Native American

I read your post here and I felt really bad for all Native American. I think they should not have been treated like that at all, and my heart feels very sad each time when I read about stuffs like this. Minority races should always be treated equally and with respect and that is something that I believe, truly.

That is very sad, indeed, and I know where you are coming from. My maternal Great Grandmother was Creek. I don't belong to any tribe and I can't imagine "buying" my way in. That's just ridiculously disgusting! I had an argument with my Aunt one time about something similar. She was trying to get me to apply for government money because we are eligible. I just could not see myself doing that. I have studied the Creek, but only as a part of my heritage. I am not interested in gaining anything from it. My paternal Grandmother was part Seminole, but I have never traced how much. There aren't enough records to find out. My last name is Scott and I do go to the Scottish Gathering of the Clans. More than once I have seen people there I wondered about. The Scott clan will only accept people born with the name Scott, who had a mother with the name Scott or belongs to one of the few septs they accept. I am unsure how other Clans do it. But at one Gathering, I saw a Japanese family all decked out in kilts and tartan. I think it made me feel like you are talking about. It sort of stunned me and angered me at the same time. I celebrate all of my ancestors and try to honor them all, but I cannot imagine just trying to be someone I am not.

Wow. I see the white man taking advantage of the Native Americans is still going on. You would think that would have stopped by now. Where were all these people who think being Native American is cool when the unemployment rate on reservations was through the roof and health care was just as bad? I would love to partake in a Pow Wow, but only to understand more about the traditions of a tribe. Not just to be "cool."

That's terrible that people would do that. The white people shouldn't be allowed to do that. The Native American culture is very interesting to me. I enjoy studying it. They have many things they can teach us.

You have to understand that everyone needs a place where they belong. Some are so lost that they have to place their selves somewhere even if they don't belong.

I also have Native American blood, although i have no idea how much since it comes from both my mothers and Fathers family. Why are white people so generous with Illegal aliens (we provide them with free medical care, free food, make sure their children get an education) then when they are caught we reward them for breaking the law by making them citizens and apoligizeing for not speaking their language! But we can't seem to give The very people we stole this land from any of the things that ALL Americans are taught that they are entitled to, beginning with simple respect and the freedom to live as and where they wish.It dosen't matter what these whites pay or how much they try to dress the part they are still just stealing from American Natives as we have been doing for years and they should be ashamed to the very core of their soul!And i guess that finishes my rant!

Well I'm proud to say that I am a full-blooded Cherokee, about as full as you can get...lol. Its sad to know tho, that there aren't very many full-bloods anymore, at least not in my tribe there isn't, and our languages are dying out, I think thats very sad. I've never heard of white people seeking adoption into a Native American family to partake in pow-wows, I guess its true tho. Because you can go to a pow-wow and you'll see all these white people dancing, and some of them don't even know what they are doing. That does make me mad..acting like something your not. Now I don't hate white people, I'm not saying that, I have alot of friends that are white, but you wouldn't see them trying to dance in a pow-wow or acting Native. Not too long ago, my sister went to a pow-wow in Eureka Springs, Ark. I told her I didn't know there were indians there. She started laughing, she said theres a few there. But she said the one thing that made her mad, was that there was this white man dancing and she said he didn't have no idea what he was doing. He was trying to do the Straight Dance, and making a fool of himself, she said he even had a contest number, and she didn't know how on earth he got that..lol. She said his regalia, looked like something you would get at a costume store, or something that you would see on an old hollywood movie, that the indians wore on there, something made in china...lol. I just couldn't believe it, when she told me, and she said there were others that were the same way, he wasn't the only one. It made her mad...she was almost sick. Ok, thats my rant...have a good day...

It seems like this is the problem with religions and belief systems, cultures. Regardless of the goals or what we believe the direction should be, sometimes people filter in, that have no regard for what we stand for and believe. We get so caught up in being politically correct that we allow these groups to demean and demoralize our core beliefs. I have Cherokee on both sides of my family, lol...diluted...:)