIATION among all ethnicities. NDN's are no exception. Choctaws do not look like Cheyenne and Inuits do not look like Seminole.
It's just that I always hear people talking about how they'll give you pretty much anything you ask for. Wouldn't that make the hospital itself more at fault than anybody? I'm a little skeptical about it being only the white people with roll cards that do it.
Oh well, I may or may not be 1/64th or something, It really doesn't make much of a difference to me.
My most recent experiences with the Indian Clinic is that it is MORE difficult to get meds from them than it would be from a private practice doc.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
