> > > 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. > > So what's the big deal with having > an Indian in your "closet". > > Jim No BIG deal, just interesting. I have no Indian ancestry, but my husband does. I "search" on occasion for several reasons. Reason No. 1: Lived in Tulsa, OK for many, many years. I'm a native Texan. My oldest daughter, while in the first grade, was told to check on her "ancestry" and report back on the next day. She was startled to learn that she was part Cherokee. We figured out the percentages as best we could and sent her off to school with the information. She returned home the next day intensely pleased. Seems that she was the only child in a group of approximately 30 that had an Indian ancestor. I naively told this to a native Oklahomian (sp?) who nearly died laughing. She looked at me (guess I had a baffled look on my face) and told me that in OK you could just about count on 50 percent of all children in any class being part Indian. There was simply a time in which you did not admit this and old habits were rather hard to break. Reason No. 2: I now have a 13 year old Granddaughter who learned a couple of years ago that she was part Cherokee. I laughingly told her that we should attempt to "prove" her Cherokee citizenship and see if she was in line for any basic hunting, fishing, gathering, etc. rights for "as long as the river flows, the grass is green, etc. etc." Sorry, but I'm not really up on this type of history. Just know that some tribes did retain certain rights, and it was a small joke with her, as it were. Then a year ago the small community in which I live, and which is on the water, put up a sign that "no fishing" was allowed. My son spent some of the happiest days of his childhood fishing at that site ( and then throwing the fish back in ). Indignantly I told my daughter and granddaughter about this situation. Granddaughter inquired if I was making any progress in the proof of her Cherokee ancestry. Answer was NO, but I asked her why she was really interested. If she found out she were part Cherokee what difference would it make? She told me, and she meant it, that she would attempt to get an official "Cherokee Citizen" document, she would check if she did have hunting and fishing rights, etc. in the local area and if she did that she would then go down to the water in my community, fishing pole in hand, line in the water with no real hook or bait, (she's a vegetarian) and she would wait for a policeman to come along and say "You can't fish here." She would then look at him, and while pulling out her proof of Cherokee citizenship say "YES I CAN! I'M A CHEROKEE!" Regards, Mary Rae