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Why is it the only people who get told to "embrace their Native American culture" and go with it and all that stuff, are the ones who would otherwise pass for White and live normal mainstream lives in society?!
If we have brown skin already we are told nothing of the kind, in fact tend to get told we are NOT Indians, and to "embrace" whatever other "culture" people think we are, and seem to want us to be.
White people with, like, one Indian ancestor, are told to embrace their Native culture. All other shades of brown are told to embrace all these other cultures that are non-Native. Told to be everything BUT Native. Treated like everything under the sun BUT Native. No matter how many of our parents, read PARENTS not grandparents, were Native.
It's a double standard! And the worst part is, those who perpetuate it don't even realise it, and fall all over themselves denying that there's anything wrong with this particular double standard!
Native is "good" if your other ethnicity would be White. Native is not good if you could be classified as ANYTHING ELSE. In fact if you could be classified as ANYTHING ELSE but White, then you are NOT Native and instead, are and are treated like, that other race (usually Black or Hispanic...but I've met Micmacs who told me they got classified and treated like Italians. Still, that is NOT what they ARE!!!)
Damn double standards!!
Just something for those who perpetuate it, to think about!!
Why is it the only people who get told to "embrace their Native American culture" and go with it and all that stuff, are the ones who would otherwise pass for White and live normal mainstream lives in society?!
If we have brown skin already we are told nothing of the kind, in fact tend to get told we are NOT Indians, and to "embrace" whatever other "culture" people think we are, and seem to want us to be.
White people with, like, one Indian ancestor, are told to embrace their Native culture. All other shades of brown are told to embrace all these other cultures that are non-Native. Told to be everything BUT Native. Treated like everything under the sun BUT Native. No matter how many of our parents, read PARENTS not grandparents, were Native.
It's a double standard! And the worst part is, those who perpetuate it don't even realise it, and fall all over themselves denying that there's anything wrong with this particular double standard!
Native is "good" if your other ethnicity would be White. Native is not good if you could be classified as ANYTHING ELSE. In fact if you could be classified as ANYTHING ELSE but White, then you are NOT Native and instead, are and are treated like, that other race (usually Black or Hispanic...but I've met Micmacs who told me they got classified and treated like Italians. Still, that is NOT what they ARE!!!)
Damn double standards!!
Just something for those who perpetuate it, to think about!!
I dont understand? What is a micmac? Are Italians treated worse than blacks and hispanics? It sounds to me like your saying that you want everyone to know "I am an Indian damn'it and proud of it, so treat me like one"! Is that accurate? If so how do you want people to treat you differently than they are now?
There is currently a big issue in the Cherokee nation regarding the Freedmen. Basically 3000 Freedmen were kicked out of the tribe because it's believed that they don't have Cherokee blood (even though many are on the Dawes Roll). You will find some interesting commentary at these websites:
Wampum: Chad Smith's October Surprise... (http://wampum.wabanaki.net/vault/2007/06/003767.html - broken link)
The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers. - Henry VI Part 2
The first thing we do, let's abolish the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Next thing is to establish Native American homeland areas as completely sovereign save for the areas of national defense and foreign relations (except for intertribal affairs). A special liason office for managing relations with each tribe should be established within the Department of State and another within the Department of Homeland Security.
Then we dump the rolls and the subsidies and everything else. A period of time shall be given for tribal councils to decide who qualifies for their tribe and who does not and, after that time, those who are eligible for tribal citizenship may make a choice as to which citizenship they wish to have. Their minor children will be given grace to choose at the age of their majority. Special consideration will be given to Native American citizens for educating their children in the United States and should be accorded in-state tuition fees for state-sponsored colleges and universities for a period of 125 years.
After that, the choices of how to live and what to do is completely up to the tribes themselves. They can make themselves free trade zones, offshore banking havens, or whatever else they please. How the tribes manage their lives , their economies, their laws, and their culture are completely up to the tribes themselves. They can either succeed or fail on their own.
The richest country in North America isn't a country at all. It's tiny Bermuda, a British dependency. Bermuda has nice weather but they were smart and built-up one of the world's biggest banking and insurance domiciles in the world. Tourism isn't even their biggest business. Business is their business and they started out as a bunch of shipwrecked onion farmers. If they can do it, then the tribes can do it too, whether as a cartel or not. If they wish to form their own federation, great. If they wish to stay seperate, that's great too. The point is, they will have self-determination. Without self-determination, no peoples can succeed.
Well, I can empathize, choctaw. My father is 1/4 choctaw, but had blonde hair and grey eyes, was of course brought up "white", and so were we. He never really mentioned anything about his heritage or passing that part of it onto us. He would tell funny stories however about his mother and grandmother, etc. I guess all of our people are in Ada and Apache, OK and suppose I could get my CIB if I wanted to.
I have worked extensively with IHS and on reservations in NM and AZ, OK and MT, etc. because I felt an affinity that way with Native Americans. I guess the answer or advice is to be proud of your heritage, no matter how little or how much of this or that you are. I am proud of my English/Irish heritage too. Hopefully, your family of origin helped to instill that pride to you as well. One thing I loved about working with the Navajo tribe in AZ is their pride in their culture and their spirituality. They have alot of social problems, but that stood out for me and enjoyed living and working with them for the most part. I learned so much that is good from their wonderful culture.
Not sure why you say Native is not good?
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