The Tradition of Ignorance.

[ifeather1922_PREV (deleted)]

Hi my name is Levi. I am a Sicangu Lakota from Rosebud SD. I currently live in the Twin Cities in St Paul. I have noticed over the years that there are a lot of us out here who have little if any knowledge or experience of our traditional past. I know this for a fact, because for the past thirty years I have spent relearning as much cultural knowledge as I can find the opportunities to experience. It seems also that amongst a lot of Indian folks there is a lot of shame that we don't know a lot about our tribal pasts or our languages. I would like to encourage those amongst us who have either been separated from the cultural worlds of our people through adoption, foster care, or relocation, boarding schools or from being born into mixed race homes to keep on keeping on. If you have a desire to relearn what is yours you can. For those that have relearned or come back to relearn I want to encourage you and hopefully you will remember how difficult it is to reconnect and be helpful to those that are still searching for that way back home. later levi
ps wish you all good luck and good fortune and keep the faith, this is cool.

[miracle4_PREV (deleted)]

I read your topic on Native American Passions; your post is over a year old. Anyway, I do understand what point you are trying to make. Especially about the language and the tribal Pow-wows, you seldom see those any more. It is interesting to go back and study our history. I think people try to cover up there background to conform to modern society. Sometimes it is very shameful and makes me mad. Have you ever read the classic book the The Pearl by Steinbeck? That book is so true to what has happened to our culture and continues today. How do we make changes in a positive way?


I have gone through life not telling people my race, because once they find out it is down hill from there. Some people think that being Indian is being part white and black. Especially if you are one from North Carolina. There are many different Native American tribles in North Carolina who are reconized by the State of NC. In the business world you are held back, unless you start your own business, you still have to be cautious though. Unless you play the game, or become totally white, success is out of the question or harder for others. I do have a soul, Iʼd like to be successful and still remain true to my culture.


I have a hard time understanding how our culture was once on TOP, and somewhat fell so far down. We were the first True Americans! Do you want to know how I stay on Top, I am on Top in my mind, they cannot take your mind unless you let them.






Miracle4

[yrigollin (deleted)]

As a Mescalero Apache / Mexican / Scott Irish person I also have had difficulty with self identity. Growing up in north east Conn. then living in Sacremento Ca. and now in N. Carolina, I have also seen my share of struggles in dealing with others. However I did not know a lot about my native heritage until I started to read the biographies of certain Apaches that are available. I realized that my heritage was not something I could learn, but was already part of my life, visable through my actions and lifestyle. The more I learned, the more I became comfortable with myself, and then saught less the approval of others. I often have people ask me if I am indian. I do not get offended by this, in fact my face lights up with pride because it is so obvious, even to the casuall looker at a glance. I proudly proclaim my Tribe and Band. I do not believe it hurts my ability to earn a living, or that my political views as well as the fact that I am not a Christian has any effect, or rub poeple wrong. I do not push it onto them and try to make them feel guilty about what happened a hundred years ago. I have learned to draw strength from opposition and it has made me resistant to the ingnorance of others, and also allows me to recognize it without predjudice, and makes me more willing to help educate about my culture.

[august46_PREV (deleted)]

.wow thats a good mix apache and mexican and scott. i think self identity is whatever you choose and whatever fits you best at the moment. i have a different problem. a lot of my family were given up for adoption. i had to come to the conclusion that there is more to family than biological ties. there are spiritual ties too as well as mental and emotional.

[warahoon (deleted)]

.Family don't always think that there are ties. most families today are not close at all. They seem to be to busy caught up in the money making material world and forget what morals and values are about and their families lose the strength to sick together.

[august46_PREV (deleted)]

`so i guess we have to make new families somehow. we can find new mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers,ect. we can form new ties such as spiritual ties. we get to choose.

[chokecherichica (deleted)]

Looking for a funny guy...not funny looking....and he must have nice teeth and firm buns. I want to meet friends that are alcohol and drug-free, but high on life.

[blackfootedgirl]

`
Has anyone watched the "Rabbit-Proof Fence" it is on DVD , It was based on a true story of three aboriginal girls from Australia who were ed from their family for being Half-Caste known as Australia's "stolen Generations", there were sent to boarding schools, forbidden to speak their first language, it reminded me of what happened to various first nation cultures around the world including ours in North America.

[malakotawelo]

`i think anyone who really wants to learn the traditions, and spirituality, is already doing it even if they dont know it...

many people cant pinpoint my belief system, because they try to put me in a box, but i would have to say it leans toward the native spiritual thought, and a little bit of Buddhism... there are many similarities between the two, but the one is really a lifestyle, whereas the other has become a religion more than anything...

the beauty of the spiritual traditions is that they reside in the heart and soul, in the community...you dont have to have a building or shrines, or statues or a temple... these things are lived and shared amongst each other...

people coming together is important because it reaffirms the togetherness in a larger sense...and rekindles old bonds from distant relatives...

this has been lost in today's culture for the most part, because families are so spread apart, and often times broken, that one cannot identify with anyone and many tend to isolate instead of creating new community, or substitute it with an artificial one...one which divides everything into categories, and forgets the wholeness and completeness of life...

money is one of the biggest culprits i agree, but it is what we have right now

eventually i think it will even be a thing of the past...and that is where the traditions and old ways of living off the land, and family, will become more important...

we cant dwell on the past, we have to think about right now in preparation for the future...certainly we can learn from the past, and move on, but pointing fingers, laying blame only digs a deeper hole...one that can be hard to climb out of...