Not a single tribe enrolls Indians based on "knowing" they belong. If you disagree, name the tribes that use this criterion.
Apparently your overwhelming arrogance trumps the rules of every tribe, even your own. Regardless of whom the Kiowa or any other tribe says is an Indian, you know better.
Now it's merely a "family history" that makes someone an Indian? I guess you forgot the standard you dreamed up before. Oops.
Tribes such as the Chickasaw and Kickapoo have documented histories going back hundreds of years, but you dismiss them because they don't fit your stereotypical notion of who's an Indian.
There's a huge difference between being an Indian, or being a person who has Indian blood.
[Y]our racist assumption that all Indians must look and act like full-blooded Kiowas is just that...your racist assumption.
You think you know better than the 560-plus tribes who accept the federal recognition process. That's mighty white of you, apple.
[B]elonging to a federal recognized tribe is one definition of "Indian" accepted by most Indians. It's a much better definition than your fictional "genetic racial memory" or "awareness granted by heredity."
Whether you can articulate or not, you have a dividing line in mind. So what is it?
I sent Russ's previous comments on the Chickasaw and Kickapoo to two correspondents from Oklahoma tribes. Here's how they responded: "Where to start with the ignorance?"
As far as I can tell, you have no standard; you merely disparage the tribes who aren't as pure as you are.
At least the federal government offers a standard, one backed by a lengthy examination process. That's more than you've done.
You've determined by some means that some tribes are "Indian" and some aren't. These are tribes recognized by the vast majority of Indians as Indian.
If Russ has defined a standard for determining who's a legitimate Indian--a verifiable standard that includes him; excludes Chickasaws, Pequots, and wannabes; and doesn't rely on blood quantum--I must've missed it.
By "my" standard, I gather you mean the standard accepted by Native nations in general.
Enjoy!
5 comments:
Writerfella here --
Rob, what you are advocating is that Native people do not know who is Native and who is not. Examine your own senses, and then decide who is Caucasian, AND WHO IS NOT! When you have made such decisions, then tell writerfella why and how your decisions were made. Then you might (or might not) know what racial existence is all about...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
Writerfella here --
POSTSCRIPTUM: Then again, you might decide that Barack Obama is as much Caucasian as are you. Then, writerfella might agree with you, but then again, we'd both be WRONG!
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
Re "Rob, what you are advocating is that Native people do not know who is Native and who is not": Wrong, as this posting makes clear. I've stated that there's a federal standard for recognizing tribes and most Indians accept it.
In other words, most Indians know who's an Indian because they understand federal Indian law. You're the only Indian who's confused--who can't say who is or isn't an Indian based on some standard.
Follow the links and remind yourself of what I've written. "Indian" is a political designation, not a racial one. One of these days I hope you'll grasp the word "political," but you obviously haven't yet.
As for who's a Caucasian, it's impossible to say for certainty without DNA testing. And even that gives only a crude approximation. Luckily, Indians fall into a different category since "Indian" is a political designation, not a racial one. Tribes determine who their members are regardless of their apparent race.
Writerfella here --
The only way you can prove that particular 'assumption' is if you could find an 'Indian' tribe that would accept YOU as a member. And receiving $20 checks from a particular tribe is not 'proof.'
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
Not surprisingly, you offer no defense for your egregious claims. As incredible as it seems, you don't know who an Indian is.
You may think you know one if you see one, but you literally can't say why. For a writer, you sure have trouble explaining yourself. I guess that's why you're a fiction writer: because you couldn't write clear nonfiction if someone paid you to.
By the way, liar, I don't receive checks from any tribe, so that isn't an issue. How many times will I have to explain this point before your stupid little peabrain gets it?
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