Another Native American pure-blood against mixed-blood post...?

there have been a lot of abuses towards native cultures by non natives. you may not be part of the problem personally but i know for myself, being treated like a foreigner in my own lands or being used like an indian encyclopedia gets tiring after a while. when i go to things like a pow wow or a festival, i want to unwind just like everyone else and have fun. i want to see old friends and family and dance and laugh. unfortunately many times someone will come with a story about a native ancestor and immediately want to "pal around" with me.

you know how celebrities get tired of fans and paparazzi? well its something like that. i sometimes get tired of being treated like a museum exhibit....ESPECIALLY happens when i am in regalia. an amazing thing about our regalia.....to non natives, we seem to stop being a person when we wear it and we are invisible when we don't wear it.

my advice to you is to first find proof of your native heritage if it is there. that means birth/death certificates, marriage certificates. then you can talk not about being part native but about who your family is by name. then if you want a connection volunteer with the community in some way. maybe cleaning up after an event, driving elders to the doctor or grocery store, make yourself useful. only then will people feel comfortable enough to perhaps open up to you.

i agree totally with the statement that we are not obliged to tell you anything. after the cheaters and scammers and liars and culture vultures we have been plagued with for hundreds of years....you will simply have to understand that we are not that trusting of those with a claim and nothing to offer. we see a lot of people who come to us saying we should share, but their hands are empty. we don't call that sharing...we call that taking. we have had our fill of that already.

Because in "Indian country," blood quantum have been imposed. Some would argue that it's the federal government's way to exterminate Indians (ie-genocide). For example, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina have a blood quantum requirement of 1/16. So if someone slips up and has a child that is 1/32 Cherokee, then guess what? They can't receive citizenship in that nation, and therefore, they "aren't Cherokee." In older times, Native people did not have to be enrolled citizens. Some tribes, such as the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, for example, do not have a minimum blood requirement. They only mandate that a person be directly descended from one of the ancestors on the rolls.As a result, you have African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Caucasian American people whose common tie is their Cherokee blood. Oh now, listen to me. I sound like a damn historian in this stuff. And all I know is..when I do have kids...and there blood is "depleted" to 1/4 yaqui blood, all hell is going to break lose and it's not going to be pretty. As if it's not bad enough hearing a bunch of Hispanic women go "Aye! You're forgetting your roots. Are Hispanic women not good enough your you anymore?" But the good thing about being Cuban and Dominican is that no one can legitimately tell me that I'm not "enough of {enter either ethnicity here} because I know the culture of my people, I speak Spanish, and I can salsa and merengue DAMN GOOD. LOL If you want to learn more about this subject, I suggest you read Vine Deloria Jr.'s "Custer Died For Your Sins."

I am not sure what the question here is. Blood degree always seems to be more important to non-NDNs than it is to us. You are either a part of an NDN community, or you are not. I am a half-breed, but I am also a tribal member. Lots of white people have black hair and high cheek bones. If the question is Is $200.00 too much to pay for a beaded barrette? I would have to say yes. If the question is, Are you a part of an NDN community, I would have to say no, probably not.

Edit; One thing you could learn from this experience is that skins tend to recognize one another. The people at the pow-wow may have figured you were white, or Latina. You wanting to learn about your heritage does not require someone else to teach you. You must get in where you fit in, if you want to be a part of NDN community. Going to pow-wows is fun, and open to anybody, but; it does not require other skins to recognize you as a long lost relative. Would you expect the Irish to do that if you visited them? I hope you can learn something about yourself, and your people. Tribal identity is important to us, I am Yokuts and Miwok. This identity places me among relatives and ancestors who have been here for 50,000 years. Without tribal identity, you will always be sort of on the outside looking in . Don't be mad at the full-bloods because they are full-bloods. It is all about family and community with us. Blood degree is secondary.

Look, Idc what your heritage is, or what you are trying to say. I think that if you have Native American blood in you, no matter what percentage, and you follow some of your traditions, or live on a reservation, or have complete knowledge and proudness of your heritage than what is to say you are not Native American?

I mean I am about 80% Oglala Sioux. My grandmother was Oglala Sioux 100%. My graandfather was 100% German. My mother was 50/50 and my father was 100% native. I mean I have very distinct history. Just because I have a little german in me (which gives me brown curly hair, weird colored skin, and a far from flat nose) that doesn't make me non native. I grew up on my tribe's transfer reservation. I can easily understand my tribal elders when they speak poems and riddles in lakota. I can fill you in on about every piece of information that I have learnt over the years (which I never would as that is SECRETTTTTTTT). Benefits my @$$. Who cares what you look like. I am a Native American and I am proud to be one!

Hmmmm....Not really seeing a question in here. If its about learning your heritage and traditions, don't type about it, get out and do it cause you won't learn it on a computer. If its about the barrette, yes, way overpriced. There is a myth among Natives, just like all the ones white people have about Natives and if you look white, that myth probably came into play, which is White people are rich, so sometimes they jack up the prices on items because they know white people will still pay for them, thats just how it is.

Yeah i know what you mean bro. Im 50% irish catholic and 25% blackfeet american indian and people don't believe me even though my grand dad is full and is still alive. But if you want to find out what tribes you are from try to do a family tree. Or go on ancestry.com but it doesn't really work for me but maybe it will be different for you. Good luck bro.

If you know all of their first and last names and the year they were born (or a pretty close estimate) and the state/area they lived in, you could look them up on ancestry.com and start that way. I've found quite a bit of family information that way and have been able to fill in a lot of holes left by people trying to hide stuff in my family.

I'm not really sure what the question here is either...

I am half and I have no problem fitting in with Natives. But I don't go around trying to convince people I am this or that because of family legends either. The thing you, and many others, just can't understand is that being Native is more than having an Indian somewhere in your family tree. It is a way of life. It is who you are. Personally, I don't really care who or what you think your great-great grandparents were. It doesn't make you Native. You are not "tainted". You are white. You were raised white, you act white, and you live white. Going around and telling everyone otherwise isn't going to convince anyone of anything.

As for the barrette, Indian Summer is pretty darn big, so if you didn't want to pay the $200, you shouldn't have. There were plenty of other vendors to have bought from. Additionally, because of the size and location, stand prices are higher so most vendors mark up the price on their products, whether it be food or crafts.

The same goes for attending powwows. If you don't fit in, stay home. You showed your true colors with the statement "If it's like that then why have these fests inviting all - why not just have them on the reservation and leave it at that?" Basically, if we'reee not going to welcome you with open arms like you are the long lost relative you think you are, we should stay on the reservation. Nice. But let me guess- you're not a bigot because you are part Native, right?

FYI: Buying into stereotypes does nothing but show your whiteness. Not all Natives resemble Cher, who BTW is not Native either. Had you looked around at the people at Indian Summer, rather than looking for something to complain about, you would have noticed we don't all have "high cheek bones and long black hair".

Considering the attitude that was portrayed in this rant, it's no wonder you think everyone is so unfriendly. Maybe you should stay in Chicago where all the non-Natives are impressed by your great-great grandparent stories instead of complaining how real Natives aren't impressed in the slightest.

Edit: Sorry for the confusion. You sound like you're from Chicago- that typical "me, me, me" city attitude. But you're right, I shouldn't have assumed your location. There are people like you everywhere.

"You don't know me or how I grew up or how I act..." It's pretty apparent you did not grow up Native. If you had, you would understand what it means to be Native and there would have been no reason to post this rant. If you were Native, you wouldn't need to have all of these things explained to you via internet. You would know your family- you would know what it means to be Native. You would know that high cheekbones and long hair does not=Indian. And you'd be upset to if someone said you should stay on the reservation if they don't like you. It's also pretty clear that you don't act Native, otherwise you wouldn't be complaining about not fitting in.

I'm sorry if the truth hurts, but our culture is based on family. You can't just show up somewhere and claim to be family and expect everyone to believe you. Beyond that, you can't just show up somewhere and expect people to show you who they are and teach you how to be part of their culture because you have a family legend.

If you thought you were part of any other race, we would not even be having this discussion because, for whatever reason, people seem to think that Native American culture is theirs for the taking and then get all bent out of shape when someone tells them it's not.

Edit @ your details: Do your family tree. Family is family. There's no such thing as a second cousin or a great aunt twice removed (idk what that means, but I'vee heard people say it) when it comes to Natives. If you know who you descend from, find out who thier family is and go from there. Ask them about your grandparents, about your ancestors, but don't show up with an attitude of "what can I gain". Treat them as you would treat family you were raised with. Also, if you know what tribe your grandmother was from, her tribe might be able to offer some assistance with the tree.

Sorry for my rudeness, but you're question didn't come off as "how do I find my family or learn about my heritage?" It really rubbed me wrong. Maybe you are for real, but MANY people have stories about descending from a Native and think that somehow makes them Native, which it doesn't. People constantly try to "own" our culture, or think they know more about it than we know ourselves. Sorry if I mistook you for such.

I don't know, but the Hispanic racists that come on here with their self-hating racism, are the strangest breed of racists of all. I don't really understand it. They're fighting invisible demons.

I don't know why Native Americans fight over who's "pure" or who's "mixed-blood." They are being ridiculous. This reminds me of how racist whites want their offspring to be "pure" white.