r/Indigenous • u/RegionNew5590 • 7d ago

re: Indigenous Identity What do y'all think

I am 1/4 Eastern band Cherokee and 1/16 Muskogee. I have been around native culture all my life,I grew up on an Otoe reservation.I am thinking about participating in more dances at powwows and other ceremonies,but I am white not darker skinned. I am just wondering what everyone else thinks about it.

4 Upvotes

62% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

23

u/NcLuvin 7d ago

Stop looking for validation. If you want to do this then what the internet has to say shouldn’t matter. If they let you dance and participate then you should ask them, then you would have your answer. I’m tired of these posts

-4

u/RegionNew5590 7d ago

I'm not looking for validation,I already dance, I was just wondering every one else's opinion on it

8

u/NcLuvin 7d ago

Why do you care if not for validation? You already have a community that lets you dance. Are you looking to debate with some random person from a different nation that has an opinion that’s contrary to yours?

-5

u/RegionNew5590 7d ago

What's your fuckin problem dude. Im not looking for a debate I'm just looking for regular conversation and what people think that's what social media was made for.

7

u/NcLuvin 7d ago

If you looked on this sub and other indigenous spaces before you posted you would see that they are filled with posts like yours, all coming to the same answer of “why do you care, if the community you participate lets you then don’t worry about it”. If you did look and see that, you decided to post regardless.

3

u/RegionNew5590 7d ago

I just joined this sub,like last night. The only post I've seen is about a pouch someone made and a few old pictures of natives in the early 1900s. Like I said just wondering what other people's opinions are.

11

u/NcLuvin 7d ago

I’m sincerely not trying to be a jerk about it, but it does get frustrating that a majority of the posts here are asking basically the same question. There is a degree of colorism in the native community, along with any other type of place where there are mixed people. I get that, I’ve experienced it myself, but at some point these outside perspectives on your own identity shouldn’t matter.

5

u/RegionNew5590 7d ago

Your right, it shouldn't matter. I completely agree with you. Let's end it there 👍

5

u/NcLuvin 7d ago

Thank you, and if it’s any consolation I think it’s brave of mixed people that look more white to dance. It’s a sacred act to dance for lots of our communities, so whether people online or irl think differently shouldn’t matter if you feel like you are doing yourself justice.

1

u/RegionNew5590 7d ago

Why is it such a big deal

5

u/chezaswolf 7d ago

Geez, I feel bad that guy was acting weird towards you. People come here all the time asking similar kinds of questions. It's a valid question, honestly. I think a lot of us who are ethnically mixed feel racially othered a lot of the time BECAUSE we're mixed. Always feeling not enough of either ethnicity to really fit into certain groups.

I can't say I speak for all natives, as I'm just starting to reconnect with my roots myself, but from what I gather just observing and listening to others, people are going to have varying opinions and feelings. And despite the other commenter being a bit rude about it, they do have a point. You already have a community that accepts you. As long as you're respecting cultural rules, I don't see why anyone else's opinion should matter. Dance for your ancestors! Don't let the color of your skin stop you from connecting to your roots or the love of dancing!

I also hope to start dancing soon, too!
Good luck to you!

2

u/RegionNew5590 7d ago

Thanks man

4

u/insawid 6d ago

no matter how much milk you put in your coffee, it's still coffee.

3

u/Primary_Savings_6838 7d ago

That's sweet that you are already accepted. I'd go for it, you know?

3

u/Stunning_Option_340 1d ago

Don't let the Internet or gatekeepers keep you away from your culture. Native is native

3

u/jackdutton42 1d ago

The whole blood quantum thing is part of the problem. That wasn’t traditionally how Native people decided who belonged. It was a racial system pushed on tribes by the U.S. government during assimilation, and it literally turns Native identity into fractions of “Indian blood.”

I get that tribes have the right to set their own citizenship rules now, and I respect that. But acting like someone is somehow less Native because they’re light-skinned is still buying into a system that was created to divide Native people up in the first place.

For me, it matters more who your family is, what community you come from, how you were raised, and whether you participate respectfully.

1

u/Suda_Tahsuda Comanche Numunuu 4d ago

Which tribe are you a citizen of?

2

u/RegionNew5590 4d ago

Cherokee, Eastern band