Jim, When I was a little girl I always wanted to be an Indian because all the pictures I ever saw were these beautiful brown skinned, black haired women. In the last several years I have learned some of the Indian beliefs and of their way of life. I now know how badly they were treated and are still being treated by the white man in Washington and elsewhere. As I have learned more about them and their ways, I wish even more than when I was little that I was an Indian (or at least some Indian). Unfortunately at 58 years old I have not found any Indian in my family, even though there are rumors that there were some on both my paternal & maternal sides. Maybe some of us would feel some pride in belonging to a race that was a little smarter than the white man. Obviously you don't feel that pride! Claudia in Oregon ----- Original Message ----- From: Jim Guest <jguest@republic.net> To: <Indian-Territory-Roots-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, June 06, 1999 9:15 PM Subject: Re: Missing mail > Jerri (Rogers) Chasteen wrote: > > > > It's just been very quiet this past week, Charlene. Perhaps your message will > > stir some of the "lurkers" into submitting their information! > > ============== > > Jerri, > > Maybe this is the time to ask a question that has > been on my mind for a long time. Maybe it will > "stir" something up. > > Why in the world do some people want to be kin > to an Indian? Over the years I've seen people > want to get into the DAR or the Mayflower bunch > or some other "status" group and it has turned > me off. > > Same for folks who seem to think there is some > kind of status in being kin to an Indian. How > often do we hear something like, "My grandmother > was supposed to be full/half/quarter (take your > pick) Indian. I even heard one lady "brag" about > some supposed kin of her's that she said was a > "three-feather Cherokee princess", whatever that's > supposed to be. > > My grandmother used to tell us kids that our > grandfather's, grandfather was some famous > Indian chief in Alabama in the early 1800's. > > Because of this story, this was the LAST line > I did when I began doing research. I figured > it was just another one of those "Indian stories". > > As it turned out my grandmother was right, but > does it make me any different because some guy > 180 years ago was an "Indian"? He was no different > from any other of my ancestors. Was he more > "noble" or "braver" than my other ancestors. Not > in my opinion. So what's the big deal with having > an Indian in your "closet". > > Jim >