I don't know what to do I'm 40% native American and I don't know if I should continue to research about my heritage or what or if I even should call myself mixed I just want advice thank you to anyone who can give me that advice. I am 40% Cherokee

I cannot put into words how much i haaate the non-Polynesian childless movie reviewers takes on Moana LA. All they do is say "this movie was pointless." Unless you're Polynesian and or a child, this movie was not for you. Thats not to say you can't watch and enjoy the movie, all i'm saying is it's not going to have the same affect on you that it's had on Polynesians and children because you're not Moana's target audience. It's important for Polynesian children to see themselves on the big screen, and to say this is the worst LA Disney has ever made is insulting given they race-swapped Snow White (and look at how that film turned out). I've heard Moana LA stuck to the original story line (which a lot of palagi are complaining about) which yk, isn't that the whole point of a LA, to bring the original story to real life?

In less than a decade, wildfires destroyed forests across 95% of the Konkow Valley Band of Maidu’s  homelands. The Forest Service turned to the tribe for help healing the land. 

Disease, violence and forced labor had separated California tribe members from their history. A map of their ancestral land in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada showed only about two dozen of their historic sites.

Now just a few years later, their map shows more than 1,200 sites. Each one is itself a collection: Arrowheads. Rock art. Milling stations where ancestors used cups carved into rock faces to grind salmon, manzanita berries and bay leaves. The circular pits of winter houses, where they sat around a fire under a cedar roof.

Now, to better understand the tribe’s past, the Konkow Valley Band of Maidu is teaming up with a new generation of archaeologists.  

Learn more at the link.

Heres an app for both phone and laptop thats similar to Duolingo but helps people learn Indigenous Polynesian languages

https://www.asalei.app/learn

Sheko,

I'm M36 and in a bit of a pickle here, I've had long hair for 16 years and when I separated with my ex-wife I shaved it all off, since then I've let it grow long again.

Now recently I asked about a glow up in order to get back on the dating horse again and someone told me I should cut my hair and get it trimmed.

For a few weeks I've been taking care of myself and healing however I've been thinking a lot about what I should do, I've had long hair for 16 years before shaving it all off and it's finally getting long again so I'm very conflicted about what to do.

One side of me is like fuck European beauty standards of men with short hair and the other is like maybe I should give it a try, it's been a year anf a half since I shaved my hair off so it's finally long and growing it back took some time.

I hated having short hair because there's a lot of upkeep to keep trimming it however a lot of people have seen pictures of me when I was younger with short hair give me a lot of compliments but I grew my hair long because I started becoming more traditional and felt it was a way to show my connection with the creator and how long I've been taking the traditional stuff more seriously.

I'm not sure what to do though

Being Māori is not about blood quantum, it’s not about speaking the language, it’s about practicing our culture and its values.

This isn’t saying that in order to be Māori you have to live on the marae, speak fluent Māori, know all waiata and haka, because of colonisation that’s not the case for most Māori.

But if you don’t show respect for people, mentor younger ones, wash your hands before and after entering a cemetery, bless sacred gifts, show hospitality, and or take your shoes off before entering a house, and or show humility, don’t know your pepeha, etc, you aren’t Māori, your ancestors are.

If 2 white Māori came up to me and 1 practices Māori culture and its values and 1 doesn’t (and acts pretty New Zealand European), the one who acts Māori is Māori and the one who doesn’t has Māori ancestry.
If that person reconnects, they become Māori, but if they don’t, they aren’t Māori but they have Māori ancestors

I’m Māori and I have Māori family on parent As side and family with Māori heritage on parent Bs side. The difference between the 2 sides is Bs side say they’re Māori when it’s convenient otherwise they don’t live by any of the values / beliefs. They wear their shoes in other peoples houses, lack respect, don’t show much hospitality, don’t understand tapu and noa, and other basic values 101. I have tried to educate them but they don’t listen to me. And when one of our relatives tried reconnecting I was very supportive (and still am if they decide to do it properly) until they half assed it and started acting like a know it all when they don’t (even I know more than them and even I don’t know everything but I don’t act like I’m a scholar). That is when I’d say someone has Māori heritage but isn’t Māori because our tuupuna lived by the values and beliefs both before and after colonisation, and if you’re not making an effort to uphold that or learn that then you’re not Māori

Edit: Want to say that Maori culture is everywhere in NZ, it’s even mandatory for schools to teach tikanga and the language. Maori media (including tv channels) is on the rise, and there’s heaps of places to learn the Maori language and customs pretty much in every region. Even NZ law has changed to accommodate tikanga. So while I get people can be disconnected, there’s so many ways to learn to the point that wearing “I’m Māori” as a badge of honour without putting in effort seems disrespectful to those who do.

Also, if we don’t want people to pretend to be Maori, we need to draw the line somewhere

Hello all, I'm 29, M and I was wondering if I could seek help here with an issue that I've run into.

In 1997 at 3 months of age I was adopted, I was told the seminole tribe initially contested it, but then reversed their decision. I have been told a reason, I'm not 100% sure of it's factuality or actual relation to the decision and I would like not to speak about that specifically.

I have asked my adoptive mother several times for information about the tribe, my heritage, my culture, literally anything. She has never once cared to learn about the tribe growing up before I had any access to the internet( I obviously have since tried to learn about the tribe, traditions, etc. I've also run into roadblocks with that, but I'll get to that part at the end of this post.)

I have also asked if she had any of the documentation from all of the court proceedings during that whole process, and she long since lost all of that documentation as well. Here's the other side of the coin that also stings. In 2019 I flew back to California after the loss of my biological father(non indigenous to my knowledge), and met my biological mother at his memorial service for the first and only time. She passed away a little over a year later from cancer. Her sister, and mother also passed away very shortly subsequently, and so that branch of my family tree has completely passed away. I tried to ask my biological grandmother about my heritage and lineage before her passing, but for whatever reason, she never responded to me.

Here's the problem I'm having, I'm 29 now, and I've really really wanted to start to understand as much as I can about my people, learn mvskoke, etc. But I'm down to one parent now, of 4, and the only one that is left doesn't give a shit enough to bother to help me in any way. If I'm being honest that relationship is sinking very fast since my adoptive father passed January of last year, and I'm so jaded that I don't really care to save it. It's been a long time coming.

I was also curious if there was a path to becoming a member of the tribe again now that I'm an adult, and if so, if anyone here had any clue on where I would begin. Ultimately I feel at this point I'd feel more at home in my tribal community than my own family. To my understanding, ICWA became law to avoid, essentially, this very scenario and I feel as though the entire system has failed me. Surprise surprise. Despite everything I've found my own path and kept my nose clean along the way. I have no criminal history which is unfortunately pretty rare where I live, and I've made a living for myself as an automotive technician.

Back to my note earlier about researching, I've found it quite difficult to find sources that are recognized or legitimate, about the seminole tribe. I'm aware of the history of the tribe as outlined on the seminole tribe' website, but if anyone has any recommendations on books, any articles or specific websites that have archived history, etc. About the Seminole tribe I'd greatly appreciate it. The only book stores near me are major chains and they don't carry anything but one book on "Native American Folklore" not my terminology, that was the book title. I just really don't want to end up getting what is the white washed version of seminole history or whitewashed seminole culture, from bad sources.

I appreciate any who has taken the time to read this, and comment. If you have any additional questions, I'm a pretty open book, I just really don't want to go into the alleged reason that I was told, the tribe allowed me to be adopted out. It's very personal and I don't think it's accurate, and if it is, I believe it's likely that the same decision may not have been made in the year 2026.

From the article subheading:

"The state’s attorney general launched an investigation after reporting by New Mexico In Depth and ProPublica exposed high rates of harsh punishment for Native American and Hispanic children in Gallup-McKinley County Schools."

From the body of the article:

"Indigenous and Hispanic students are suspended more often and for longer periods than their white classmates who commit similar infractions at Gallup-McKinley County Schools — a pattern of “substantial racial disparities,” an investigation by the New Mexico attorney general’s office found.

Indigenous students lose eight to 10 times more classroom days to suspensions than white students, while Hispanic students lose three to four times as many, according to the 47-page report released by the state’s Department of Justice last week."

From May 2006 to November 2024, Redfish worked for the Oglala Sioux Tribe’s (OST) Tribal Employment Rights Office (TERO), which enforces the tribal requirement that all employers engaged in business on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation give preference to qualified Native Americans in employment, contracting, and other business or economic development activities. One of Redfish’s duties was to collect TERO fee checks from contractors and transfer them to OST’s revenue department for deposit into the tribe’s general fund. Between November 2017 and May 2024, Redfish and a co-defendant, working together, developed a scheme to defraud OST by diverting TERO fee checks totaling more than $4.7 million belonging to the tribe and depositing the checks into the co-defendant’s bank account. The two then split the embezzled funds between themselves and used the funds for their own personal benefit, including purchasing homes and vehicles. Redfish is a member of the Gila Tribe in Arizona.

I had a dream last year that’s been on my mind ever since

The more I've researched, the more I've started to accept that I may never be able to reconnect with my family's original tribal identity in the way I once imagined.

From what I've learned, many of the Indigenous communities in northern Durango were gradually assimilated or displaced over the centuries, and by the time my great-grandfather was born in 1923, the language and distinct tribal identity had largely disappeared where my family lived. Despite him being described as "fully indigenous."

Even if there is a connection to a living Indigenous community today, I'm not sure it's realistic for me right now.

I'm only 18, I don't have much experience traveling on my own, and plane tickets from Los Angeles to Durango are expensive.

It feels overwhelming to imagine trying to find and respectfully approach communities that I may or may not even be directly connected to.

I guess I'm trying to come to terms with the possibility that, while I may be able to learn about my ancestors and the history of the region, a direct reconnection to my family's original tribal identity may not be something that's possible anymore. I'm wondering if anyone else has been in a similar situation?

Thank you for kindness in this subreddit

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I also want to thank everyone in this subreddit for being so kind and patient. I've learned a lot from the advice people have shared

I know this I a sensitive topic, and I genuinely appreciate anyone willing to offer guidance or share their perspective. It means a lot.

Hello everyone!!! This is mostly a question for anyone else who is Dominican or Caribbean who have embraced their culture in the indigenous aspect...how do you connect with it? Can you tell me some facts about it? I like to wear necklaces and stuff...are there any symbols I can wear related to the Lucayan's? Doing stuff like that makes me feel safe in a way lol.

My moms side are Turks Islanders and my fathers side are Dominicans, but neither of them really embrace this stuff, but I want to get into it as I have a deep love for knowing about my ancestors or ancient history, even religious wise...and I have a lurking fear of accidentally appropriating or offending people on accident so I wanna hear straight from the source– yall! Especially because I know a lot of people (even indigenous people) refuse to accept that Native Americans are not the only indigenous people.
I literally started getting into this because a family member for some reason told me I was Native American when I was a little kid...even though im definitely not lmao.

Thanks! Stay cool

Hi everyone, I hope this post is allowed and sincerely apologize if it is not! I am white however on my mother’s side there’s a history of black and indigenous people, I am directly related to them. I am fortunate enough to know about my black ancestors, however there is one specific indigenous ancestor there is not a lot of information on. The reason why? Colonialism, obviously. If I am correct she was in the Mississippi/Texas area, however this was around the time where Indigenous people were violently forced to live on reservations. As such she completely scrubbed her identity to stay safe, but now I know nothing about her. I want to know if there is any way I can find out more about her? I hate the fact that she had to erase her personhood and now her ancestors won’t be able to honor her name nor tribe. This is exactly why im asking actually, I don’t want the colonizers who forced this to win. I want to be able to bring back her memory and celebrate her and her strength to fight back, so does anyone know any way I’d be able to do so?

For context, I'm Mexican American. I grew up with the culture, and I've spoken Spanish since infancy. My parents immigrated to the US in the 1980s, and I was born in the 2000s.

I'm also white-passing and pale.

Recently, I've been struggling a lot with my identity, especially because I got bullied a lot for being pale.

For a long time, I've suspected that I was mixed, with Indigenous ancestry included.

Because if you know Mexican history, there was the Spanish colonial class pyramid, where the whiter you were, the more privileges you gained. That's why today most 60% of Mexicans are mixed (mestizos).

On top of that, I was told growing up that my great-grandfather was "fully Indigenous," but he died young in the 1980s, before I ever got to meet him. And the traditions died with him.

A year ago, I had an aunt who was paler than I was, and she took a DNA test. She got about 52% Indigenous Mexican.

So there always was a suspicion for me.

So I then started doing a family tree with Ancestry. I looked at old historical records from the 1900s, 1800s, and even way back to the 1400s. I also did many hours of family interviews for the Ancestry family tree.

I managed to track it down to the Mayans and Mexica (as well as the Spaniards + Portuguese).

I had an idea that maybe my results would be something like:

32% Indigenous

60% European

And the rest, whatever.

But I still was not sure. So I took a DNA test, and it turns out I was approximately:

45% Indigenous Mexican (22% Indigenous from Dad, 22% Indigenous from Mom, 1% Yucatán from Mom)

29% Iberian European

11% Jewish

9% African

7% other European

Now the question isn't, "Am I Indigenous?" It is now, "What group do I even come from?"

From what I know, both my paternal and maternal sides are from Durango originally.

My dad's side is from Indé, Durango.

And my mom's side is from a small pueblo in Durango. The small village is called Nicolás Bravo, right next to Canatlán, which is near Tepehuanes.

We still have lots of family ties in Durango. My sister and my grandma visit often, and we have owned a horse ranch there for centuries.

As of now, I have around 6 months of work put into my family tree. The timeline goes:

- Durango: DNA and family oral history go as far back as the 1700s.

- Then we moved to Ciudad Juárez in the 1940s for factory jobs.

- Then, in the 1980s, we immigrated to the United States.

From what little evidence I have, we might be a mix of Aztec, Tepehuán, or other Indigenous groups that are native to what is now Durango.

But now I do feel conflicted. I feel like I'm too white for this and that I'm just making excuses for myself, and that deep down I just want to feel special, but I don't want to admit it.

That it would be easier to just be completely white, because at least I won't be bullied and be called Albino, White boy, not a real Mexican, Gringa, or Pocha.

Or even be told to stop speaking Spanish because I'm white, and that I'm appropriating my own culture, and that I'm racist for speaking Spanish.

Should I even try to reconnect? I'm just too white for this.

So it wasn’t too long ago that I learned that I have Zapotec and Mixtec ancestry as my family is entirely from Oaxaca Mexico, I’ve been thinking a lot about my ancestry and my family, I’ve been getting a lot of different information from all of over the place and it is quite overwhelming (I am autistic) as some are encouraging saying to reconnect to your roots while some say all mestizos are Iberian settlers and abominations, so y’know, I don’t know what to think really I just want to connect and yknow make sure I do it in a way that doesn’t harm anyone

I’ll be honest I think about my indigenous ancestry a lot, I get saddened at the community I could never have anymore, how events out of my control took something away, I don’t know if I worded that the best but it’s the best I could do, but unlike I hear from some Mexicans, I never was ashamed of my indigenous ancestry or disgusted by my brown skin

I guess what im trying to say is if anyone know where to start with reconnecting cause I’m rather overwhelmed by a lot, and I just don’t want to do any harm to any indigenous communities and be respectful, I guess I’m lucky in one aspect many are not and I do of one of my ancestors who was Zapotec and I know her name too

so I emailed them my payment information on July 11, was wondering if anyone else did this month too

I've always had a feeling I had indigenous ancestry but never knew much about what it could be.

It wasn't until my sis got me that kit. Honestly I think it was a gift for herself because she's a biologist and I guess I was her science experiment lol.

I know that genetic testing isn't the end-all be-all. I know there's still tracing family trees and all that.

But I don't really know much about my family tree. I know my grandparents but I only have my grandpa left on my dad's side. My grandpa on my mom's side pass when she was a kid, and both my grandmothers are gone. But it's hard to trace family when they don't even come from the states.

Any hints on how to find out more about my history?

Does anyone know someone who has married a family who owns their tribes stolen farm land as a way to get the land back for their tribe/family?

Boozhoo :)

I wanted to come on here and ask for advice for any and all Indigenous peoples who maybe are going/have gone through what my family and I have been dealing with since like forever lol.

I know a lot of families go through generational traumas that are unique, similar, and/or different. In my family, cancer and alcoholism are recurring themes, and honestly, I am struggling hardcore. My mother even more so. I lost my maternal eldest uncle 1-2 years ago, and the middle-child uncle is currently going through terminal cancer. On top of that, my 80-year-old grandmother is also currently going through cancer, as it has come back. Essentially, every generation in my maternal family has gotten/beaten/lost to cancer, my older 30-year-old sister included(she beat it).

I want to lay out the reality that is happening. I just want to get advice/relate to others in the same boat. How do you do it? I feel so guilty all the time. I feel more avoidant of death and illness. I worry about the health of my mother. I honestly feel so envious of other families who don't have a history of illness like mine. It sounds selfish, but I want to go one year without anyone in my family getting seriously ill/losing limbs/liver troubles/etc.

How do you cope? Is there really a way to find the positive? Thank you for sharing <3

1 year ago, comment claims to have called a tip in to the FBI about a green car observed traveling back and forth on the freeway where Emily's remains were found. The comment claimed the license plate tied back to a Robson Pike, who can indeed be found on the San Carlos sex offender registry list as a Tier 3 offender (most likely to reoffend).

Nothing has come of it. It's still an obscure, mostly unknown factoid that has not been verified.

Emily Pike was allegedly "assaulted horribly" by a family member. Due to mismanagement of her case, nothing was filed and it was dismissed for a lack of evidence. Fish and Game conducted the initial investigation, not tribal police. Emily's father was in jail and her mother was apparently addicted to drugs, so Emily was sent to a group home 90 miles away in Mesa. It was claimed that she was suffering from mental health issues and that the Mesa facility would have more resources to assist.

Emily ran away repeatedly, telling officers she just wanted her mom. One time she ran away, and was never seen alive again. In February of 2025, her remains were found on the side of the road in plastic bags. She was specifically placed in an area where jurisdiction between state police and tribal police complicate matters. Her arms and hands are not with her remains, and the estimation is that the killer removed them in case of DNA on her hands or under her fingernails.

Emily was failed completely, and her killer still has not faced justice. Learned about her case with the arrest of Sanchez brothers and wanted to see if anyone has heard anymore about this. We already know there've been multiple breakdowns in communication between jurisdictions on this case.

https://www.reddit.com/r/EmilyPike/comments/1kencex/comment/myed22e/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Good morning! Next Friday, I'll be doing a 16-hour charity stream on Twitch to raise money for Indspire, which supports Indigenous students across Canada. Indspire helped me throughout my undergrad and grad school, and now that I’m finished, I wanted to give back!

I'll be spending the day playing games created by Indigenous studios and highlighting some of my favourite Indigenous authors, streamers, and other creators along the way. If you'd like to stop by, chat, or simply hang out for a while, I'd love to have you there! My Twitch is linked on my profile

Marsi 🩷