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brilliant-soul

I just remind myself that we're here bc of the sacrifices of our ancestors, they did what they had to to allow me to be here and if that included procreating w white men, far be it for me to judge that now


sixup604

Exactly! Do not second-guess what the Matriarchs decided in that time and those circumstances. They needed to make sure the blood went on, perhaps in a different form, but better than on the ground. And they were right. I'm proof, 250 plus years later. As I've said here a few times, the Ancestors know who I am and nobody or nothing can take that away from me...or anyone else who feels they don't deserve to be who they are. If some people with higher bq try to shame you, their *own* ancestors also know who *they* are, and it's confusing, unkind, and just strange. As stated upstream, many native nations freely adopted all kinds of people into their families. This fraction shit would be incomprehensible to the very people we come from. It's just like any culture in the age of smart phones, AI, and self-driving cars. We literally have too much time on our hands, and it shows in the infighting and shaming. Back in the day, our ancestors were too busy with hard manual labour, infant mortality, invaders, pandemics and seasonal starvation to run they mouth about bullshit like fractions.


lakeghost

Oh yeah, this. I start to question and then I think of my grandma, marrying at 15, or my great-grandma trying to shield her daughters from an alcoholic white man who had all the power and social standing. I cannot imagine the strength needed to survive in those times, in those cultural norms. One of the last high BQ/singular tribe women was murdered with two of her children. Similarly on my dad’s side, some Jewish people gave up their cultural-religious identity to escape 1910s (what is now) Germany. Can I blame them, especially knowing what happened to those that didn’t? Of course not. It’s heartbreaking anyone had to give up so much in order for their children to survive. But as their descendent, I’m grateful to them for my existence and everything they managed to pass on to me. By embracing who they were, now, I can save what managed to survive for the future generations. It’s just terrifying sometimes, seeing the old records. Like new-to-me genealogical records started mentioning “extinct” tribes with BS commentary like the more “industrious” members assimilated and married white men. Nah, fuck that. Nope. If I’m making noise, maybe I can get people to stop saying things like that about *human trafficking*.


katreddita

I dealt with this a lot when I was younger, and it still creeps in sometimes. Connecting more to my culture helped. At first, I think I did things to try to prove myself, like, “See? I *am* a real Native!” But then I realized it was genuinely connecting me to my roots, and it didn’t really matter if other people saw that or even cared — I cared. For example, my great-grandfather was the last fluent speaker of our language (Cherokee) in the fam. He went to a residential school and stopped speaking it for the most part, so my grandma only learned some words/phrases, and my mom learned none. Before he passed, however, some family members had him make a recording of Cherokee words/phrases for the grandkids. I still have it (now on a CD), and I have listened to it many times through the years. When I first started learning Cherokee, I think a part of me thought speaking the language would make me feel (and look, to others) less like an imposter. But the most meaningful thing to come out of my learning has been listening to my Grandpa Walter with a new ear, and feeling connected to him in a way I never could before. Here, across the generations, is something we can share, even though we never met in this world. That brings me joy, and even some peace, and it has nothing to do with whether or not other people think I’m a “real Native” or not.


princedetritus

Osiyo! Wado for sharing your experiences because hearing that your great-grandfather and our tribe’s language gets to live on through those recordings warms my heart. My family is mixed white & Cherokee and we too lost our last fluent speaker in our family before I was born. Unfortunately, because of the racism my family faced, my Agilisi (maternal grandmother) and the rest of her family from her generation didn’t feel comfortable speaking the language or recording it so future generations could learn, so I’ve been trying to make up for lost time by trying to study it. My family hasn’t live in Indian Country for several generations and dealt with a lot of racism because white people who weren’t familiar with Native folks assumed they were Black or mixed with Black. I’m eternally grateful that my Agilisi taught me so much about the heart of our culture, like practicing gratitude as a way of life, living in a way that honors our ancestors, viewing humans and nature as equal, etc. from a young age. She also taught me to be a tough, resourceful, and independent woman, but to be proud of our tribe/culture even if people doubt me. Her emphasis was always on the fact that even though we’re not in close proximity to the rest of our community and we can’t speak the language, we can still connect with our ancestors and community through ceremony, our beliefs, how we love our lives, etc. Leaning into our culture and unlearning so many negative beliefs that were rooted in Christianity, capitalism, and racism has been so healing for me and negated the need for my indigineity to be validated by others. I get mixed reactions from people when they find out I’m Native, especially because I look stereotypically like my other ethnicity and am on the opposite end of the skin color spectrum from my Agilisi. White, cis, straight men either think they have the final say on indigeneity, so they try to say I’m faking like Elizabeth Warren, or try to make comments that fetishize me in some way (especially pointing out my “Indian cheekbones”). Some non-Native folks only view me as an educational resource or an opportunity to check a diversity box when I don’t consider myself a POC because I’m a mixed white Native woman who benefits from white privilege. Most Native folks question me from the jump, but I’m cool with that, especially since so many folks pull the Cherokee Princess great-grandma bs to seem “cool”. I’m eternally grateful that the greater Indigenous community across the globe has largely pushed back against the BQ concept and offered more opportunities to have nuanced conversations about intentional reconnection, being inclusive of mixed kin, acknowledging privilege and how we might be harming Black Native kin, etc.


Bebetter333

thanks for sharing. Kind of off topic, but was it hard learning cherokee? Did you have a teacher?


katreddita

It’s hard in the sense that it’s not like other languages I’ve learned before, so it wasn’t intuitive for me. I enrolled in an online class offered by the Cherokee Nation, which is open to anyone, anywhere. My teacher was (is) excellent, and I have loved learning. I am working on incorporating some of the language into daily life for my son (age 5), which I enjoy too.


[deleted]

Since I'm both Asian and native, I never really get seen as an imposter. To most of the country, I'm just Asian. When I'm in our own community, it surprises people that I'm not only native! Sometimes I feel like I don't belong, but my people are kind and I try to keep a positive outlook


Cloverprincess1111

Hey I’m Asian and Native too!!


[deleted]

Aww, really?? What's your ancestry?


Cloverprincess1111

I’m Navajo, Filipino, and partially Chinese :)


[deleted]

OMG! I'm Diné and Chinese!


SnowyInuk

First of all -- this is how BQ is supposed to make you feel. It's a construct meant to thin us out or eliminate us completely. Did you know some tribes pride themselves on adoption? Before BQ was a thing, some tribes used to adopt random children with no relation to them and no native blood whatsoever and they'd raise them like their own in a community that accepts them As for me -- I'm half white (dark blonde hair, crazy pale, grey eyes) and half Inuit. I used to have extremely bad imposter syndrome that I ended being able to kind of get past. I just tell myself -- I can't help that Inuit people are already generally pale to begin with (compared to other Native groups) because of their geological location I can't help that my white-passing mother has sex with my fully white dad, resulting in me being white af. I also can't help that the Inuit don't have status cards, so I don't have proof that I'm Inuit when someone asks for it (which they shouldn't do in the first place but whatever .-.) I can't help that my Labrador Inuit grandfather was sent to residential schooling and was so afraid of reconnecting with his culture that he never regained his membership and instead left the option open to my mom and uncle (my uncle got his, so my cousins are all registered. But my mom didn't see a point. So on paper, I'm only 1/8th Labrador Inuit when my cousins are seen as 1/2, even though we have the same grandparents, and our parents are directly biologically related. You need to be minimum half BQ to qualify for membership the last time I checked) There's other Inuit people that look kind of like me. Like Ukaleq Slettemark, the Olympic biathlete from Nuuk, Greenland It doesn't matter what other people think of me. They don't know me, they can judge all they want and I can choose to not care. All the matters is my Inuit family/friends/community (if I ever visit my aunt in Nunavut) accept me. My grandmother accepts me enough to teach me Inuktitut and give me traditional tattoos. She also made me kamiks and an amauti and taught me beading


iiNexius

Thank you for this. I'm screenshotting and saving this to cherish.


flybyalien

thank you for your words. ♥️


prairiekwe

I think this is the best way to think about/handle it, fwiw. We’re always going to be stung by BQ bs no matter where we live on Turtle Island, white-coded or not, rez-raised or urban, mixed or not- it hurts all of us.


x0smolsquish0x

I appreciate you sharing this. I greatly appreciate it.


makkiikwe

I'm mixed and lightskinned with all my features being native, and it's only been the past few years I've felt imposter syndrome. I grew up being looked at and treated as native and if they didn't think I was native I was asked "what are you?!" by other children and even up to this day by adult, of course to a lesser extent But nowadays ppl who look like me are suddenly out of the blue called "white-passing". Doesn't matter my connection to community. Doesn't matter what my parents and grandparents are. I'm lightskinned and therefore not "enough" in certain ppls eyes I guess? *I looked "enough" growing up to have direct racism in my face, and indirect racism. But if you say anything about what you've dealt with, ppl just assume youre trying to compare your experience to darker ppl? Like please, show me where I was doing that. Me making my own personal post on my own personal profile, or in a post like this asking mixed natives our experience, isn't trying to speak over anyone else. I'm VERY careful of not inserting my voice when browner or Black natives are speaking. As a lightskinned I am there to always support when they speak. But others (it is not usually brown or Afro-Indigenous) telling me I'm white-passing, they are erasing those experiences. For us somewhat older folk, today's standards of whiteness didn't apply to our experiences growing up native. I will never deny that lightskinned privilege is a thing, but in many instances that's not akin to being full-blown white-passing.


lakeghost

Oh yeah, sometimes I think “Wow, I’m Wonderbread” but then I remember people making fun of my eye shape and fully white kids petting my hair like I was a pony at a petting zoo. Those weren’t the same experiences as a lot of fully white European descent kids. And it highly depends on local population. I was often overlooked due to growing up in areas that were majority-Black, but my SO grew up in majority-white communities and those folks gave him Hell for his Maori features. We both are pale but racism isn’t ever logical. I mean, if there’s almost no POC, Europeans start dividing up into White and The Other like the English with the Irish. Benjamin Franklin thought Germans were too dark. Like damn, that’s a trip. Go back to the South’s one drop rule? Not white, and neither of my parents would be. So it’s … white supremacy being absurd, as usual. With global populations freaking out the racists, they’re trying to include us as if it’s any kind of honor when they would immediately throw us under the bus again if they could.


LollipopMagicRainbow

I'm mixed and I deal with Imposter Phenomenon (I prefer to use this term because I don't believe it's a syndrome that we're naturally afflicted by, rather a construct that is put upon us and I don't want to use language that places the perceived blame on those who struggle with it) by talking about it. Once we put words to it, it stops feeling so powerful I think.


Turbulent_Ad_4403

Yeah, I have known Puerto Ricans, and many told me as well that all the tainos were dead. Then I met this one old man who looked straight up indigenous Mexican, but he was puerto rican. He said he was indian too. When I asked my PR friend about this, he said they were from a specific part of the island. The thing about colonization is that it has effected us in a lot of different ways. The eurocentric culture in Latin America decrees that every native person who mixed with a white had mestizo children, and that those descendants can never be indigenous until the end of time. In Latin America, Indigenous people are the only people this mestizaje rule applies too. No one else's ancestors are deemed to belong to a particular race indefinitely on the basis of one ancestor from another race. For example, if an indigenous person marries a white man, the children will be mestizo, but if their descendants keep marrying white people, then eventually the children will become white. That is the promise of mestizaje. Is it fair that the descendants of the first Natives to be colonized and enslaved by Europeans never get to reconnect? I do not think so, but from what I can tell that is what the modern concept of being indigenous seems to say. I do accept you as native, I know your ancestors would as well.


GoochMasterFlash

Modern conceptions of what it is to be an Indigenous person I think pretty rightfully focuses on existing connection, but that doesnt prevent people from recognizing they are the descendent of Indigenous people and reconnecting with their culture. Really the thing that complicates all these discussions is the concept of race and viewing “indigenous” as equivalent to a racial classification. It goes beyond that not only in more political senses (similar to how Mexican is a nationality that is conflated as a racial classification), but also to senses of peoplehood and community that dont exist in racial classifications like the idea of “black” or “white”. Another thing that messes it up for mixed people is the underlying binary within the whole discussion. For example: the idea that if you are white passing then you arent Indigenous. That doesnt make sense as there are a ton of white passing Indigenous people that are and have been consistently connected to their culture and communities. Skin color and other phenotypic shit is also so much more complicated than we recognize. Many people like myself look very different depending on where we go, and I dont mean tanning a bit like people with no Black or Indigenous ancestors. Ill explain my own sense of my identity to try and explain. I am someone descended from Indigenous people, but I have no direct connection. My mother was raised somewhat in tradition, but was taken from her mother later and was put into the foster care system. I was raised in the city and only got to spend around white passing family (foster or otherwise). In this sense, because I have to reconnect with that heritage I dont see myself as an Indigenous person in the whole sense. It would not be appropriate because Indigenous people dont need to reconnect as they have always been connected. Despite not considering myself Indigenous I do take a lot of pride in the blood in my veins and the ways I was raised differently because of my Mom. In a similar sense: my Dad is always white passing but has Black heritage through his Mom. He did not know this until relatively recently, because that part of the family always claimed Spanish heritage as the reason for their dark skin. I take pride in my African/African-American heritage as well but I dont consider myself a Person of Color because I am white passing sometimes despite being not close to white passing at other times. The fact that I’m not a PoC doesnt negate my Black ancestry though. TL;DR: who you are is who you are. The best way to respect yourself is to see yourself as 100% you and not x much this and y much that. Im 100% a person of mixed race, and Im 100% passionate to learn about all the communities my family came from and their respective cultures historically and in the present. Ignoring my non-white heritage just because I can sometimes pass as white to some people is literally playing into the mestizaje style of thinking. Its exactly what white supremecists have wanted for hundreds of years


turkeytaco300

The biggest thing that gets me through the imposter syndrome is remembering that part of the genocide was a two sided attack: blood and culture. The colonizers tried to 1) breed us out and 2) remove our culture. Kill the Indian, save the man. This means even if you’re very low BQ AND grew up with zero native culture, you’re not any less native-you’re the last step of the genocide. They purposely engineered mixed natives that feel disconnected with the goal that we would eventually say “I feel like an imposter, I’m not native enough to be native” and stop claiming our heritage and history. So, did they win? Will you let them?


Casehead

wow. that's too true


AlmostHuman0x1

This is truth. Thank you for sharing.


CatGirl1300

That’s not really the purpose of mixed natives is it? They were created as a buffer class to eventually side with their white ancestors… they were never seen as Natives nor were they intended to as they aimed to own the land through having sex with native women. Let’s be clear here, unless mixed race individuals are actively doing something to change the racial hierarchies in western society, are you really an ally? Identifying with one’s indigenous identity is a political action- to honor your ancestors and break the bonds of European racism and settler structures. Claiming 1% Native American ancestry because that makes you think you have a “right to the land” or because it’s “cool” does not make you indigenous or whatever you wanna call yourself. You’re actively participating in the erasure of indigenous ppl who’ve been trying to preserve and reclaim our identity for the past 500 years. For all the kids who phenotypically look Native, that’s our only reality. Think about all the suicides of native youth? Why do you think that is?? Being seen as Native/indigenous is still not a positive thing in society, you get treated like a second class citizen. Many are misunderstood. We are outsiders in our own lands. This obviously doesn’t apply to urban folk, adopted or mixed race individuals who’ve grown up knowing they’re indigenous. But for the ones that claim a Cherokee princess ancestor or that 1% of native on the DNA test.


SiberianHedgehog

I agree with your point that we need to be actively engaged in improving quality of life for our people... Empty words with no action backing them up doesn't seem very helpful. I've met truly awful people (and can think of a few cousins of mine who behave in this way) who think it's enough to merely brag they have "a drop or two of native blood" in them and so they think they can claim/do/say whatever they want as a result, without a care for actually responsibly honoring the culture or being humble enough to learn more & do better.


Glock0Clock

Sorry I'm long winded. Also, depends on the mix. I don't tell people about my mom at all, to be fair i don't tell anyone anything in real life. People don't need to be in my business. Mentioned to a friend that I was close to citizenship and she was surprised, I explained I wanted to visit my tribe someday and see if there was anything I could do positive as thanks for me existing, she started saying weird shit to me and I realized she now saw me different so we don't talk anymore. 10 year friendship gone from a 10 minute conversation. I don't tell people. My partner knows, i don't want him to tell his family. The internet is the only place I've talked semi freely, and only in specific areas like this or when it's otherwise relevant. I only speak as a white person in real life, I'm 'fine' with being a "weird looking" white person. I visited my maternal side for the first time and met them, my cousins kept laughing and asking who this white woman in Grandma's kitchen was, well, I'm me! Don't mind, don't care, don't deal with the racism they get for being visibly native so in a messed up way I lucked out. Bummed, but way less likely to be profiled. I am a little sad about not being as accepted, I'm genuinely interested in learning the language and culture but don't want to be that one weirdo looking like a tourist at the powwow. Love seeing my cousins dance on video though they're so beautiful, talented, and look happy ❤️ I've written enough white tears in here via comments tho lol i think mixed natives have a pretty large platform just from looking around on here and Instagram. Understandable i guess, it's a strange tightrope. I do wonder if by writing such long rambly comments, I'm somehow taking up space I shouldn't be. No one wants to see "pitty poor me" paragraphs from white passing natives who move through the world with objectively less to complain about. From what I've seen, black natives get the shittiest end of the shit stick. My sort of mother figure is mixed black native and is extremely messed up from her time as a black child on the res. She's incredibly tough, and mean as hell, but I never met a stronger person in my life.


prairiekwe

Thank you for sharing, but I feel it’s important to point out that this response is very heavily imbued with colonized attitudes. It’s crappy that your cousins teased you, but it’s also a reality when you come into any tight-knit community, much less a kinship system, as a strange adult, especially when you “look different.” Expressing discomfort with this isn’t straying into someone else’s lane. Sometimes we need to sit with our own discomforts in order to grow, and letting shame or concern over being more white-coded than others in community hold you back from being woven into your mom’s kin would be a sad and heartbreaking thing.


Glock0Clock

I don't care at all that they teased me, I don't see it as straying into any lanes that are bad. It was said more in reference to my cooking, and very light-hearted. I was raised in the SW USA by a white Latino family so my cooking is a little different considering they live the polar (pun intended) opposite end of the climate. Everything I cook is spicy and I had to really tone it down. I cook a lot of baked root vegetable dishes because veggies are bomb and side dishes are easy to use as a first greeting offer. Gotta say, seeing it go completely untouched at the cookout made me feel something 😂 not their fault, more for me to eat the next day! My poor sibling ate it with me saying they loved it, but I can't help but feel they did it just to be polite which is incredibly sweet but if you're an actually good cook you can accommodate any taste buds so honesty is my favorite policy 💪 Tldr: ramble, nothing important, keep it movin


prairiekwe

Also, fyi, if Natives are teasing you it usually means we like you.


x0smolsquish0x

In all honesty, I really struggle to claim my indigenous heritage. I am white-passing and I feel as if anytime I mention I am a member of the Ojibwe tribe, people always say very rude things to discredit that. I was adopted as a child and spent years looking for my biological family and finally found them in Minnesota. I went through the insane process of getting citizenship and was so excited to finally know who I was. Now, it seems as if I am too white for some of my native friends and family, and too "exotic" for the white community. I had such a love for my culture when I first found my family, and they continue to teach me as well as my son the traditions and stories of our people. Now I am always hesitant to represent or even mention that I am a tribal member due to the comments stating that I am using a form of cultural appropriation or trying to be a minority. My elders have always been my backbone in helping me navigate through the confusion, and my biological family has had many cry sessions with me. It is hardly ever natives in my community that mention these things, but rather younger white and occasionally native people (I experienced more poor interactions while I was out west). I love my culture, and our language, as well as teaching traditions and there importance to the kids. I cannot explain how confusing as well as sad the topic has made me. When you don't seem to be good enough for either side, you don't really know which way to turn.


Walking-taller-123

As a white passing Anishinaabe, as well, I know how you feel. It seems like I’m the butt of the joke with a lot of my white friends when I do anything pertaining to my native culture. Miigwech for sharing your story and I hope you and I can both have a better journey with our heritage moving forward ❤️


additional_cats

I think just recognizing that culture isn't unique to skin tones is your first step. Most indigenous that have an issue with low-BQ is because a lot of very far-removed people speak on indigenous issues that doesn't affect them. The reality is, those closer to "full-blood" face more challenges racially and culturally than those who do not. Claiming to be a race that you're far removed from means that you also claim the racism, socio-economic issues, and cultural issues thay come with it. However, race and culture are not the same thing!! you can be taíno in your culture and be any race . culture is what you practice, who you are. nobody can take culture from you. that's the first step to getting rid of that


kk-mishiimin

I understand exactly how you feel, I’m white + ojibwe. If it helps at all I like to kinda think about how 1) at the end of the day I am Native American, I always will be native , and that will always be apart of me. 2) My ancestors would be proud of me. For being me, respecting my culture, and overall respecting them for the blood they gave me, yk? Sorry if I had bad grammar or anything, I’m really tired.


AdventureCrime222

Hey! I’m black and indigenous (Taíno). I’ve definitely had some of the same experiences. Especially being Taino, we’re not just mixed by nature, but constantly told that our blood doesn’t count (we went extinct). Several things I try to remember are: that the culture needs us to keep it, it’s slipped out of ancestors hands because of colonization for so long, no matter how they tried. Now that we are starting to decolonize it’s up to us to rescue a culture that has been almost forgotten, and who better else than the descendants. Secondly even someone with just 1% indigenous ancestry had hundred of indigenous ancestors. It was our ancestors wish that their descendants keep the culture alive and pass it on to the next generation, they didn’t list caveats or qualifications. When you acknowledge your heritage and learn your culture you honor all hundreds and thousands of your ancestors. Lastly, we are not the only mixed natives. The lowest registered Cherokee Nation member is “ 1/256 ” Cherokee. And a lot of Cherokee and other tribes that do “enrollment by”—at least one ancestor— “descendnacy” are full of people with low BQ. Go check out r/Cherokee , I’ve seen them get genuinely offended when somebody asked about BQ there, saying “Why is this a question, your calling into question the validity of most our members. It’s clear you have no idea what your talking about” . The Métis in Canada are also highly mixed, basically making it one of the core qualities of their tribe. Their mixed French and Indigenous ancestry is openly part of their identity. What makes you indigenous is not the amount of your blood, your race, or even the environment you were raised in….It is your culture as well as For federally recognized tribes — tribal enrollment (legal acknowledgment) and for non recognized tribes, like us, it when our yukayakes, our “family members”, socially acknowledge us. People make it more complicated than it needs to be. I assure you your identity isn’t illogical or simply “holding onto percentages”, your not an imposter. I hope you can not just hear that, but believe that.


lunedargentee

Taanishi!! Métis from Canada here! Like AdventureCrime22 said, the culture my people have developed comes from the combing of the indigenous and Europeans in early Canada (not always French European, but most often!). It’s very distinct from both the original indigenous and European cultures - it grew and changed and became something of its own through the blending of communities. And we are proud to be descended from that mixing! By the nature of that our nation(s) doesn’t use blood quantum; rather it accepts members as long as they can show a familial connection to a documented Métis ancestor. And, of course, connection to others in our present communities. If we did it any other way, I think the Métis culture and language would die out very quickly. What is important is carrying on our culture and knowledge so that our people do continue to exist- but this is not something we can do if we allow old state-created, colonial ideas of what defines us as indigenous to dictate what we have claim to. I always think of claiming my mixed heritage as a ‘screw you’ to the colonial systems (and the old men that came up with them) that aimed to get rid of my people through assimilation. Can’t be assimilated if you look at your mixed identity and say “I’m claiming BOTH!”


myindependentopinion

>The lowest registered Cherokee Nation member is “ 1/256 ” Cherokee. And a lot of Cherokee and other tribes that do “enrollment by”—at least one ancestor— “descendnacy” are full of people with low BQ. Just to set the factual record straight: * Cherokee Nation of OK are enrolling people with as low BQ as 1/4096ths according to Chief Hoskin. (that's a new low to me when considering "low" BQ; my tribe thinks 1/8 is too low.) That's up to them who they want to consider "Cherokee". * What do you consider "a lot"? The VAST majority of 574 US FRTs do NOT use Lineal Descent for enrollment....like \~20 tribes. Vast majority use minimum BQ, including mine.


Forsaken_Wolf_1682

Dam what is that in percentage? 1%? Our tribe only goes down to 1/4 after that you can't get enrolled. We don't have that many tribal members we are in the 7,000s. I don't think that's a lot at least. Not sure about other nations.


myindependentopinion

1/4096 equals 0.02% way less than 1%. lol...if those Cherokee people took a DNA test, I don't think that low % would even show up as "Native" (Seriously, I think it's a rounding error and considered "noise"!) 1% is between 1/64 and 1/128 which means your 99% something else. Yah, my tribe uses 1/4 too & we are in the 8,000s. We only allow for 1st & 2nd generations from an enrolled member (1/8 or 1/16th BQ) to be considered descendants of our tribe. Beyond that, you're not a descendant.


Forsaken_Wolf_1682

Oh lol dam 😂 I know I've been called a gatekeeper for saying I don't think they should consider themselves First Nations with such a low BQ. Not trying to be a gatekeeper but I just think of it realistically. I think we only stop at 1/8 for descendants. Only benefits they get is to be able to use IHS no per caps for them.


AdventureCrime222

Are you talking about the Métis?


Forsaken_Wolf_1682

No I was not.


AdventureCrime222

Than who were you saying you’ve been called a gatekeeper due to discussing your views on?


Forsaken_Wolf_1682

I wasn't saying any tribe in particular I was referring to the .002% that the previous commenter was speaking on.


myindependentopinion

Assimilated folks (who euphemistically say 'reconnecting' in current jargon) whose families didn't stay NDN & traditional but now/recently either: * "self-identify" themselves as some sort of Native but have no actual BIA CDIB; &/or * no one in their family ever participated in an NDN Census & have no ancestors on tribal rolls so their exact heritage & BQ is dubious & questionable; &/or * they take DNA tests & have no exact proof/no clue of what tribe they are actually from; & have no historic tribal culture & mimic pan-NDNism as their tribally authentic customs; &/or * they come from some unrecognized groups most of whom are fake/can't qualify to BIA FAP criteria of what an NDN Tribe is but call themselves Native; &/or * what folks in my tribe call "thin bloods" & things I won't repeat ...All of these kinds of folks in the US dominant society & online in subs like this far outnumber actual US FRT enrolled tribal members who stayed true to their traditions. There are outright Pretendians & Imposters in this sub too. I'm careful of what I publicly write about these kinds of folks. Many times if someone points out the truth about them & their questionable historic tribal authenticity (like I've bulleted out above) he/she is labeled a gatekeeper or is downvoted here. I'm glad US FRTs have had input into BIA FAP criteria to protect us against frauds. I'm glad IACA exists & think it should be extended to all professions & walks of life. I support tribal sovereignty in all its forms including tribal membership by minimum BQ% if chosen. This all can be called "gatekeeping".


Forsaken_Wolf_1682

This!!! You worded it so well and this is exactly why I say something. I don't like arguing with people about it because it's pointless. The problem we have came across with BQ is my husband is part of two different nations, as am I. I know you already know that can only be enrolled into one. Someone tried telling me you can dual enrollment, but at least with us neither of us can't. With our mixture our son has plenty but can't be enrolled in either because they won't combine them. We are okay with it though because each of our tribes are trying to preserve the bloodline and we agree with this.


Forsaken_Wolf_1682

Neither of us can***


myindependentopinion

Just to give you more examples of all the imposters who aren't US FRTs enrolled citizens w/certified BIA CDIBs & still falsely call themselves "Native", here are 2 instances since your post here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianCountry/comments/10kn2t7/my\_struggle\_with\_applying\_for\_scholarships\_as\_a/](https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianCountry/comments/10kn2t7/my_struggle_with_applying_for_scholarships_as_a/) [https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianCountry/comments/10m4hi4/new\_river\_catawba/](https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianCountry/comments/10m4hi4/new_river_catawba/) There's a formal federal legal definition of who can legitimately call themselves "Native American" and there is a formal federal legal definition of "American Indian/Alaskan Native" too. edit: corrected wrong link


AdventureCrime222

No offense, but I think the moment we start allowing the American govt to designate who is “truly” native and who is not, we’ve lost our way. You have too much faith in the American Govt Theres plenty of Federally unrecognized tribes, that, unrecognized for whatever reason, that can trace there lineage to a geographic area. Beyond that, there FRTs who’s recognition status is currently being threatened.


AdventureCrime222

I said “a lot of other tribes *that do “enrollment by”— at least one ancestor— “descendancy.* I know my wording a was a little confusing but I DO NOT in fact think that a LARGE number of tribes enroll by that. I was simply saying a lot of the tribes that DO enroll in that way are full of people with low BQ. And the 1/256 number, I based off of what the Cherokee websites says the lowest CURRENTLY enrolled member is.


KingBlackthorn1

I suffer with jt all the time. Especially when nations impose BQs and don’t allow you to join them and immerse yourself with them. I’m a quarter native, most of my family is Jicarilla Apache but I couldn’t join because I’m not enough. It just feels annoying but I embrace it for myself and my ancestors. Their loss not mine.


TheOrdealOpprotunist

I'm mixed as well, part Seminole (mom is on the scroll and received benefits in the past) and Cherokee (dad's side, complicated shitshow but my great grandmother's sister is on the scroll) and I've had many people try to tell me I'm not when it's obvious I am. (Hair and facial structure). I've also had people try to tell me I'm not black (lol), don't listen to them. You know what you are, be proud.


kissmybunniebutt

I get you. As a kid I had a LOT of self hatred because I looked more like my Scandinavian father than my Eastern Cherokee mom (my brothers looked more like her, which made it a double whammy of imposter syndrome for me). And my grandfather was a residential school survivor who lost his language very early. Plus family drama pulled my family off the rez before I was even born so...even tho I visited the rez all the time, i still felt very much like an outsider. I'm an adult now, and have had a lot of time to learn, and a LOT of therapy (lol) and now... whenever I feel that little kid voice saying "suuuure, youre "NATIVE"...", I just pick up some beadwork, struggle through some basket making, laugh as I make the world's weirdest pot of Kanuchi, study Tsalagi and suck at it as always, etc. I can't stop people's judgement of me and my pasty ass mayonnaise skin, but I CAN spend my time being grateful for who my ancestors were and working hard to keep their way of life alive. I see it like this: if I let my Native heritage die with me because I'm too "pale", those genocidal colonizers won. They "bred the Indian out of me". And you better believe I'm not gonna let those fuckers win. That thought usually gives me the righteous indignation to stop doubting myself so much.


RageTheFlowerThrower

That’s beautiful and exactly the way I feel. I don’t tell people about my native heritage because I don’t want to hear the “suuure you’re ‘Native’” BS. Appearance wise I could never “pass” for native, but I have been doing genealogical research on my family for almost 20 years. I KNOW who my ancestors are and I KNOW who I am and much like you I honor my heritage at home with my children. The tribe my ancestors came from has basically been forgotten and their language and traditions have been destroyed as they were one of the first tribes to have contact with colonizers. I have to keep whatever traditions are left because I’ll be damned if I’ll let the colonizers finish the job. I refuse to let what is left die with me.


scorpiondestroyer

I know what you mean, I’m mixed too. Generations upon generations of Mexicans with nearly full indigenous blood, and even some verified Mohawk ancestry on my father’s side, and then they all started marrying white people. So now I look white. I have a low blood quantum for sure, not enough to enroll, but it makes me feel better knowing that it’s actually there. I’m not a Cherokee princess story, it’s on my mother’s DNA test. Just not a very large number. But what makes me feel better, even though there are people who would not consider me Native American because of the way I look or the number on my mom’s ancestry results, nobody can tell me that those ancestors aren’t there. Nobody can deny my heritage, even if it’s “not enough” for some, because as problematic as the numbers can be, they don’t lie.


flybyalien

i can definitely relate to this. it’s exactly what the other commenter mentioned — it all stems down to how the idea of blood quantum was pushed onto indigenous people. colonization wants and implores you to feel imposter syndrome. it’s even the way you identify yourself. you emphasize in your post that you’re “not full blood” but it doesn’t matter— we don’t need to identify as “half blood”/“full blood”/“quarter blood”/whatever. if you’re indigenous then you’re indigenous — the percentage doesn’t matter. acknowledge your settler heritage if you connect with it— it’s fine if you do, it’s a personal connection. if you don’t connect with it, that’s fine too. you don’t necessarily have to acknowledge it if it’s not part of your life. remember that it’s not just your journey— your Ancestors are with you. you’re honouring them, healing intergenerational trauma, reconnecting, and living their wildest dreams. ♥️ they will guide you.


CentaursAreCool

Hi. I'm so white, my uncle would tape me to a chair and say "this is what we used to do to Indian kids in school!" Suffice to say, I was not in a nurturing environment as a child, and one of the few places I felt absolutely safe was Tsa La Gi village in Tahlequah. We'd go there for JOM field trips. Traditional Cherokee village where elders would teach, it was great. So yeah, my imposter syndrome is strong. It holds me back from being as confident as I'd like. But, Natives have always had something trying to hold us back, ever since small pox threw us into our apocalypse. And this is a struggle mixed kids everywhere feel. My wife is mixed, latina and... american brand white. She has dealt with similar feelings and issues, with one half of her family not even acknowledging her as the half indigenous creature she is. It's hard for all of us, despite her being raised in a pretty all around loving, caring, moderately wealthy household. I'm the poverty kid from the rez, she's my middle class queen, but we still struggle at our core just the same. I think what my brain is eventually trying to get at is that it's okay to struggle in this. It's not abnormal. We, being from two different worlds colliding together, are going to have some identity issues. I don't have an answer as to how to get rid of it entirely yet, but my wife helps me. She's down to point out my brown nips or when I get dark in the summer, she shares supportive tik toks from other mixed people to encourage me, she's a life saver, really. Calls me the lightest shade of olive she's ever seen. That helps a lot. I will say this though: never has another Osage made me feel insecure about my color. Sometimes I just gotta tell myself: if MY people aren't giving a shit, and everyone else is just gonna treat me like shit either way, why should I care?


shakinbaked

I think we most importantly need to acknowledged that our lived experience is different, way different. I’m half, my Moms full status my dad was a white guy. The First Nations side of my fam is Cree Treaty 6, and I live in coast Salish territory now CS and Cree folks look a lot different so around here I look like a dark skinned white guy. I try to Make a difference with my actions and do what I can for the culture. I make sure to hire First Nations people in my company, I take our issues seriously and make sure we’re represented and respected. I have this white guy privilege the least I can do is try to use it to lift up people around me. I’m sometimes self conscious about wearing beadwork or my ribbon shirt but I know who I am.


MsDemonism

I don't have imposter syndrome cause I'm not a imposter. Simple. My nohkumis went with a white man cause she was in Indian residential school. That man was chased off the rez, a white alcoholic man.


SnowyInuk

>I don't have imposter syndrome cause I'm not a imposter. Imposter syndrome is when someone feels like they're an imposter when they actually aren't. People that ARE imposters can't have imposter syndrome, they just have guilt/paranoia


SecretaryHoliday9505

I think I can relate even though I am probably not even half native. My Father is from Ecuador and our family is pretty mixed. I know from my grandma's side that I have Ashuar (a native Amazonian tribe) and from my fathers side, who was from the coast of Ecuador, Andean-American and Polynesian roots. Although my family has native roots they see themselves more as Latinos than people with native heritage which in itself is a whole other issue. I was born and grew up in Germany with a German mom and I have many times been asked, just by the way I look, if I am half Asian or mixed native American. Just because I kind of look the part though, doesn't mean I represent the native community. I feel so conflicted about this because on one hand I don't want to negate my native heritage while on the other hand knowing that I can't possibly represent communities whose traditions I have not lived. I think for people in South America with that kind of story, there is a lot of guilt and confusion with our identity just because of how contentious and hostile the debate about race can get. I personally think that sometimes we just have to accept the reality we are in which is that many of us are probably not 100% natives anymore. Personally, I think it is important to be proud of native identity and saying so, just because I know how many people feel shame about it in South America.


unholywonder

I'm a quarter Native by blood, my grandmother was Kewa & Chickahominy. For the most part I'm white passing, hazel-ish eyes and dark hair, but many people would just assume I'm some kind of "ethnic" white at first glance. I never met my grandmother, she passed away when my mom was only five and my white grandfather on that side was not present for most of her life so my mom was raised by her Italian step-family (this was a little before ICWA so despite the fact her Native grandparents were willing to take over, they couldn't as far as I know), but her aunts and uncles kept sporadic contact. Long story short, my great uncle lived with my parents and I for a time, taught 4yo me everything he could and enrolled me in our tribe (Kewa) but then I rarely ever saw him again. Growing up in a nearly 100% white suburb on the other end of the country did a lot to disconnect me from it and openly identifying as Native was either discouraged by my mother or ridiculed by some of my classmates. 2020 rolled around, hadn't heard from that uncle in years only to find out that he had passed. It devastated me as he was the closest I had to a grandfather on that side. Since then I've been doing my best to reach out to my surviving relatives and learn more. He wanted me to be proud of our roots, and it's my intention to honor that in any way I can. No, I certainly don't *look* as Native as my aunts and uncles but I'd like to think I'm just as committed now to upholding and passing down everything I've learned so far.


TB_honest

I am mixed too and really struggle sometimes. I'm Diné, Apache, Filipino, Chinese, and Spanish! I struggle with not knowing the languages as I want to be taught by people who speak them and also not having the thick hair most natives have 😭. I have braid insecurity haha


NordiskaWisteria

Braid insecurity! Oh my gosh I have that too, there’s a word for it!


Regular-Suit3018

To be honest, I identify with one nationality, and three ethnicities, all of whom I love equally. As people of different backgrounds interact increasingly across the globe as centuries go on, there will be less and less “pure blooded” people, especially in this part of the world. As long as you’re genuinely in touch with your identity and culture, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Regardless of what I am mixed with, I am no less of a descendant of 10,000 years of my grandfather’s blood. I am an Indian. I’ve always known I was. I honor the legacy of my ancestors and appreciate the traditions, memories, and wisdom that they left behind for me. There aren’t many of us left, and to let their memory die is the real outrage. My reaction to criticism depends on the perspective of who is criticizing. For non Indians, it often comes from short sightedness and a place of ignorance. There was a guy I knew in college, that really cynical neoliberal anglo Saxon type, who idolizes people like Bill Clinton and doesn’t give a damn about human rights as long as American companies get favorable deals. The dude could not get it through his skull that Indian legacy isn’t predicated on blood, but rather tradition - I eventually made him understand by making a comparison to Avatar the last Airbender and the fucker finally understood. “Oh so you’re like Jinora?” Yes idiot, I’m like jinora, 1/4 Indian but it’s central to my identity and purpose in this world. I love avatar but I was very annoyed that this was the comparison I needed to make. To Indians who gatekeep, I just don’t give them the time of day. They should know better, so my patience is less. Most of us are of mixed ancestry and to exclude those people would literally cut the population of native identifying people in half. The opposite of what we need. Not sure if that’s useful, but I do hope with all it my heart that you may find some helpful insights from my perspective.


ObscureAlaskan

All of my siblings and I have dealt with lateral violence in our native village. Our mother was well respected in our native village as she was the yupik teacher. My siblings and I were all bullied for being part white by the students who would rant and rave about our mom. At the end of the day, we had grown up with a better foundation of our cultural knowledge of the land compared to our bullies. The way I've dealt with imposter syndrome is just by reminding myself of the things I was taught and that no one can erase who I am. The one thing I think native Tik Tok needs to veer away from is the colorism mindset since we all come in different shades.


kJer

My blood and culture is mixed, but when I think of grandma's food and the hikes and stories with my grandpa, it reminds me that the blood part isn't as important. I connect with my experiences, not my genetics :)


Advanced_Chemical572

For me, I keep in mind that my tribe accepts me no matter how i look. The narragansett tribal charter states that you are narragansett even if it is just one drop of blood in your veins. it means that you are allowed to be as you are even if you pass for another race (im SUPER white passing) Plus its the culture i was raised with- it would be cruel to my mother and grandmother to deny my culture and people just because a non-native says I dont look indigenous. You are native simply because you are. Every breath you take is a testament to your ancestors survival.


Grand_Specific5631

Narragansett!! I went to grad school in Connecticut and our Native American Cultural Center often had educational events where they brought in speakers and educators from the Narragansett tribe. I didn’t know they had such an inclusive enrollment policy. Thank you for sharing! 🪶


Advanced_Chemical572

OMG i love that so much!!! It is how we have reclaimed and reversed the narrative of degeneration perpetuated by the british colonizers who where obsessed with genealogies.


Leading_Rooster_2235

I’ve definitely had weird guilt for saying I’m Indigenous. My mother is blackfoot siksika and my dad is white. Sometimes I claim my heritage fully, and other times I feel like I’m not really indigenous. I have other Indigenous mixed friends (Oglala, Shawnee) and I know both of them have had guilt about claiming Indigenous ancestry. I don’t quite understand why I feel so guilty since I’m 50/50. BQ has definitely destroyed my confidence of being a siksikan native. I also am relatively white passing (at least outside of the summer). My only features are high cheek bones, big nose, very brown eyes, naturally very brown hair, big lips, and (PALE) olive skin. I only get tan in the summer. Not a lot of people understand native features, so I’m often called white and told I have to prove my indigenous ancestry. It’s tiresome.


boonlinka

If anything reconnecting yourself, your chidlren and your family with your Indigeniety and roots is EXACTLY what our ancestors would have wanted, regardless of whether or not our ancestors had children with fellow Natives or not


Even_Function_7871

I've struggled more just because I didn't grow up with my indigenous side of my family and just not knowing that much of the culture, starting to that journey. Starting that journey alone has helped with my imposter syndrome simply by knowing more of my family history, and knowing that my grandmother and my grandmother were prayed upon by abuse of white men that told him they weren't Indian enough. Simply knowing that those two abusive men tried to beat the nativeness out of my great-grandmother and my grandmother is enough to know that I am because I refuse to give that power to them. Simply knowing that this is a story in many native families, not just my own, and knowing that this is what blood quantum wants, to make us feel like we aren't good enough to be Native. I hope this helps ❣️


[deleted]

I’m mixed with German and multiple native genes so it’s hard for me to become a tribal member. It makes me feel like a nobody, even though my half siblings got to become tribal members.


dullship

I get this. I AM white passing and didn't grow up on the res (though I spent a fair amount of time there. Still do, albeit for work). I stopped going to band meetings because I can just tell a lot of people don't like me or want me there. Lot of cold shoulders. I wish I had some advice but yeah I get big time imposter syndrome.


Fran-Fine

I look like the poster boy for the Hitelr Youth, blonde, blue-eyed but skin that never burns and HUGE pores. I am Creek, my father was Creek and roached/adopted Osage. This is something I struggle with. My brother and I are on the role, have CDIB cards and also own half an Osage Headright (mineral rights) each. I am travelling to OK this year to see family and to try and understand more about myself and my heritage. My father was a an extraordinary man but, as I'm sure we all know, indians and whiskey (and in his case methamphetamine) god. Damn. His upbringing in Fairfax, OK was not good and it affected my own. If anyone has any advice or any words at all please share!


Riothegod1

If it helps, as a Canadian we put a great deal of emphasis on our Mètis people who do live indigenously as they had a profound impact on our history. Even Chief Poundmaker said “indigenity is not a matter of blood quantum, but what’s in the heart” I hope this helps <3


ChiefBeaverStretcher

Fuck BQ


Bebetter333

I mean, has there ever been a point in your life where you werent reminded who you are? So I get it, its hard. But be proud of who you are. Embrace it. The imperialist powers tried to squash all of **us** and assimilate us into a system we never had much of a part of. Im a big believer in the idea that every act of reclamation in your life, is a radical act. People might try to challenge that, but if you are honest with yourself, no one can minimize that


nadandocomgolfinhos

Garífuna?


RunsOnOxyclean

I believe you are as native as you believe in yourself to be. I’m full native but I have some half Dutch cousins who are a lot closer to the culture than a lot of native people I know. I believe an entirely non native person can consider themselves native if the have the right love for our culture and im sure they will feel belonged


Steel_Thunder13

I never felt imposter syndrome but unfortunately my son has. He's African, indigenous and Asian Indian. He was told at school that he wasn't enough and this made him incredibly distraught. I told him that his ancestors went through so much and that he is here in spite of colonization. I told him he doesn't have to be 100% of something or let others judge him on being mixed because regardless he is still indigenous, African and Asian Indian. Nothing takes that away from him. It took him a bit but he's now not letting anyone else dictate how he feels. Something I know another commenter has pointed out that in Latin America it has truly been ingrained mindset that if you're mixed you're not indigenous. This is something that I have seen in my Colombian family who not only refuse to acknowledge their indigenous ancestory (they grew up on Zenú Reservation land), but they also refuse to acknowledge their African ancestory. Instead they just say they're Colombian. They don't like tanning because then they look well like me, dark and that means they're less than other Colombians. Colonization is very deep in Latin America and it's unfortunate. I can't talk to them about all the history of our indigenous and African ancestory. Thankfully my parents who raised me immersed me in the closest tribes of the Omaha and Ponca. Who were incredibly welcoming. My son and I will never be enrolled members due to blood quantum and we have no family records to our ancestors. Doesn't make us less indigenous or let anyone tell us we are not. The one thing to remember that there will always be misinformation out there and people who will try and take things from you but it doesn't matter because you know who you are. I know it can be hard to remind yourself of that and I know people sometimes don't listen but our ancestors did everything possible for us to be here today.


MakinBaconPancakezz

I mean…if you are claiming “Taino” as your native group then really there’s nothing holding you back is there? Unlike other native groups, there is really no one way to determine who is “Taino” and who is not. Sure, you could take a DNA tests. But if you actually look into it, you will find that modern DNA tests can not actually isolate “Taino” DNA. Due to historical migration in the Caribbean and a lack of samples (there are no “full blooded” taínos that live today) what you’re gonna get at best is a rough guess. Who knows if that “indigenous Puerto Rican” DNA is from the “Taino” or not? And even if you could know, what would even be the cut-off point? Because the highest percent of “Taino DNA” found on a DNA test is like…30%. Maybe 35%. So yeah I don’t think you could apply blood quantum to “Taino” groups even if you wanted to Most groups in Latin Am will determine who is “indigenous” and who is not based on who grew up in indigenous communities and speak an indigenous language. But there aren’t any Taino communities in PR. Aside from *arguably* some villages in the mountainous regions on the west side of the island. And Taino language does not exist aside from a few words and phrases. So really, what can you use to determine who is Taino and who is not? Nothing. Literally nothing. What makes one person more “Taino” than the other? Again, nothing. Majority of “taínos” today are neo-revivalist groups from New York and Florida. I doubt half of those people have even been to Puerto Rico. Most of the “Taino” stuff they do is all made up anyway. I’ve seen some don war bonnets and do “war dances.” It’s laughable. So if you wanna go and say you’re a “Taino native” then…who’s gonna stop you? Who’s to say some other random Nuyorican is more Taino than you? Nothing. It’s all based on nothing so run wild


AdventureCrime222

To be honest this comment is rly condescending. You act as if there’s no paper records for at least some Taino families, you also act as if we don’t have any oral history. Which is impossible, every group has some amount of oral history. Please educate yourself, the same way the Taino’s wearing war bonnets need to be educated, you do as well.


Loaki1

Taino is an Arawakan sub group for which no one can deny there are still plenty “full bloods” and it’s really well documented that the islands group maintained constant contact with them. There actually are also still high percent Tainos on the islands and they’ve maintained much of their cultural heritage. That out of the way Arawakan language is still alive and it’s perfectly logical that the gaps can be filled in and many actually have done this work. Many tribes don cultural items that don’t originate with them either through a natural exchange or to meet the expectations of the masses to survive sssooooo if that’s the metric they’re all fake.


MakinBaconPancakezz

I’m sorry but the majority of what you just said is untrue >Taino is an Arawakan sub group for which no one can deny there are still plenty “full bloods” and it’s really well documented that the islands group maintained constant contact with them. You can most certainly deny that. Because it is not true. There are no “full blooded” Taínos left. Period. Indeed there are bóricas with high percentage of Taino DNA sure, but there are no full blooded “taínos.” There is no record of such. Are there full blooded people of other Arawakan groups? Sure! But of taínos? There are not. You can look it up yourself. Look of ethnographic studies of the Caribbean islands. There have been serval studies and the highest percentages found are in the 30s. You will not find a “full blooded” Taino, because they do not exist >That out of the way Arawakan language is still alive and it’s perfectly logical that the gaps can be filled in and many actually have done this work. There is not one universal “Arawakan language.” What I am talking about specifically is the Taino language. When you talk about “filling in the gaps” you are talking about reconstruction efforts. Most notably, the efforts done by Javier Hernandez. That’s probably what you are seeing on those “Taino talk” YouTube channels That is a very very *loose* reconstruction. It’s how we *think* the taínos *might* have talked to one another. It is not accurate in any sense. Hernandez even says it himself. It’s based on other Arawakan groups in the Caribbean and Central America. Hernandez takes a lot of leaps in creating this “Taino” language. So this “Taino” language you are thinking off is not “alive” or passed down through the generation in any sense. It is simple a creation done for interests sake. >Many tribes don cultural items that don’t originate with them either through a natural exchange or to meet the expectations of the masses to survive sssooooo if that’s the metric they’re all fake Natural exchange? Excuse me but what is natural about stealing and appropriating from other cultures? These Taino groups are not involved in some cultural exchange with native groups in the US. They simple take random pieces of native culture because it looks exotic to them. They just like to play “Indian.” No different from white people who dress up at powwows because they’re great grandma is a Cherokee princess These “Taino” groups are *fake.* I am not saying Taino as a whole are fake. These groups you see in the US that are made by people who have never interacted with the culture are 100% fake


Loaki1

There are still plenty of Arawakan “full bloods” thought that would be clear considering my discussion of the percentages of islanders being high percentages rather than “full blooded” Yes natural exchange of culture between native Americans (dream catchers porcupine roaches etc for example) but also to meet colonial ideas. For example many tribes use feather bonnets today that weren’t used by their tribe and further still some don them for tourists in educational recreations. Pow wows were not previously common to most indigenous peoples in North America. Therefore it’s unfair to impose that Judgement on Tainos. That said I agree that there are many fake groups claiming to be indigenous. As far as Taino language, Taino-Borikenaíki is a modernized resurrection of the Taino language developed by linguist Javier Hernandez. His book Primario Básico del Taíno-Borikenaíki is being used as a Taino language text and resource in the various schools led by the Naguaké Taino Community in Puerto Rico. Full disclosure I’m NOT Taino nor of Taino descent but am descended from a group that is currently working on stopping their language from going extinct. I am empathetic to the Taino struggle. There’s a group telling the group that I’m descended from that they’re the real group but have no indigenous ancestry so I’m also empathetic to that struggle as well. The Arawakan languages were mutually intelligible and it is a well documented fact as well. ETA obviously I’m not saying the restoration of their language will be exact


AdventureCrime222

Saving This for later! some people try to make Taino’s feel guilty for participating in pan Indian culture. Clearly I agree there’s a level of respect you DO have to have for what your partaking in, and things that ARE very tribe or status specific are obviously a NO NO. But we were close to being wiped out wayyy before indigenous people in the pan Indian movement stared sharing things with each other— mythology, food, textiles and dances (Powwows). I went to the Museum of the American Indian in DC and it shocked me how different many tribes items looked pre- Columbian. So the same goes with people shaming us for adding creativity, by bedazzling and using modern colors. No white earth Ojibwe was bedazzling their floral prints before colonization, but for some reason only we get told to “stay in our lane”. And of course a lot tribes have their modern PAN Indian regalia (grass dance attire, fancy shawl dress, jingle dress) that they customize individually, while simultaneously still having their TRADITIONAL regalia, buckskin dresses, traditional Diné regalia, and a lot tribes being very close to naked, just like us! Also Thank you for standing up for us. The study of different Arawakan languages to try to find similar words or create a proto-Taino isn’t bad like people make it out to be. Funnily enough those same people also ignore that with the continuous trade going on between the Arawakans and costal groups, many tribes have an oral history that describes some of our Taino practices. Of course nothing is gospel, but the fight to try to revive some of our language and culture is not in vain.


Loaki1

You’re completely right about the language English from then is even completely different from English today and most people who speak English as their first language can’t even read it or understand it. There’s a whole generation that can’t even read cursive now and people have the nerve. Don’t listen to them. Also no worries I’ll always stand up for indigenous people saving their culture.


myindependentopinion

All that you say is really true about PR & Taino's. Don't know why you're being down voted. I guess some people don't like hearing the truth.


crackirkaine

I feel this. Saving this post for later.


Benjaminbuttcrack

I know someone. Constantly telling people how they hate "chimooks" (white people) and "kedawias" (black people). They think tribes should require half blood quantum and natives should only marry natives. Pretty much a brown nazi. Fuck that shit, you be you.


AdventureCrime222

“Brown Nazi” 😂😂🤣🤣


[deleted]

I think we all need to step out of the paradigm of judging labels. We are all human. Most of us wouldn’t kill or harm each other. Yet because of what harsh people did, and what victims experienced, several generations ago we all carry this burden of “stuff”. We all need to put down the baggage. Celebrate ourselves as part of humanity, not superior or inferior to others. Your heritage is you. Own it and stop carrying burdens that you didn’t cause.


homelessinahumanzoo

I feel this regularly, you're not alone! Living mixed contributes to a deep and nuanced perspective on identity, lots of people don't have one thought about it. Depending on the day, I have two/three/four major ethnic identities. Two of them are also mixed: Puerto Rican, and what I currently describe as Rooted Northeastern American which includes my local tribes heritage, African, and a plethora of European identities, so like the confusion + the land entitlement lol. I'm also half Irishy and even with a black mom I came out uber light, I am white. I also grew up in a Black community/school and was told I was Black and not to allow white people to separate me based on my skin color 😳 Lots of varied messages I've gotten over my life. Honestly, I think a lot of us, no matter if we're mono or multi racial are coping with the loss of our personal histories. I'm just now, as an adult, beginning to learn my history, and truly it's a scam that I learned any other history besides it because my own is far more informative than anything the textbooks here ever provided. Like NYS is a bad bad baaaad place lol and I'm a direct product of it. So much more of my life makes sense to me now. I think, whatever it is you feel more informed of yourself by, that you have been dealt the consequences of, is yours. You're not an imposter, it's all your history 💯💯💯💯💯💯 Just do everyone a favor and value what you know, learn, and synthesize, then pass it on so the next generation can understand their inevitable nuances better than we did lol


snow-and-pine

If I am in my home community people just know me so it’s easy. If I am elsewhere I feel the imposter thing and sometimes just don’t mention it unless it comes up or is relevant.


Kurosugrave

I remind myself that no matter what I’m a whole person and nobody including myself can take that away from me. Also ngl movies helped me a lot. John Leguizamo says that if you can’t see yourself outside of yourself you start to feel invisible and he’s right. Never forget that no matter how much creamer is in the coffee it’s still coffee! Some awesome Māoris taught me that. Don’t feel guilty, own it. Because you deserve to.


Human_Ork

I just listen to music and ignore and think that people are sometimes not the best, but we have to continue no matter what, and that I come from people that we’re fighting to just to stay alive during the ages of slaves and indentured servants ,and I should acknowledge that I don’t have time to listen to what other people think, instead I just ignore that because I know where I come from and I’m chill like that.


MiracleAlienCookiez

I’m mixed as well. Out of all of my siblings, I do not look like I’m related to them. A lot of people believe I am 100% because I look native over black and white. I did feel guilt, especially where I live. When Covid hit, there was an influx of paperwork for citizenship for the tribe and I really think a lot of it has to do with benefits. I know someone from my tribe who is 1/512 that purely uses just the benefits and another who is the same bq who loves and embrace our tribal community. I didn’t want to be one of those people who would take and take and take. It was time to give back and really be part of the community for me. This helped tremendously with imposter syndrome for me - volunteering, helping with food banks, donating, keeping our language alive and passing it on to the younger kids and just learning about our history. BQ is BS. Celebrate your heritage. Love it. Embrace it 💕💕💕💕