Wow J,I had no idea that you came from the school of "Naw, you jus black!"
When was the last time you hated on a white person for celebrating St. Patrick's day, knowing full well they aint' got a trace of Irish blood.
It has always been extremely important to me to know where I come from (to help me figure out where the hell I'm going). I'm fortunate because my family tree can be traced back over 100 years and my grandparents and their parents before, still live in the same place, a small village like community with town records.We've been through this before when you questioned me on DV's blog about where Natchez is. Trust me, I sensed the haterism there.
My husband OTOH, as handsome and black as he is, traced his lineage back to the Dominican Republic. Poor thing gets hassled all the time with the last name Rodriguez
I believe it to be true that some folks really don't know where their ancestors came from and claim things that some may feel don't apply to them; but to automatically conclude that folks say it out of some sick attempt at acceptance in a white dominated culture, is completely ridiculous.
Fist Tap TSO. Had to steal this one.
9 comments:
http://www.natchezms.com/
There is Natchez is in Mississippi.
You are too cute for words J. :-)
My people are from here:
http://www.natchitoches.com/
You will note that Natchez is also a community within that parish in Louisiana.
Alright! For the record! If you are Indian you are Indian. The way you trace it is to at least your Great Grand Mother or Father. If you can't trace it to that you are just plain ole black. And if that is the case. Understand your ground. Don't start screaming that you are part Indian and how you want what you deserve. Now you might deserve something but not what is coming to the Indians/ Native Americans. Black people wanting to be Indians messes up everything the Native Americans have been fighting for and deserve. Black folks or African Americans with no proof means that you are at best part white, that is being from the US. So go to the White folks with the claims, and maybe if there is some resemblance they might have a job for you or something. But Please Leave Us Indians Alone!
Fundamentally, we are all human, and we are all brothers and sisters.
Knowing my history is a matter of honoring my forefathers and mothers, not an attempt to "get what I deserve".
Knowing my history is a matter of honoring my forefathers and mothers
I like that sentiment. Just curious Kimberly - how do you think they should be honored?
There are three tests you can get to give you some kind of idea where your ancestors may be from.
Family TreeDNA can do traces on your Y-chromosome (if you're male) and your mitochondrial DNA and give you some kind of idea where your straight-line male and female ancestors came from.
The third is called AncestryByDNA and it is somewhat gutsy in that it tests your NUCLEAR DNA and will give you rough percentages of how many of your ancestors were sub-Saharan African, Far East Asian, Native American, and European.
Dr. Henry Louis "Skip" Gates, Jr. of Harvard did a show with Oprah on the topic of these tests and found out that a great many African-Americans are some mixture of sub-Saharan African, European, and Native American.
The more people that I talk to the more I also find out that a great many "white" Americans also test as a substantial percentage Native American.
Turns out we may be half-brothers after all there, Denmark ... :)
I like that sentiment. Just curious Kimberly - how do you think they should be honored?
Well, some people may not feel it's very special, but I honor them by contemplating the memory of them.
My great grandmother just passed away two years ago. I loved to discuss with her the way she lived and her entire existence. Simple things such as how she met my great grandfather, where and why.
My grandmother recently gave me a copy of a marriage certificate that was signed by my great-great grandparents in 1918. (She was born in 1869) I know that it was her second marriage, and what destroyed the first…All kinds of intricate details that for some reason are important to me. I can't tell you what I feel when I review that document and look closely at her scribbled handwriting, wondering what she felt as she was signing it.
I gain immense inspiration and personal strength each and every time I discover something fascinating about my family and my history.
I only hope that my great-great grandchildren will hear and wonder about me when I am long gone. :-)
Interesting how most white skinned Indians aren't asked to trace their ancestry.
Anon, blacks wanting to be Native aren't messing anything up for the Natives, I believe the Natives have done that just fine on their own accepting the crumbs the United States government gave out, and now you whine becaue you may have to divide the crumbs of assistance, OH PLEEEZZZE!
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