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Post by Spirit of the Owl Woman on Jan 2, 2008 4:43:49 GMT -5
To All My Cousins:
I converted to Judaism (orthodox), although I am not religious in an organizational sense now. But, my point is that my papers were filed in Israel upon completion of my conversion. Jews, no matter who they are can trace their lineage back to 3 generations. So to be in the "in crowd" you must be able to prove you are a Jew. And, lineage is derived through the mother. Unless, like me, you are a convert. But, even I, have papers filed in Israel and have dual citizenship should things get bad in this country.
My dad used to call me, when he was alive laughingly, a SiouxJew. This was my journey in order to "come home" and believe in the ONE, Great Grandfather Spirit.
I am now registered with the Yankton Sioux, Mississipe Sioux and the Wapehton Sioux. I have more papers than the law allows! LOL
For traditions to remain alive, we all must have papers. Just think, anyone could say they were relatives of the Queen of England, if all we were going by is their word.
So, my only point is be PROUD that you KNOW who you are. For a people who do not where they have been do not know where they are going.
And, all of you mixed bloods out there--don't feel bad, you couldn't help it. So you are not FBI, if you have enough to live the "Red Road", your in, that's what being an Indian is all about. Are you "Red." Being "Red" is a way of life.
My grandfather, Clement Smith, fought the Feds so that Indians could practice the "Red Road." He died a broken man. And, I talk to him everyday.
Don't be afraid to call upon the Warriors who have taken the journey, they are there for you.
Winaca=Moon Lavanah=Moon Smith-Judah
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Post by Spirit of the Owl Woman on Jan 4, 2008 19:44:04 GMT -5
In a nut shell, what I was attempting to say, if Kings and Queens find lineage and the ability to trace it extremely important; Should we be no less?
If for no other reason, so we may "know" whence we came and to be able to call upon those ancestors for wisdom and guidance who have taken the journey before us.
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Post by hermin1 on Jan 19, 2008 10:19:28 GMT -5
lavanah: nno truer words could be spoken. You hit the nail on the head.
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Post by Spirit of the Owl Woman on Jan 24, 2008 23:29:37 GMT -5
You honor our ancestors with your compliment. I pray that all who read this, take seriously those who have gone before, and honor their memory, for they sacrificed more than we can ever imagine.
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karen
New Member
Posts: 7
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Post by karen on Jan 25, 2008 6:17:39 GMT -5
@ lavanah, you are SO right. We are very bussy this weekend, but I´ll try to call next weekend. Maybe by then I have some more information from my Aunt Lois. Hopefully she went trough her pictures.
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Post by Spirit of the Owl Woman on May 30, 2009 17:36:41 GMT -5
Since I am 1/16 less blood quantum to meet the 1/4 qualification that some tribes require an Indian to be in order to be a member; I am fortunate that my tribe has accepted me as a member of the Yankton Sioux, but that does not necessarily qualify me as far as the government is concerned. And, as some of you may have visited my family site, you will have noticed that the members of my tree are from the many the bands of the Tetons, Santee and Yanktonais, as well as the Ote, Minnesota Chippewa, Ponca and Omaha tribes. So the blood I have may not be considered by some tribes to be "kosher," especially to those who have blood quantum limits specifically to their band and/or reservation. Searching the Internet today, on a subject that has plagued me for several months, regarding the concentration camps, i.e., reservations which prohibited the bands from gathering twice a year to socialize, sing, dance and find mates and what this policy has done to our families with regard to inbreeding and the considerable amount of mental disease within out families; I came across these 3 posts on a blog regarding the Indian quantum blood question and thought to post them here, for perhaps, a further discussion. Posted by Deb Krol at Jan 14, 2009 10:19 AM Brothers and sisters, please remember that back in "the day" before the first European contacts, marriage outside the tribe was the norm. In my studies on biology and genetics, I learned that our Native elders did have extensive knowledge of biology, ecology, genetics, lethal recessives and the like--the only difference is that Western science quantifies, categorizes and classifies while Native science looks at the whole story [the overused term is holistic]. In California where I come from, marriages were made at Big Times, or between tribes or families, in order to keep bloodlines from becoming inbred. I've heard about other parts of the continent where ritual kidnapping ensured that marriages were made outside the community; other tribes have other ways of solving the biological problem of inbreeding [ever hear a Navajo explain his or her clan relationships?] The myth of blood quantum is just that, a myth. Today, when a tribal members says he or she is a "fullblood," unless that person belongs to one of the really huge tribes like the Navajo, the extreme likelihood is that person has several tribes' worth of blood, and she or he is only a fullblood on paper--the CDIB, to be precise. In fact, the whole idea of blood quantum is an invention of the United States government which was meant to ensure that only tribal members were able to access the programs set aside for Indians [you know, like inadequate health care, insufficient educational benefits and the like]. However, the blood quantum requirements have come to be adopted by Indians instead of the old ways of counting who is and who is not an Indian, to our detriment. It's time that tribes start to move away from the colonial institution of blood quantum and determine their own destinies, in accord with their traditional means of determining citizenship. Each tribe needs to figure out how best to accomplish this before we're all bred out of legal existence. Posted by deb at Jan 14, 2009 06:36 PM I know lots of California Indians who have blood in four or more tribes, yet they are only counted as belonging to one tribe. Usually, it's their mother's tribe [although I do know that some CA tribes go with the father's blood!] and if you're unlucky enough to not have enough blood in the tribe, you're outta luck. Again, Indian people need to consider where blood quantum requirements come from: the federal government and the people who colonized us. It was NOT set up to benefit Indian people, but to breed Indians out of existence by disqualifying people who had intermarried and fell below a certain percentage of blood. The reason that as one person noted that people with higher quantum tend to speak the language is only because they stayed behind in their traditional communities--I bet that you'll find plenty of tribal members who don't have what that person considers the proper amount of blood who are fluent in the language and culture. We as Indian people need to consult with our elders, look at how we used to count who was a member and develop policies that more closely reflect our traditional ways of counting who belongs. After all, the federal government's current policy is to stay out of these decisions--let's take advantage of it to develop our old ways again. [and for the record, I can claim 7/16 blood quantum--not a nosebleed Indian by anybody's account!] Instead of trying to figure out how much Indian DNA a person has, let's figure out ways to build and sustain economies within tribal communities that keeps our young people at home where they can still earn a living and be close to elders, spiritual people, the language and the land from which they were created. People who have jobs that earn enough to sustain their families always do better, according to Paul Echohawk, former attorney general of Idaho and brother of NARF director John Echohawk. That will solve a lot of our problems in not only the membership arena but will strengthen our cultures, our families and ultimately, our nations. Posted by Gordon Jones at Mar 14, 2009 06:55 PM The reason that a lot of blood quantum issues are various, is because greedy bloods using the less bloods for the enrichment of a few "bloody", greedy people. . Indians, that are using the same evil purposes, that they complained about, that the white government did to our ancestors. So evidently that makes them a white "hearted red man". Monkey see, monkey do? These are my sentiments written by others. I have family members who either missed the enrollment period or the documents that stated they were less than what they knew to be true. I do know since researching my lineage, I found documents stating persons were 3/4 and then other docs stating they were full blood. In addition, due to the times they lived in and the governments policy to teach Indian's that they were to be ashamed of who they were, they lied about their BQ and even stated they were white if thought they could "pass"! Most recently, I have 2nd cousins whose father was born and raised on S.R. and just passed. They are heirs to land on the SR rez, but don't qualify with the BQ policy of the Standing Rock Tribe to be tribal members. I have a 1st cousin whose mother was my favorite aunt, who also passed. This cousin is same BQ as I and is heir to land on Standing Rock, but due to the 1/16 blood missing would not be accepted by Standing Rock but is a tribal member of the Yankton Sioux. What does that mean, you can be an heir to and own Indian land on a rez but not be an Indian? Go figure... "The tribal traditions, not the genetics, held people together.... The future of the Sioux, then, is a function of maintaining the traditions and adhering to a discipline which calls forth the responsive and responsible individuals to lead community...culture-carriers, a responsibility that transcends all other considerations." For This Land; Writings on Religion in America by Vine Deloria, Jr. You can read more for yourself here: www.hcn.org/issues/41.1/blood-quantum/article_view?b_start:int=1&-C=
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Post by jazzdog on Jun 2, 2009 2:05:33 GMT -5
Lavanah
I really appreciate what you said in this entry about blood quantum and other identity information regarding "enrollment" or "membership" as it may be in the present structure of things (good, bad or ugly) being utilized by many Tribes for purposes of knowing and/or establishing the definition of who is and who is not, rightfully entitled to be welcomed into their own historical and/or ancestral body of beings based upon actual history.
I do agree with you on the fact that our Native American peoples have always been openarmed and openminded as to inclusiveness of those human beings of all races and backgrounds.., In our past, when it came to grow and develop and nuture families that originated, flowered and sustained and successed, despite cultural and racial differences, in the grand history of our Dakota/Nakota/Lakota peoples, and the factual combinations of our actual individual anscestral lineages that resulted in our individual lines as they were, or as they be...... I agree with your concept of the mutual acceptance of all that want to be a part of our spiritual family and our connected family as long as they understand what it means and what the true meaning of stating out loud "I am Native American" or that they are not ashamed to let others know that they come from the people of which the reservations were set aside. I agree with your enthusiasm in reaching forward with your individual beliefs and endeavors, in light of your realization that some may question one's individual blood quantum as a negative factor as to one's honest committment toward forwarding the best interests of ALL of the lineal descendants of all of the native american peoples in this country on all levels, and on all issues, past, present and the future..... This........is where the issue of blood quantum and "tribal" or "community" membership comes into serious consideration. As you already know, Tribal Councils presently control enrollment matters in the end. But Tribal Enrollment offices are the frontline gatekeepers.......to keep out those that are obviously not eligible,but also to keep out those that may be POLITICALLY ineligble........what this means, is that many eligible enrollees that would otherwise be historically eligible to be clear members of a given "tribe or community" , may potentially be denied a rightful historical, ancestral right to be recognized as a legitimate member of the very tribe/community, while other persons, who have less, or little or none, tribal/community anscestral tribal/Indian blood PROOF (i.e. less than 1/32 or 1/64 actual heritage BLOOD), do supposedly qualify for tribal rights and all of the tribe's/community's benefits......... This........is where I adamantly disagree with you, respectfully, on behalf of the anscestors of the Mdewakanton Dakota Sioux..... The three Minnesota Dakota Sioux communities were established on the heritage and on the backs of the true Mdewakanton Dakota Sioux, and specifically, upon the backs of the LOYAL Mdewakanton Sioux and the recognition of the same in the treaties that existed before the 1862 "uprising" (insurrection) occurred, and the fact that there were many mixed bloods and half breeds that were prominently mentioned and refered to in the treaties and acts of the time acknowledging the importance of "Dakota Sioux" blood........ EVERYBODY.....whether half blood, mixed blood, or full blood, was placed upon the same list...........internment at the prisoner camp at Ft. Snelling...... This is where the government's use of proof of quantum of blood precentages, comes into play, and seems, to make some "degree" of sense......... when the government decided to give back some land parcels to the "loyal mdewakanton" following the 1862 events, obviously, it became important to determine who was loyal and who was not......this became a dilemma for the government, as the history reveals that many Indian people sought to declare themselves as "loyal Mdewakantons" or "Loyals" so as to take advantage of an opportunity to obtain land under congressional proclamation as long as one could claim descendancy or identification as a member of the Loyal Mdewakanton. What has happened, is that many people that "were just there" (according to my belief in research of the issue), were given the benefit of being considered "loyal Mdewakanton" despite the fact that they may have been descendants of the 1862 Loyals....... This is my dispute in the present day consideration of certain tribes/communities allowing "tribal/indian" community enrollment in ANY federally/gaming commission sanctioned tribe/community with little or no actual proof of rightful native american/Tribal/ACTUAL LOYAL MDEWAKANTON DAKOTA SIOUXenrollment, in that it is reasonably and fairly suspected that many individuals that are presently "enrolled" in the Mdewakanton Dakota Sioux communities (established because of the treaties and statutes put forth for the Loyal Mdewakanton-ex. Shakopee and Prairie Island), at the Minnesota sites, may in fact, may not be legitimate and eligible members based upon lack of lineage to the 1862 Act or any act thereafter......as real Descendants of the actual loyals
So, I am sorry to disagree with you that blood does not matter, because it does......the fact that (according to stated accounts) many people will gladly take advantage of the Indian people when they can, or claim that it is chiche to be "Indian or Native American" , that it takes away sometimes to try to protect against imposters versus legitimate concerns.
I am sorry it took so long for me to explain this position, but it is an issue that is one of those that burrows under the soul of us all.
thanks
JAZZDOG YOUR FRIEND
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Post by sunshine on Jun 2, 2009 7:46:10 GMT -5
It is not my intent to stand in judgement on this matter, but I would like to share with you what I have experienced in adopting Native children.
When we first started adopting our family back in 1995, the ICWA(Indian Child Welfare Laws) laws were very loose. We only had to petition the tribe that the bio MOther had listed for release of the child to be adopted by a non-Native. However, as we continued to adopt members of this same family over a 10 year period of time, laws changed and became more strict.
Our children were only 24% Native, but in the last adoption, we were told by Rosebud that each child is considered a tribal member "by birth", but that they did not qualify to be an "enrolled member". Thus, they differentiate birth member from enrollement member. This last itme, we had to ppetition all tribes that we even thought the child could have blood from, instead of just our original tribe. While Rosebud easily gave us permission, Santee didn't even respond. When our attorney called them to make sure that things were in proper order. She mentioned to the people at Santee that this child also had Rosebud blood and that they had given permission, but she just wanted to obey Santee rules as well. She was then told, "well, if this child has ANY kind of Rosebud blood, even if he was 75% Santee, we wouldn't want ANYTHING to do with him" and they hung up on my attorney. Personally I was happy for the internal prejudice demonstrated here, as we were HONORED to have the ability to adopt this precious child, but wasn't this prejudice SAD? The Chippewa tribe is the only one that I know of that recognizes all tribal blood in dealing with abandoned children.
There is a Bible verse that says something to the effect that a house that is divided against its self can not prosper and will fall. Look at all of the fighting between the attorneys in the Wolfchild lawsuit. How fruitless is that? This is my call to the Native people to stop the infighting and internal prejudices and join together to defeat the Wasicu or whatever other opponent, in whatever battle needs to be won. Join forces and move on for the betterment of all Native peoples. For What it is Worth! Sunshine
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Post by navajo on Jun 2, 2009 13:01:49 GMT -5
I too have a hard time with the enrollment requirements. I was enrolled as a Navajo at the Shiprock Agency. My father being Navajo and Dakota (Wahpeton/Mdewakanton) was enrolled Navajo as well. His mother was full blodded Navajo and the matriarcal system was the basis of his enrollment there and not with a Dakota Tribe. My Navajo grandmother's husband was always on the Sisseton-Wahpeton tribal rolls and recently I was able to ask if my children could be enrolled with Sisseton-Wahpeton and I was told not unless I had myself removed form the Navajo Rolls and HOPE and request that I be placed on the Sisseton-Wahpeton Tribal rolls. I was told this was a decision made by the tribe and BIA and if they did not allow me to become enrolled then I ran the risk of not being allowed back on the Navajo Rolls.
Recently I found, by accident, an old Mdewakanton Tribal Roll that listed my Sisseton family Jane Anderson Robertson with all her children including my g-grandfather Thomas Anderson Robertson. I knew from the stories my dad told me that his father's mother's family were decended from Chief Wapasha I, Mahpiyahota (Grey Cloud), and Mahpiyahotawin (Grey Cloud Woman) and that they were really Mdewakanton not Sisseton. My dad thought that because of the trouble brewing before the Minnesota War of 1862 that the family was placed on the Sisseton Tribal rolls by accident or on purpose. My father believed that a Mdewakanton Tribal Roll did exist with his grandfather and great grandmother listed on it and he was right.
So I guess my next question to Sisseton-Wahpeton would be, there are alot of decendents from this family (Jane Anderson Robertson, Thomas Anderson Robertson etc........) and they were really not Sisseton. Am I right or wrong? How many other families were on this Mdewakanton Tribal Roll and were placed on other Tribal Rolls and do not know this. Beth
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Post by sunshine on Jun 2, 2009 14:39:29 GMT -5
Sorry to stick my nose in again, but I just had a chance to reread Jazzdogs message, which I do agree with in regards to the need to separate out the percentages of which tribe people are, for means of qualification, or disqualification for land and money rights owed to each tribe. But each person should know what percentage they are of each tribe and then a sum total of what part of them is Native, regardless of which tribe. Does anyone know the actual wording on this in the Federal laws? It does make a difference!!!! An example is: I am now helping 5 Native kids that made it through high school and qualify to get into college, qualify for the Federal educational funding that is available. If our family had not done the work that has been done to prove their Nativeness in total, they would not qualify for these programs. Remember that the Univ of MInensota has a branch at Morris, Mn. that does not charge ANY qualified Native child college tuition. Unfortunately, I can't get any of my kids or cousins to go there as it is so far from home. Thus, I am digging out other Native scholarships that require the blood quantum info.
The major question that I had about the legitimacy of the people claiming to be "loyal Mdewankanton" peoples is the part of where one had to have "severed ties" with the tribe and gave up annuities, etc., thus suffering a loss. What about the peoples who were on the 1885,86,89 censuses that were also on the Santee censuses at the same time; the ones that went back and forth between the two communities? Some still clamed annuities in Santee, but then registered for the land in MInnesota and so called double dipped? There is alot to be sorted out here. Sunshine
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Post by Spirit of the Owl Woman on Jun 12, 2009 1:50:41 GMT -5
The worst hatred is that of relatives.
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Post by Spirit of the Owl Woman on Jun 12, 2009 2:42:34 GMT -5
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. - Anonymous
Yuhapi c'cante was'te Wopida unkenic'eyapi
Lavanah
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