September 02, 2008

Lots of possible Indians

Indian identity remains in questionMore than five centuries after Europeans made their first recorded contact with Native Americans, who they mistakenly termed Indians, the debate continues over who can claim to be Indian.

Is it the fullblood, whose ranks continue to decline, or the person with a large percentage of Indian blood?

Is it the person who meets a blood quantum, such as the requirement by the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians that its members be at least one-quarter blood?

Is it the person who, although having a slight degree of Indian blood, can prove descent from a person allotted land by the Dawes Commission and thereby has a card?

Or is it the person who, by whatever claim of family descent, claims Indian blood and perhaps a membership in one of dozens of “tribes” that have filed claims but have not been federally recognized?

And what can bona fide tribes, and their members, do about those with fraudulent claims?

A panel discussed all these cases during the concluding session of the State of Sequoyah Commission’s annual conference Friday at Northeastern State University. And during the discussion, one man who objected to its conclusions was ejected from the University Center.

“There are a number of issues that need to be addressed with different people in different states who come together and claim to be tribes,” said Dr. Richard Allen, policy analyst for the Cherokee Nation “We would like to make impersonation of a tribe, or a tribal citizen, a felony,” said Cara Cowan Watts, Cherokee tribal councilor.

“You can’t just create one. You can’t just make up an Indian tribe, culture or people. You can’t split off from another Indian tribe.”
And:As the students made their presentations, Murv Jacob, a longtime Tahlequah artist who portrays traditional Cherokee themes, went from table to table distributing copies of his letter to the editor published in Friday’s Daily Press. As he was doing so he exchanged words with Bread and Allen.

They and several other men escorted him from the hall outside the Herb Rozell Ballroom and down the steps of the University Center.

“I’m being dragged out of here!” Jacob exclaimed.
Comment:  For more on the last point, see Hillbilly "Indian" vs. 1/256th Cherokee. For more on the subject in general, see Indian Wannabes.

8 comments:

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
Native identity is theirs to determine, and it is not EuroMan's to decide. As writerfella has stated heretofore, Native consciousness both is unique and extraordinary. You either know you are Native, or you do not. It cannot be explained otherwise, as it is a matter of personal and physical recognizance, period...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

Rob said...

In many cases, Indians themselves are determining who's an Indian. Sometimes they'll go by the evidence of their eyes, and sometimes they'll require evidence of ancestry or blood quantum.

It's the latter determination you clearly don't understand. Even your own tribe has rules about who can be a member, but I guess you're ignorant of them.

Not a single tribe enrolls Indians based on "knowing" they belong. If you disagree, name the tribes that use this criterion. Good luck with your answer...you'll need it.

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
Ah, but that only is because, at gunpoint, EuroMan stripped Natives of their original cultural imperatives and subjected them to EuroMan law and Robert's Rules of Order. Just as Hitler brainwashed his whole nation into believing his manifesto, so have Native governments been mesmerized into believing that American law knows all. Even EuroMan knows better, but he never will say it out loud...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

Rob said...

So "Native governments been mesmerized into believing that American law knows all"? In other words, most Natives are stupid or ignorant compared to you? Thanks for demonstrating your overweening arrogance to everyone.

Re "Native identity is theirs to determine, and it is not EuroMan's to decide": Except in the case of the Pequots and Chickasaws, it seems. They've determined they're Native but you've determined they're not. Like the egotistical Euro-apple you so obviously are, you think your opinion trumps theirs.

You'd do great at all the Indian wannabe gatherings here and in Europe. You could tell them "Native identity is theirs to determine, and it is not EuroMan's to decide," and they'd eat it up. They'd probably make you an honorary member of their "tribe" for legitimizing their nonsense.

Conny said...

So who is a "real" Indian and who is a wannabe?

What about Americans who were told (or discover through genealogical research) that someone in their family was Indian (or part Indian), and now they declare themselves Indians and organize powwows? Is that an attempt to connect to the past, similar to, say, Civil War reenactors? Or are they trying to (re-)create a culture?

There are plenty of people in our small county in Northwest Florida who are of German descent (and I'm not talking about great-ancestors but relatives as close as parents and grandparents), yet in the eight years I've lived here there has never been a German Festival - but there is an annual powwow. What is the fascination with Indian ancestry?

Rob said...

I addressed the question of who's a "real" Indian in "Actual Indian" Defined. Check it out.

Conny said...

Thanks, Rob!

Wakeupcall said...

Hitler THE euroman, loved whimsical writer fella Karl May and the fact that in the US there was little recognition of tribal populations, seeking compense for genocide. This has and will always be accsessible, justifiying our claims through many generations of rolls and census taking.