My son's identity

[lilmamaalone (deleted)]

My sons father is half Mik'Maq indian, I am caucasian. His father is not in his life right now. I was told that my son doesn't need to know about native culture because he isn't full blooded. I would like him to be proud and have knowledge of all parts of him. What are peoples veiws on my situation, and how can I properly educate my son on this part of himself. He is about 9 months old but I am thinking about his futur growth. Thank-You very much.

[tombs (deleted)]

`We all must spend time on each leg of the Medicine Wheel. I honor the four sacred directions which also represent the colors of the different peoples of the world... red, yellow, black and white. They are all my brothers/sisters and we are all interconnected through Mother Earth and Father Sky.

Don't get too caught up in native american versus caucasion in my humble opinion. Teach him to respect all people and all cultures and let him find his own spiritual path. You can never go wrong with the truth.

Again, just my opinion.

I wish I had known earlier about my Cherokee heritage. I wish I had known that Red Tailed Hawk was there waiting for me =) .

[marlon6 (deleted)]

`The concept of full blooded or percent blood is embraced by far too many of native decent. Blood quantum laws are a huge problem in the native world. There are people with nothing but native ancestry who are only legally recognized as half or less, and there are those with half or more who don't look it at all.

Easy to understand. A full blood Ojibwe Marries a Full blood Lakota. Is the baby full blood? No, the baby is half....because each rez only recognizes it's own, and there are many reservations of the same tribe in lots of tribes. Meaning one Ojibwe rez won't recognize the others blood in some cases, especially across state lines.

I've had a college language teacher whos grandson has a white mother and dark native father. His grandson looks pure white, and yet this kid is being taught culture and language more than 95% of native kids in the reservations here. I'd like to see someone against mixed natives tell this kid who he is and where he comes from.

It's all about ones background and how they are brought up to feel about who they are. Some people embrace it later in life and try their best to understand and learn. I do think it's going to be harder for a kid to embrace without that family tie to feeling a part of the native community. Whether it's family in the indian way or real blood family. Not all native families are traditional or hold many values though, and it's understandable that so many aren't.

[terminal1 (deleted)]

Each person not only deserves to understand their own culture and heritage but should learn to respect it. If of mixed blood then learn about the cultural mix that makes you unique. You own it not only you yourselves but to your ancestors and to your decedents. We are what we are so learn to embrace it make it your own. Life is not random we carry the history of mankind within each of us we are all part of life not just passing through.
Blood is important as it carries with it the genes of those who came before. However we owe it to our ancestors and to our decedents to become the best we can. We must learn to carry on the traditions of the past while learning to thrive in our world today. Full blooded VS mixed blood only separates us from ourselves. We all share a common past so embrace it but don’t live it.
Blood should may offer entitlements, however it’s the way you live the honor you bring to your family that matters most. I could care less for a full blooded man who drinks away his life while his children suffer. The same I feel about mixed blood. My point is, get off the blood rights band wagon and work to raise your children with pride. Make a new history while honoring the past. Let it be your story that the people in the future while speak of.

[deejor]

`I am of blackfoot and afro american heritages,, in my house there are pictures of family not of indians and black people..my family.. don't get caught up in being native and/or white.. peel the skin back and who is who?
My daughter is blackfoot, ute, afro american.. and she sees herself as a 6 year old in the first grade.. thats all.. and thats enuff.. she is going to be a jingle dancer next year learning from her godmother and friends.. but at the end of the day, she is just a six year old in the first grade...

[eveningstars]

`I had been told, starting at an early age by my grandmother who is now deceased that she was 1/2 Cherokee, which would make me 1/16 Cherokee. Sadly, I was not raised to know or even understand this heritage. No one would even talk about it. I grew up drawn to the NA ways, even though I lived in the white man's world. My soul desired to live in the NA world, yes even at a tender age.
I am now considered an Elder due to being a grandmother. Two years ago, I am finally started learning about the heritage that I only dreamed about as a child. I am embracing it with all my soul, learning all I can even the language. I am being taught the correct way, by a NA friend who has adopted me into her family. She is Cherokee from the Blue Clan.
It is never too late to learn about one's birth-right or heritage.