I’m Cherokee, and proud of it, but this is now and not then.
You DO know the real name of our tribe, don’t you?
Husband is part Cherokee also and I think part Lumbee from the geneoalogical research I did. But he’s also part English, French and Dutch. The family has been here since 1620 so probably a lot of other also.
I’m Portuguese and German, only second generation American born so I’m pretty sure that’s all I am. I was raised though with a real dislike of hyphenated Americans, both sides became Americans the minute they stepped ashore.
The difference in immigrants over the generations is stark. My grandparents, the Portuguese most, only allowed the kids to speak English. Only the oldest four knew any Portuguese and that was mostly curses since my grandparents only swore in Portuguese. Nowdays, learning English seems to be the last thing immigrants do.