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I Am Native American (cherokee)

So Sad

By: Kholvn
Written on July 4th, 2009

At this moment folks are celebrating the 4th of July. I'm not. Hip, hip, hooray! for a country that's been trying to get rid of us for over 200 years? Not me. Don't get me wrong. I love this land - it's the government I can't stand. People asked me who I voted for this passed election, I said "No one." because no matter who gets in there the real people will get screwed anyway.

I've been lurking around here for a while now and finally decided to join. It just amazes me now many people are lost in their own skin. They're looking for a culture to cling to since they personally have none to fall back on. How many folks out there, if they found out they had a drop of African American blood, would go shouting it out to the world like they do when they think they've got NDN blood? Then they claim Cherokee blood to top it all off.

I don't mind folks interested in our culture but sad to say - most use it for their own greedy benefit. They claim to be medicine people, storytellers and chiefs. Ha! I've lived this life that these folks search for and I've met all kinds of folks across this land. Most are fine people but then there are those who say they are medicine people - WRONG! In order to be a medicine person you HAVE TO BE fluent in the language. Others say they are storytellers. WRONG! They are performers. In order to be a storyteller you have to get the position from an elder of your family. Then there are the chiefs - Ha! what a crock they are. As it's been said over and over here, there are only three chiefs and none other. Of course I'm pertaining to the Cherokee people and culture.

Anyway, if you're searching for truth in your heritage - begin with what you are mostly and then work from there.

Oh, and don't be giving yourselves these stupid names like "spirit of the wolf" or "morning crystal" or whatever. There's only one person that can give you your real name. But I ain't saying who that is cause then everybody will be saying "Yeah! That's who named me."

Bottom line: Good luck on your quest in finding yourself - just don't push it when it comes to NDN heritage (no matter what tribe you claim).

Wado.

By: Kholvn
Age: 51-55 , Male
1,218 people have read this story

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4 responses
  • Bigcat317
    Bigcat317

    Personally I think Stand Watie ruined it for all the cherokee. I have a long line of native american but there are people who claim to be chiefs and medicine people like you said but theres a problem with finding a cherokee chief in texas when the reservations are in Oklahoma and North Carolina. The question I have is I'm 1/4 cherokee and 1/4 Chocktaw but people doubt it because I have dark blue eyes but my dad is blue eyed with dark-reddish skin which I also have. Will the full blooded Cherokee and Chocktaw doubt my lineage? or should I stop claiming it?

    Jul 22, 2009
    1 like
  • YoNa
    YoNa

    yup yup. well said. me n dragging canoe been tryna tell all these ppl on here the same stuff u jus said! they hard headed tho. lol.

    Jul 17, 2009
    3 likes
  • YoNa
    YoNa

    yup yup. well said. me n dragging canoe been tryna tell all these ppl on here the same stuff u jus said! they hard headed tho. lol.

    Jul 17, 2009
    1 like
  • Kholvn
    Kholvn

    'siyo, bettybutton: You DO sound confused. What I tried to convey (and poorly it seems) is the fact that folks who say they have NDN blood usually don't but they claim it and usually for some con or fraudulent purpose. And this is the reason why we come down hard on folks who say they do.



    But if your grandparents were Irish and your parents were born in England then that makes your blood Irish no matter where you were born. Place doesn't matter. It's the blood. But how many people claim they're Irish so they can say they're Druids and sell stuff? How many find they have 1/600 th Irish blood and give themselves Irish sounding names? How many suddenly claim to be king or whatever?



    Also, I didn't say a person doesn't have the right to embrace their African heritage (if they have it). What I should have said was most people wouldn't go out trying to prove it and telling the world that they do like they do when they find that their great, great, great grandparents claimed they had NDN blood.



    If folks really want to embrace their NDN heritage, let them come here and learn it first hand. That's the only way a person will truly learn it. It can't be gleaned from the internet or from a book. It has to be lived everyday. Then and only then will they learn what heritage is. I realize that folks can't just up and move but if they really, truly want to learn their NDN heritage - they would find a way. But then, they might not want to be counted among us once they come to know the people because racism still lurks here in the very heart of NDN country. I know of people who still deny they have Cherokee blood around here. I personally know of one man who denied being Cherokee until he decided to run for a seat on the Cherokee Nation council. Then, suddenly, he became Cherokee. Before that, he didn't like Cherokees and wanted nothing to do with them. Another man I know, who works at the Cherokee Nation, was Dine/Cherokee but denied his Cherokee side. Then suddenly, one day, he was Cherokee and now even claims to be descended from Sequoyah. I don't know if his job depended on it or not.



    It's like people here are yelling "Let me Out! Let me out!" while folks on the outside are screaming "Let me In! Let me in!". I'm not saying I don't like mixed bloods, i have a lot of friends and family who are mixed bloods. I'm just saying when all is said and done, folks might not like being "one of us" after all.



    Embracing your heritage is good, I'm all for it. But, there's a big difference between embracing and demanding.

    Jul 5, 2009
    3 likes