I agree with both of you, Michelle and Barbara. Right now, I'm engaged in trying to track down some of my cousins because I promised my mother when she passd on to continue looking for those of our family that we had lost contact with. Most native communities of my acquaintance go to great lengths to track down people who were forcibly removed from their communities. And I've seen many elders weep tears of joy at reconnecting with a lost relative or even being able to help a total stranger re-connect with his/her rightful tribe. I read not too long ago of a group that was started by a community in Minnesota, just to reach out to people who had been adopted out of the tribe. The problems facing displaced indigenous people don't just affect us of the Creek Confederacy. It's a global problem. The ultimate goal of repatriation, in my opinion, is repatriation of the living, and finding ways to bring our people home. And I for one feel the loss of relatives very keenly. I wonder what happened to the people who were taken away from us, how they turned out, if they're happy, if they're some place good, are people nice to them? It's like having part of one's body cut off. Of course, these type of searches take both time and money. A lot of the people on this listserve have been carrying on their searches for decades. I feel like Michelle, when I can help somebody get on to some leads that are helpful to them, I count that as a good day. I consider wannabees to be people who seek to benefit from the suffering and struggles of indigenous people by presenting themselves as indigenous for profit, when meanwhile, we have real indigenous people who've been disenfranchised. Many who can't even qualify for citizenship in their own tribes, because they don't have the type of paperwork required by a foreign government, or who have their blood from several different tribes, precisely because of displacement and termination policies, so they don't have enough 'quantum' from any one of those tribes to qualify for citizenship. And in fairness to tribal administrators and all, they are responsible for administering what is essentially an inheritance. And they are legally bound to require that anyone claiming part of an inheritance resulting from a treaty or what have you, be able to 'prove' in writing that they are a lineal descendant of the heir or heirs in question. That's the case both in and out of Indian Country. I know tribal administrators who've had people come in that they KNEW were part of their community, but they couldn't sign the person up for whatever benefit because they just couldn't pull together the type of paperwork that the law calls for, or they had paperwork but it misidentified their ancestor's ethnicity. So please don't get discouraged. One of the reasons there is a listserve like this is to reach out to folks who have been displaced from their nations and to try and create ways for Indian people who want to continue to participate as indigenous people, whatever their legal, paperwok situation, to be able to do that. Mvto, Deborah On Sat, 9 Aug 2008 13:08:17 -0400, JMSchohn wrote > I have never considered someone with Indian ancestry and no tribal > ties to be a wannabe. When I think about wannabees, I think about > the folks with a "Cherokee Indian princess" great great grandmother > or the boy scouts at pow wows with not one drop of Indian blood but > the finest regalia money can buy. I think about New Agers who are > "Indian in their heart," or even better, "Indian in a previous life." > > As tribal historian and genealogist, I have met many people > searching for their heritage. There is a longing there to find out > who they are and they have little more to go on than whispered > rumors in their own family. Sometimes I can help them document who > they are and sometimes not. Often, I can point to traditions in > their family that they didn't know where Indian, or to physical > features that reveal their ancestry. But those folks aren't > wannabees. Those folks are our lost cousins, and for those of us who > are fortunate enough to have always known who we are, our job is to > help them find their way home. > > Michelle > > In a message dated 08/09/08 12:44:56 Eastern Standard Time, > [email protected] writes: I must agree here. For over 4 > decades I have searched for answers, for proof of my NA heritage. > My grandmother and her family told us that her own mother was full > blooded "Indian". Even my uncle on my other side knew the truth > but when I asked about it, it was as if it was a dirty little secret > and the family kept it hushed. You on this group who know who you > are, who your grandparents are have no idea of the torment of not > having the proof to justify the pull of certain music, certain books, > things that confirm your identity. We may be wannabees but we are > wannabees for a reason. NA blood runs through my veins and I can't > prove it with written documents. My grandmother has been listed as > black and then white on census records but never Indian. I was told > I was black Irish and to let it go. I think that as knowledgeable > and brilliant as some of the contributors here are, they are also > condescending and mean to those of us without "papers", the mutts, > the mongrels who only want for ourselves and our children a link to > that nation of our elders. It is sad when one can trace their > ancestors of Irish or English ancestry back to the 900's AD but not > 2 generations back to our Native American ties. It is beyond sad, > it is heartbreaking and then to go to a site in hopes of finding > some way to get past that brick wall only to be called a wannabee > and made to feel stupid for looking for what you have found is > wrong. Barb > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to CREEK- > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message --