City indians Video on YouTube

[DeafElderWoman]

That is a good video and I am glad that I can read with close captioned. Every word he said is true. The Natives had been put into the cities by relocation to get away from the reservations. That is sad. But still living on the reservation or reserve is not a pretty way to live with hardly enough jobs to go around and trying to support families.

I had been going back and forth from the woods (Forest) where I was living with my grandparents. My mother had to worked in the city (Minneapolis) because there were no jobs available in the country (middle of Minnesota). While I was living with my mother in the city, I had to go to the mainstream schools (special education but no sign language allowed) from 1st grade to 8th grade and then from 9th grade to 12th grade in mainstream high school, I had to go into hearing classes with no accommodations for me to understand what is going on in the hearing classrooms. I really hate oral methods making it hard for me to understand what they were saying. My lipreading is not accurate. I might be able to pick up words about 30% of what I could make out. I would have gone into the Deaf school in Southern Minnesota (Faribault, Minnesota) but she never send me there. After I graduated from mainstream high school, I went to the Deaf class to learn to sign Ameslan relating to the same ASL (American Sign Language). I felt so much better and my chest and my shoulder were lifted free from worry about trying to understand English. Sign Language help me deal with communication with ASL interpreters and being social with Deaf people. That is something we all have to function, I think.

So living in the city have some advantages and disadvantages different from living on the rez.

I had lived on the rez in Canada for 18 years. Every one accepted me as part member of their community. I am not enrolled as a full member. I married my husband who was full Ojibwe or Ojibway. My husband and I had married for 15 years but then he passed away from very bad illness (medical issues). I am part Cherokee and part Cree. I am more heavily into Cree tradition from North Ontario and North of Quebec where my ancestors had lived for many years. Our lives on the rez can be trying times but we go from village to another town for a short time but we always come back to the rez.

So the young man in the video probably will go back to the rez if he had a membership in his own reservation. Natives who lived on the city will always come back to the rez when they get older or become Elders for retirement. They often miss the rez very much.

As for me, I have families living in New Mexico and I am living in the city. Only with my son and his growing family will come down soon to either New Mexico or Arizona. They have not decided yet. Will find out from him soon.

[RestlessN8iv]

IO said it before, and I'll say it again. I have never lived in a damned city in my entire life! I'm a "free range" Indian

[Fang]

im from denver too.....never seen this kid before but i share his experience back before it was cool to be an indian......i know i will never be "indian enough" for my rez counterparts

I've had the same experience for the most part. Not "indian enough" for the rez, but also around here I'm not "city/street enough" for the city indians. Spent most of my life in the suburbs of the county, so while I can relate on a cultural level to the city indians in my area, it's been hard to relate on other levels.

[milehighsalute]

im from denver too.....never seen this kid before but i share his experience back before it was cool to be an indian......i know i will never be "indian enough" for my rez counterparts

[Doll]

Excellent.

[Fang]

Thank you for posting this! He makes a lot of valuable points.

[AmigoKumeyaay]

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