So, the other night I hung out with some new people. Theres one other girl, and she takes it upon herself to grill me. That's fine. I'm a big girl and I can take it. Heres a rundown of our conversation:
Girl: So whats your background? What are you?
Me: Mexican and Indian.
Girl: What kind of Indian?
Me: Cherokee and a little Creek
Girl: Oh, so you're a white Indian?
Her reasoning for calling me a 'white' Indian is that Cherokees get a lot of help from the government. So basically, she was jealous. Cherokees walked the trail of tears just like every other Indian. Later she said that she was referring to the blonde girls who claim to be Cherokees, not necessarily me. Uh Huh...Sure...
It went down hill from there, from then on she would randomly say things like 'I like you, you act like a white girl' When I would question her about her statement and explain that its racist and that I'm NOT a white girl, she would just say that white girls are quiet and don't cause drama. WHAT???
Let your ignorance flag wave high.
5 comments:
The Cherokee don't really get much assistance from the government. The Cherokee of Oklahoma have a lot of resources and a highly organized infrastructure in of themselves, so they can provide for tribal members a lot easier.
Next time, tell them your great grandmother was an Irish princess before they can bust out the Cherokee princess shtick.
Did she tell you that Cherokees are 'white indians' because of government assistance? Because most tribes require require a minimum ancestral degree to be considered a part of that tribe. I believe most require 1/16th, some go as far as 1/4th. The Cherokees have no restrictions on this, if you are 1/1024th Cherokee, then you are considered a Cherokee. This brings about the phrase 'white indian' because, and I've heard this from a former Indian professor of mine, if you go to a Cherokee tribal council or gathering, everyone there is white since there is no ancestral requirement.
Yeah, it all comes down to how you want to look at it. This girl just wanted to be like 'im more Indian than you are, Na Na Naaa'
It was stupid.
Yeah, that was her main reasoning for saying white Indian, was because of the assistance they get. But i'm pretty sure that most tribes have the same requirements, like Hilfandy said.
Thanks for the support!!!
Yeah, I've always hated insecure self-righteous "super-Indians" who want to dictate who's Indian and who's not. It's like, "Who the fuck made YOU an authority?" WEEEOOO WEEEOOO look out for the NDN police!!! But I'm full-blood, I know my culture, and I know my language, and if anyone wants to question my heritage, it's because of their own insecurities and not mine. Don't let anyone fuck with you. Stay strong and stay proud!!!
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