Am I a Half-breed?
Yes, but why is that important to you?
Most people today are aware that that term deemed offensive to the many who espouse political correctness. I never believed that mob rule could change anyone’s heartfelt thoughts. Long ago I dismissed the irrelevant emotional reaction to any word or words considered offensive, as actually being odious. Unless they were intended to be insulting or provocative, I take them in the context that they were offered.
That said, there is more to the answer.
If I were of one thirty second or one quarter American Indian heritage, would that be different?
Is the 1800’s stereotype concept of “blood quantum” so important when identifying my “Indian-ness?”
The answers to all these questions are both yes, and no.
First lets address the “no” response.
Either you are descended from the First Parents, or you are not. If you are, then this conversation is mute. Among my People there is a Spirit of Connection that bonds many of us as Indians. It is a bond that is unique among these People. It is intangible but its manifestation is palatable. We know without speaking, that another is of America’s First People. That Spirit is undeniable. As the Cherokee say, “If you have a drop of Cherokee blood in you, you are Cherokee.” It all about the ancestry of a person, not their percentage of birthright.
We all descend from a tribe or First People, somewhere. The question is of Indian-ness. Do you have to be descended from an indigenous elder to be actually a Native American.
Without question, it speaks to the origination of a ethnicity, not a “feeling” that one believes.
But to speak to the “Yes’ position.
Others, mostly citizens of Federally Recognized Tribes, are strong in their conviction that the “Biblical begets” linage, as defined in their various tribal laws, are the rule and guide of heritage, not any ancient connection. This is the age old turf battles of fiefdoms and bailiwicks. In many cases these same people are willing to cast off their descendents as non-Indian, simply because they no longer meet the minimum Tribal standards. One wonders how they will answer to their Ancestors upon passing thru the Veil?
Traditionally, nearly all Native American People were inclusive in their extended families… after all, that is really what tribes are, extended families. I was not until the wars and conquest of these indigenous people and the subsequent regulations set down by the victorious United States Government, that our People were divided in this manner. This is the result of President Andrew Jackson’s iniquitous position, that of the elimination of the “Red Problem.”
The Red Problem of the government has now become the problem of Native Americans. We are divided by the military dictum of divide and conquer.
How sad. As Pogo said, "We have met the enemy and he is us."
Are you a Half-breed?
Of course, aren’t we all?
The adulteration of all original ancestral ethnic linage is universal,
All two-leddeds (humans) are today, descended from multiple ethnicties.
We are all Half-breeds.
Why is this all important?
It isn’t.
