Being mixed

[lafincoyote (deleted)]

Being of mixed blood myself, I know of the racial prejudice shown towards those of us who are not pure BIA Indians, White, Black, or of Hispanic descent. This bothered me for quite a few years until one day I finally realized that the Great Spirit knows who we are, and that is all that really matters. He knows of our travails, and will smile down upon us with many fine blessings if we will just open our hearts to him.
I choose to live my life as an NDN, and only seek approval from the Great Spirit, and he has rewarded be abundantly. Try prayer to seek guidance from above. Being of mixed blood can be a blessing or a curse, and is a very difficult path to follow, but it is the one we were given. We have the ability to overcome all the adversity that opposes us if we will link up to the supernatural, and pray our way through the difficult challenges.

[softroses08]

Let me try to explain something to you all. I will not nor have not clam another race athough I am mix. and need not to say what in my blood to try to fit in. I love me. Learn early in life that people will forever say mean things to those of us who are mix. I have learn to accepted this ignorance .I have alway been strong minded and never gave a shyt about what other said. as long as no one put their hand on me talk is very cheap.and most time show that person on fears.so for us who are mix stay strong be proud and love your self. Sign mix and don't care

~Soft Roses08~

[spirituplifting (deleted)]

LOL I'm mixed too.
My Colombian mother didn't raise me with the traditional ways of her culture. She found them too confining for her self identity so she raised me as something apart from any particular culture.
As an older teenager and adult, when I explored the states and it's geographical as well as social traditions I learned my country's general culture as well as regional differences. Through this I have found ways to pretty much blend in.
My sister wrote her thesis on what it is to be of mixed race within this culture, and the differences we face when we come from different race parents. One common thread among the people she interviewed was the lack of a feeling of belonging. It made me very aware of how much race and also therefore culture play a part in how we blend into society and the inclusion of culturally common experiences we share. Oftentimes when we're raised within a mixed family structure those single-type cultural commonalities are not there.
I know that, as a woman who was raised in a mixed race family with a structure that defied the stereotypes of the white society within which I live, I feel so much CHOICE in how I have come to express myself and fit into the society I live in. Instead of following cultural stereotypes and living in a predefined idea of what a woman in this society is largely forced to expect themselves to be, I have and continue to make my OWN WAY. A way based upon Spirit, ethics, morals, logic, and reason.
When I think about it, I generally feel pretty darn lucky that I was never expected to be anything but genuinely Myself. That I have found the strength to do so in a harmonious way with those around me is a cause for happiness.

[littlehighcloud]

`Pretty Cool!

[sweet7sista (deleted)]

`I've read some of the posts here with great interest, and it is obviously a VERY big issue with some people. Now, I'm not native at all, but I do have mixed race ancestry, so I have been able to identify with some of the comments I've read. Just to be clear, I am completely happy with who and what I am, I am not a wannabe and I am just here to learn from you and also to share with you. But I would like to ask those who view people with mixed blood with contempt to open their minds a little. Why should a person of mixed blood not be able to talk openly about it without being chastised by full-bloods? It would be disrespectful to their ancestry to completely ignore a part of their heritage just because some people are uncomfortable with it. A person of mixed blood goes through many struggles of their own, and they also face many kinds of prejudices, a lot of the time from more than one corner! Their experiences may not be the same as yours, but they have struggled like you all the same, and if you are willing to be open it you will see that they also have something very valuable to offer humanity.

We are all members of the human race. One big family. We all want the same things: to be healthy, to be happy, to do work that is fulfilling, and to have love in our lives (whether it be from family, friends or lovers). Why are we still being so separatist in this day and age, when we should be marvelling at our similarities? Culturally we are very different, but essentially we are all still the same. Peace :)

[jacobi]

While I don't quite look NA I do have some traits and from my own personal experience I was accepted pretty well. Though it could have been because I was close friends with a member from their tribe. My mother was a quarter blood but sadly I feel that my native heritage was snatched from me because of her unwillingness to identify herself as one of the people. She acted embarrassed of her history like it wasn't good enough. To me, I love the culture and envy those that are free to embrace it. My location and lack of knowledge often stop me from speaking out on these things but I feel I should in this case.

I went to my first pow-wow last year. It was amazing, beautiful, and I felt like I belonged whether or not they did. To me, its like something has always been missing in my life and that was what it was. I understand their hesitancy to accept people though, taken advantage of and mistreated by the US government would make me very resentful though its sad that some are unwilling to educate others that are distantly related to them. Blood is blood, you cannot change it or will it away, you can't even wash it away permanently (minute traces will always remain no matter where you spill it), and to those whom are willing to follow laws and traditions I believe they should be allowed to do so. I personally would rather live close to others of my culture than in the city where I do now, feeling completely out of place. Its a different world but its a far better world to live in then most society today.

[malakotawelo]

`i agree, that the native way of life resonates more with me than city life...

city life is unnatural, artificial, everything there is artificial, and the artificial is praised and coveted...

which is why i chose to move away from it...

now i can focus on rebuilding, and rediscovering the parts of me that were stunted...

i dont mind if people do not accept me as i am...i have already been through it all... and after a while it becomes something that you just learn to laugh at in other people's ignorance...

when i lived in the city, i was not white enough, black people didn't know what i was, and distrusted me, and i just did not belong, no matter how i tried to fit in or make it work...

i was too slow for them, not competitive enough... its not that i did not excel, i just did not want to play their games or did not agree with their sense of justice...or manipulation...

i dont know if i will ever be a part of a tribe, or even accepted, but i cant worry about that, i just have to do what i know is right, and if people see the difference, then good, if they choose to ignore it, then that is their loss...

[appalachgumbo (deleted)]

`When one can't enroll with the tribe of descent, support them. Pound the Red Road.