Are you a reeeeeeal "part" Injun? Interesting read

[kaskiyeh (deleted)]

What do you think of when you hear the word? If you are a member of any other tribal nation you may laugh upon hearing the word. It may make you think of blonde-haired, blue-eyed wannabe Indians wearing turkey feathers at powwows. It may make you think of people asking you "Are you Indian?" and when you answer yes they reply that their great-great-great-grandma was a real "Cherokee princess."

I myself don't think I have ever met someone who was black, white, or other, that didn't claim to have some distant Cherokee ancestor. Growing up in the South, I would hear from the black folks the "I'm part Indian, that's why I got 'good hair'" legend. And of course the white people would boast about having high cheek bones and being tall due to their "Cherokee princess" ancestor.

It's a trip to me that the Cherokee people can be so "loved" and claimed and yet so hated at the same time by other Indians. We are hated on frequently. Many of the tribes out west say that the Cherokees are "fake Indians" or "paper Indians" because they have been mixing with the whites since the 1500s and have so many mixed-bloods in the tribe. Of course on the other side of things you have the non-Indians who regard the Cherokees as "magical" or "spiritual" and wise like a freakin' leprechaun or something.

Here is where I stand on the subject basically: If you are going to claim Cherokee ancestry at least try to learn the cultural heritage of the people. Don't go out and buy a dreamcatcher and a turkey feather warbonnet and go on websites and message boards saying "Mitakuye Oyasin" to everybody (which is Lakota, not Cherokee) and acting like some wise "medicine man" or how you think a "real Injun" would act. You look foolish.

Don't put on some Boy Scout-made "regalia" and go to a powwow making up your own "dance style" and looking like an idiot. If you want to learn, then learn things the right way. If I had a dime for every time someone told me they were "part" Indian I would be living in a mansion right now.

Like I said before, and many people have preached this until they are blue in the face too, Indians don't come in "parts." You are either an Indian or you are not. If you tell me you are "part" Indian I want to know some things. Are you enrolled with the tribe? (It don't matter to me because I am not either.) Where are your Indian ancestors from? What is your blood quantum? You know the language? The history and culture? The stories? If not, then we really don't have much to talk about on the subject of "Indianness," do we?

Written by Mike a.k.a. Pensmoke, a Christian hip hop artist and mixed-blood Tsalagi (Cherokee):
Cherokee.

[rblyl (deleted)]

`I like this...especially the last paragraph..

[trubblemaka (deleted)]

`omg

[rblyl (deleted)]

`i really like what he says about "Indians dont come in "parts", you either are Indian or you are not.."

Personally, I had never thought of it exactly that way cause I have heard SO MUCH of I am 1/36..16..4...1/2..FBI' so much of the time it is just an automatic to associate "Nativeness" in terms of how big the 'part', I guess.

[kaskiyeh (deleted)]

`PARTS!!! Is that like some parts are bigger than others??? I am so confused!! Must be the heat...
I am part of the Bigg Trub Tribe!!(he just hasn't said which part!)

[rblyl (deleted)]

`LOL!!!!!!

[trubblemaka (deleted)]

`oh jeez....choose your part its a free society....

[kaskiyeh (deleted)]

`Too much to decide, to hot and humid here to think..

[trubblemaka (deleted)]

`ur not drinking for me?

[tsalagi2]

`I agree....I have one question when we part breeds approach trying to learn history and culture we oftimes are met with such disdain....forgive me I did not tell anyone where they should be putting private parts and creating us mixed folk some seem to dislike so much....I would like to get t know that side of my heritage better but I don't enjoy being treated like s*@t in the process.

[johnmarlon (deleted)]

I've seen people use the word "Mitakuye Oyasin." It kind of confused me when they used it because they affiliated themselves from other tribes, and didn't seem to live near the Dakotas. I just figured "perhaps it's the spelling looks the same.."

I am very familiar with the word, as it's a language of a culture I was raised around. Despite knowing the parallel word in Ojibwemowin, the word: mi-dah-kee-aah-say comes first, as how I say it.

I kind of feel saddened when I see someone who appears to be native, call themselves part indian. What that tells me, is that they obviously didn't grow up with some of those native values. An important one I believe is the pride and honor in/of your ancestors, and that usually entails the representation of your tribal relation above all else. One can see that being surrounded by a native family and exposure to culture, can bring that pride out in a lot in people.

I don't really think anything of those that don't appear native, when they call themselves part indian. I know nothing of their lives so I try not to pass judgment on them (perhaps they grew up being seen as both and have heavy traditions.)

I guess I can feel a bit wierded out if they use the tribal name, rather then indian, but only if I pick up on them being heavily non-native in their traits/personality.

From the vast number of cherokee claims, I sometimes wonder if mostly all cherokee did actually willingly assimilate due to a belief in the creator bringing people over like the stars in the sky.

[lilmissmorbid]

This is the point I was trying to make in the other post yonks ago that people say i'm half this....a quarter that. You are what you are and if you have heritage then it's up to you to look into it and research it.

I don't claim...well I'm part english, part french, part irish, part american (though it's thought there is native in there somwhere now though i'm not fussed cus at the end of the day i'm just me). There could be 1000 more parts in there also....LOL ....ARMS....LEGS...EXTRA HEADS......ANOTHER BRAIN (well actually there was but i'm a happy freak who just happened to find a twin back in 2005 was locked up inside me too but that's another story)!!

At the end of the day you are just you and if you say I want to be irish then I should learn all there is to be irish but to say i'm irish without any backup is just like spreading a lie. Like for example a lot of americans claiming to be Irish but if you ask them an irish question...they have no clue and just living off the fact they have an irish surname...

See I have the surname....Kilcoyne.....I also have the surnames of Coyne running in both sides of the family as well as Dalton & McNally and so much more. My greatgrand father was irish....I have great great uncles that were a irish mob that ransacked several states in the USA...called the Dalton Gang. Five brothers and they had a bounty on their heads, 4 were killed and the last one came back to ireland, became a playwrite and also made irish films. I used to be able to speak Irish Gaelic too.....

So you see as the point was made earlier you can only really call yourself something if you know the ins and out, the history and everything else to boot.

ps....I do know about the irish stuff too...along with french but the rest well it doesn't matter...I'm just me

[kaskiyeh (deleted)]

`well all I have to say about all this is I am part of the Human Race keeps me out of trouble..Good seeing you again lilmissmorbid you stay away too long!

[tsalagi2]

`As I sit here and read the posts I think after half a century of livin knowing as a child that my heritage was partiallty Native american and knowing the only person who would have been willing to teach me and expose me to that culture passed on when I was nine. My Father threw himself into chosing the other side and spent his time trying to force me to do the same. I said from the time I was fourteen this it what I wish to know and the culture I wish to learn, I was sent to African studies classes. On his deathbed Dad wished me luck in finding our Native family members. I have been searching for a very long time and surprised at times by the reaction from the community. I expect prejudice from the majority society. I have lived with it all my life. I did not expect it on this end. I read a prophecy regarding the four races of man and it spoke of all coming back together to share what we have learned......When I look at how we treat one another how can we possibly hope to achieve that?

[kaskiyeh (deleted)]

`Prejudice is everywhere, we learn early to dislike people different then we are.black people are not the only people that had to deal with prejudice, because of the color of their skin, or their nationality.The Jews,Italians, Irish,Chinese, just to name of few.
As far as Prophecy regarding the four race coming together, maybe not going to happen in my life time.

I guess Sly had it right way back when he wrote this song!!!
..
Sometimes I'm right and I can be wrong
My own beliefs are in my song
The butcher, the banker, the drummer and then
Makes no difference what group I'm in
I am everyday people, yeah yeah
There is a blue one who can't accept the green one
For living with a fat one trying to be a skinny one
And different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo-bee
Oh sha sha - we got to live together
I am no better and neither are you
We are the same whatever we do
You love me you hate me you know me and then
You can't figure out the bag l'm in
I am everyday people, yeah yeah
There is a long hair that doesn't like the short hair
For bein' such a rich one that will not help the poor one
And different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo-bee
Oh sha sha-we got to live together
There is a yellow one that won't accept the black one
That won't accept the red one that won't accept the white one
And different strokes for different folks