Posted on 01/18/2006 5:43:33 AM PST by Atlantic Bridge
In the United States a growing number of white people are discovering their Native American roots. Some are doing so for financial gain, but most are just looking for the meaning of life.
A few weeks, Betty Baker was still just a white housewife. But now the woman, with her piercing blue eyes, goes by the name "Little Dove" --and has jettisoned her apron for an elaborate deerskin dress.
"I am an Indian and I've sensed this my whole life," says the 48-year-old Baker, who lives in a wooden house on the edge of the small town of Pinson, Alabama.
Five years ago, after her parents told her that her family probably had some Native American ancestry, she assembled documents and birth certificates and last September was accepted into the Cherokee Tribe of northeast Alabama. The cultural neophyte is now zealously learning the rituals and dances of her newly discovered ancestors.
(Excerpt) Read more at service.spiegel.de ...
LOL! We all are a tricky mixture! It is just perfect to take of everything just the best.
Greetings from Lake Constance!
Andreas
Good grief
These people should see how Real Indians see them.
This would be laughable if it wasn't so embarassing.
Well, there are a number of Appalachian people knowns as Melungeons, who are sort of a mixed Scotch-Irish/black/Cherokee strain. This may be the source of a lot of it. But I suspect that a lot of people are just trying to enhance their kharmic resume', if ya get my drift...
No, but I did see something on TV about them once. Yeah, pretty good scam.
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HeHe! That was just what I have been thinking. But if you would have read the article to the end you found out that her husband is calling himself "Running Bear" now. This strange attitude seems to be infective. Maybe you guys have to deal with the "indian flu" just like we Europeans have to face the bird flu.. But do not worry - as long as John Kerry isn't wearing feathers, moccasins and a loin cloth it can not be that severe.
:-))
I'm a bit puzzled about the ancestries figures at the end of your post:
'Ancestries: United States (21.4%), English (11.3%), Irish (11.0%), German (6.9%), Italian (2.4%), Scotch-Irish (2.2%).'
Surely the 21.4% listed as United States ancestry must also be part of the other ancestries (ie English, Irish etc) or they must be native Americans? As far as I know, there are no people in the US whose ancestry is purely from the US and not Native American. Am I missing something here?
Also, be careful if you approach a Scotsman and describe him or his lineage as 'Scotch' - he will probably chin you! People from Scotland are Scots, Scotch is a drink!
Me109 pilots would call American fighters "Indianer", so there is a connection there...;-)
http://www.pozefilm.de/warbird.html
"Many of the converts connect the indigenous existence with ideals such as equality between the sexes, more democracy and a romantic affinity with nature."
I used to work with a white girl who claimed she was/wanted to be an Indian.She hung those cheap little convenience store quality dreamcatchers all over the office, etc.
She was also a card carrying PETA member, but didn't mind chowing down on a hamburger every day. And she was a feminist.
She believes Indians never killed animals, and were just SOOO attuned with nature. So, I showed her a lot of pictures of Indians herding entire herds of buffalo over cliffs, etc. I also provided her research showing Indians generally didn't respect women's rights, and explained to her Indians didn't buy faux fur from a department store.
I also gave her some information on a hunting organization (she was rabidly anti-hunting), the National Wild Turkey Federation's, program to provide wild turkey feathers for Indians for religious ceremonies :)
She just refused to believe any of it.
Interesting post. Welcome to FR.
A lot of people answer "American ancestry" if they have several ethnic ancestries or are unsure what their ethnic ancestry is. Native Americans *do not* answer "American ancestry."
A few days ago, tho my daughter mentioned that she only has health insurance for herself and their children as her husband can go to the Indian Hospital for free.
>>>Some are doing so for financial gain,
This is grossly understated and I suspect the entire point of becoming one with nature is to distract how grossly understated the financial gain is.
Reservations are used to cross the border.
Reservations are used to smuggle in goods and animals
Native American businesses are used for umbrellas and holding companies
Reservations are used to hide things like weapons
Oh and lets not forget that reservations are used for toxic waste dumps, right Colues?
A la The Torch!
yeah, i love the blonde haired, blue eyed "cherokee".
i've got some distinctly native american features, at least enough that i'm occasionally asked if i'm native american, but that heritage has never been part of my life, so i don't try taking advantage of it.
but its not cherokee. i've been told that its blackfoot.
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