is the issue of wannabes,fakes etc important to you??

[nova13]

Yes, but people need to realize that some native people also look white, and some are really Cherokee and not accused them of faking for those things.

[Toltec Nagual]

Not Indian Enough

The race of a person is encoded in the DNA.

If the person is a fraction/percentage of a race, you can always tell by the sound of a persons voice when they speak what race they are genetically representing.

It may sound stupid in its simplicity, but the voice is a tuning fork for DNA.

[DaisyMaisy]

This makes me think of two of my coworkers. Both "look white" by the general definition. One is blonde, vegan, and into hello kitty stuff which she decorates her cubicle with. The other woman has pictures of wolves with those romantic "Indian maiden" young women all over her cubicle. And a bunch of dreamcatchers and wooden flutes hanging all over the place. She will happily tell you in a tone of great superiority that she has "Native Indian blood" but can't identify what tribe it would be from.

So it's kind of ironic that it's the blonde hello kitty fan who is actually enrolled in the Cherokee nation. Her grandma still lives there and her dad grew up there. She lives out here in Oregon but is still connected to Oklahoma.

NDN soldier boy (I know this is responding to an old post!), when I was a kid I always thought the Nez Perce tribe was the BEST for inventing Appaloosa horses (not sure if that's entirely correct but that's what I thought). I thought every Nez Perce member had their own appaloosa and I was very jealous and thought if I was Nez Perce I could have a horse!

[Josiah]

I voted no. I forgot to post that.

Too my knowledge, I have yet to meet anyone who wants to be a Nez Perce (my Tribe).

During my time in the military, I have met lots of whites who say they are Cherokee or claimed their blood. Maybe they were. But, hearing this all the time got old fast. And that was the only tribe ever claimed.

Yeah, the fake, "Medicine men" or "Shaman" are repulsive and the crystal / sweat lodge selling ones get on my nerves.

But I just move on. There are more pressing issues like land, and corrupt council members or alledged ones where I reside now.

Maybe a few years ago like in the 90's but its not just a Cherokee Problem, Shawnees have there groups in Ohio And Indiana, by last count there were over 200 or more fake tribes or tribes posing as natives to gain not just recruits (charging 50 bucks or more in "dues") but they have actually been able to dupe school districts into funneling money there way. That would be Federal dollars by the way from an already scarce revenue stream. So if the money is funneled to these groups it hurts ALL Federal Recognized Tribes does it not??
Oklahoma has just passed a revamped Native crafts act that includes language describing State tribes and other groups but that's just a Band-Aid it does not address groups in other states this has to be a Federal wide issue.
Believe me when I say I am just as tired if not sick of hearing the story for the Millionth time about my GGG somebody escaped from the Trail or hid out ect ect.
Its not a Cherokee Problem
Its all our Problem
Its a REAL PROBLEM that will not go away by ignoring it
Its one of many problems we all face

[Ndnsoldierboy]

Fine.

But, in general, the only people who really care or feel threatened are those that are trying to make $$$ from being an Indian.

KiowaKat comes readily to mind...

These people can't hurt you, they can only hurt themselves.

Their "medicine" is either good or bad -- if they have any -- and the God I know won't blame innocent folks for being duped, merely those who dupe them.

It's not my status to judge the belief of others.

I voted no. I forgot to post that.

Too my knowledge, I have yet to meet anyone who wants to be a Nez Perce (my Tribe).

During my time in the military, I have met lots of whites who say they are Cherokee or claimed their blood. Maybe they were. But, hearing this all the time got old fast. And that was the only tribe ever claimed.

Yeah, the fake, "Medicine men" or "Shaman" are repulsive and the crystal / sweat lodge selling ones get on my nerves.

But I just move on. There are more pressing issues like land, and corrupt council members or alledged ones where I reside now.

[Zeke]

You can't change their minds of course, but I just find them all repulsive.

Fine.

But, in general, the only people who really care or feel threatened are those that are trying to make $$$ from being an Indian.

KiowaKat comes readily to mind...

These people can't hurt you, they can only hurt themselves.

Their "medicine" is either good or bad -- if they have any -- and the God I know won't blame innocent folks for being duped, merely those who dupe them.

It's not my status to judge the belief of others.

[Ndnsoldierboy]

I don't care for the wannabes or the ones that just found out from ancestry.com they might be NDN, or those that play NDN on the weekends.

They have watched Dances With Wolves way too many times. And their is only one type of NDN around in their eyes...the plains NDN.

You can't change their minds of course, but I just find them all repulsive.

[comadre]

That stuff is awful!! I scrolled farther down the page and there is a bunch of garbage relating to White Buffalo Calf Woman-some sort of crystal twinkie. Man, she lays it on thick.

yes, once I scrolled down I stopped laughing too. It's humiliating on so many levels.First thought was OMG there is a LOT of this. And of those doing these things, they must have NO conscious.

[subeeds]

WOW !

first I laughed till my sides hurt and then I realized this stuff isn't funny. You HAVE TO SEE THIS!

https://www.facebook.com/WhenWhitePeopleGoBad

That stuff is awful!! I scrolled farther down the page and there is a bunch of garbage relating to White Buffalo Calf Woman-some sort of crystal twinkie. Man, she lays it on thick.

[AmigoKumeyaay]

[comadre]

WOW !

first I laughed till my sides hurt and then I realized this stuff isn't funny. You HAVE TO SEE THIS!

https://www.facebook.com/WhenWhitePeopleGoBad

[blacktail]

[QUOTE=ewoaf;1343496]I am still amazed at peoples inability to walk into a powwow and not get all bent out of shape over something.

Besides that, no one is perfect, no one is immune from making mistakes at powwows and offending someone else.QUOTE]

agreed for the most part. but there's a difference between needing some direction, and simply not giving a sh!t. yes, no?

[LaughingWaterWI]

Tell that to the kid whos skin is white enough to be called "whitie boy" when living as a kid on the rez but a fricken no good injun when he is out in the white mans world. There are some of us who get screwed from both sides each day!

It can really mess with you when you don't look NDN enough to be NDN or don't look white enough to be white!

Yup, I know ... I have relatives on the rez and they come in different shades.. have heard gruf from natives with say, more darker skin who make remarks but really not too much anymore because families on the rez know who the trouble makers are...out in the white world there is no protection... so if you ever dotted that question are you Native American let’s say in a Doctor’s office and you don't look it you get a strange look and have to prove it by submitting your enrollment card. By all means I don't have the answers but try hard to encourage happiness in what you enjoy doing if you’re not enrolled but want to live tradish because you have been brought up that way on the rez this something that is decided on by the elders or through adoption or whatever your nation has in its constitution....BUT if you have the same scenario outside the rez not enrolled, it is generally frowned upon because you for one are not enrolled and never have had any enrolment with your people. Does this make sense cuz it is what I see that happens. Me myself have lived on and off the rez going to college and so on.. the native guy two doors down black hair almost to his waist not real dark but is Apache says to me why do you have a dream catcher in your window ... I told him that I made it and I am from a rez in MN.. he said nothing more to me so this guy may have been one shade darker than me but his hair was coal black and mine is a very dark dark brown unless it was in my younger year when I tried to streak it lol. and it turned reddish lol. I love my culture I love beading and many of the things I know how to do were never taught to me I just did it... granted I watched my mother sew and cook and bead but I was not around when her and her sisters and brothers went to the rice camp like many families did back then or maple camps or watched them tan hides. We were brought up to respect people, our four legged animals and all that the creator gave to us, and not to be wasteful. Yes I have had my rez car plates kicked in or bent because I am native I have had bad experiences too. And yes I can see your point where do ya draw the line...

[TKMJ Productions]

[COLOR=black][FONT=Arial]Color of skin and being native is and has been an issue on reservations.. children should not be ridiculed because they are generation M.

Tell that to the kid whos skin is white enough to be called "whitie boy" when living as a kid on the rez but a fricken no good injun when he is out in the white mans world. There are some of us who get screwed from both sides each day!

It can really mess with you when you don't look NDN enough to be NDN or don't look white enough to be white!

Sorry Dude, you just seem to hit me with a really sore subject. Take no offense.

[LaughingWaterWI]

is the issue of wannabes,fakes, culture vultures etc.... important to you, yes or no

Yes it is important to me, and my family...for the most part even on the reservation people who walk the red road pretty much know who is who... there are the sell outs and there are culture vultures that steal our resources to make money.. there are many factions to this issue...If people want to do something they are going to do it..even if it's out of context.. white person selling beadwork made by them, Latin person claiming to be a medicine man, Native person denouncing his own culture and so on. If what you see, is not the real thing or, traditionally right according to how you were raised you don't have to accept it. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
So if you know of a medicine man who is not the real deal and could possibly harm someone turn him in. If the native person who wants to walk the white road ignore it, If the person is selling arts and crafts that are not authentic report them. If you are a generation M, then you might want to ask for advice if you are seeking your roots and culture.<o:p></o:p>
Color of skin and being native is and has been an issue on reservations.. children should not be ridiculed because they are generation M. I have my own personal thoughts on mixing races..statistics show that children in most cultures suffer from being a mixed race..Whether you are black/white, Arab/white, Japanese/white , Latin/native ect ect. ..generally speaking it has been the white or light skinned people that have set this tone for decades …<o:p></o:p>
Is this the real reason for culture vultures and wanna b’s ? I ask myself this question over and over and maybe we different colored people of the four races were never meant to be of a mixed race thus creating a off balance in society this is just a theory of mine but over and over it keeps re surfacing as a problem. In our native culture it happens..all over in other cultures it happens..So if we are that confused about our identity how can we know what’s right or wrong? Yes we have some very vain people who will pull the I don’t care about what’s right or wrong this is a free country a and if I want to practice native traditions I will cuz I can and if I want to make Japanese medicine or what have you I will if I want too. It takes all kinds. For the native people who have been raised by generations handed down traditionally or inherent by birth for generations follow what’s in your heart.. this was written and is dedicated to my grandmother who was in my eyes a very wise Anishinabe woman <o:p></o:p>

Interracial Marriages and the Effects on Children
http://academic.udayton.edu/race/04needs/s98alouis.htm<o:p></o:p>

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