Quote:
Originally Posted by JiuJitsuFighter
I wonder if my German Shephard is a German Shephard. He’s black, tan, and looks like a German Shephard but he was born here. Is he still a German Shephard? Does his large amount of German shephard dna make him look the way he does? He isn’t “AMERICAN kennel club” certified, is he still a German shephard with or without a paper proving this? He looks exactly like my akc German shephard. I don’t think Imma call the non enrolled German shephard German anymore. Just shephard. Only my enrolled shephard will be German shephard lol. Because Akc recognizes him. Hahahahaha
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Do you have any idea just how offensive the above is?
Tribal enrollment criteria are established by
the tribes not the feds. Tribes have always had methods by which they determined membership -- even before the lost white guy. Exercise of this control over their membership is an aspect of tribal sovereignty. Sovereignty matters in Indian Country. Sovereignty is the firewall against political and cultural extinction.
Whether or not you like the criteria is one thing. There is a place for legitimate discussion of the implications of various means of determining membership. There is a legitimate place for discussion tribal naturalization. But, comparing tribal citizens -- that is what enrolled people are -- to dogs is not constructive. It's practically a page out of the dominant culture termination playbook.
Again, "hechel lena oyate kin nipi kte." Be careful. Be mindful. Community first, individual second. We i'eska have to remember, we too have a duty to protect what we are claiming. Our enemies listen to this kind of talk and vote with it in mind.