https://new.artsmia.org/stories/why-so-many-people-claim-to-be-cherokee-who-arent-and-why-that-matters/
Though the number of registered Cherokee tribal members
today is around 300,000, nearly a million Americans claimed at least one
Cherokee ancestor in the 2010 census.
To claim Cherokee ancestry is not just to empathize with the Cherokee people’s history, but to literally claim a connection to it—to the ongoing struggles of the Eastern Cherokee communities and to the story of the Cherokee rose, after the Cherokee were pushed off their land. Along the Trail of Tears, Cherokee women were said to look behind them and weep. And their tears, according to legend, turned into Cherokee roses. That so few people truly connect with this perspective is one reason it’s often overlooked—a problem exacerbated by false claims that minimize this history’s importance.
As a complex, living system of citizenship, tribal enrollment is not a
hunch, a wish, or even a personal decision. The Cherokee people decide
who is Cherokee and who isn’t, and this has ensured that a unique
culture, against all odds, has remained so. A Cherokee rose, after all,
is not A rose is A rose is A rose.
Showing posts with label Ancestry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ancestry. Show all posts
Monday, October 9, 2017
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Finding Your Native American Heritage
Many people in the US and Canada have at least one Indian ancestral line in their family. Lots of people grew up hearing the family legend about a family member that was Native American. Proving that legend to be true or false can be tough. There is very little official records about early Native American. Starting your search on Native American Genealogy can be very challenging.
You will need to build a family tree using a multitude of resources. Research the deaths, births, and marriages of your family. Use these records to build links from yourself back to your ancestors.
http://www.powwows.com/am-i-native-american-how-to-find-my-indian-ancestors/#ixzz4Xkv5yEal
You will need to build a family tree using a multitude of resources. Research the deaths, births, and marriages of your family. Use these records to build links from yourself back to your ancestors.
http://www.powwows.com/am-i-native-american-how-to-find-my-indian-ancestors/#ixzz4Xkv5yEal
Monday, October 13, 2014
Counted Out of Existence
Nice Day for a Genocide: Shocking Quotes on Indians By U.S. Leaders
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/07/10/nice-day-genocide-shocking-quotes-indians-us-leaders-part-1-150362
Natives Experienced American
Holocaust by Gray Wolf
Saturday, September 27, 2014
This Indian Does Not Owe You
http://www.buzzfeed.com/elissawashuta/this-indian-does-not-owe-you
I am here before you, a living Indian, upright and animated, full of blood. I am a young Cowlitz woman, not one of the dead chiefs flattened into history books. I have come to expect that you may want to know what an Indian knows and feels; you may want to unroll before me your knowledge about Indian wars or toss out a fun fact about totem poles — conversational niceties, perhaps, attempts at connection. Fair enough. Know, though, if I have no response, it is because I have only a few inches of innards left to pull out for examination. I must place some limits so that I might keep myself intact.
I do not owe you a complete breakdown of my ancestry. I do not keep a blood quantum chart sketched out on my palm like crib notes for an exam. I do not have to tell you where my mother was born or what substance forms my father. I don’t have to justify the place of my birth, necessarily off-reservation because my tribe has none, all of our land taken from us. I cannot stop you when your gaze searches my face, gouges out my eyes, and roughs up my cheekbones, but I don’t have to respond when you offer your assessment. I don’t measure my blood in pints and quarts, and I will not spill it at my feet for you.
Click the link to read more details!
I am here before you, a living Indian, upright and animated, full of blood. I am a young Cowlitz woman, not one of the dead chiefs flattened into history books. I have come to expect that you may want to know what an Indian knows and feels; you may want to unroll before me your knowledge about Indian wars or toss out a fun fact about totem poles — conversational niceties, perhaps, attempts at connection. Fair enough. Know, though, if I have no response, it is because I have only a few inches of innards left to pull out for examination. I must place some limits so that I might keep myself intact.
I do not owe you a complete breakdown of my ancestry. I do not keep a blood quantum chart sketched out on my palm like crib notes for an exam. I do not have to tell you where my mother was born or what substance forms my father. I don’t have to justify the place of my birth, necessarily off-reservation because my tribe has none, all of our land taken from us. I cannot stop you when your gaze searches my face, gouges out my eyes, and roughs up my cheekbones, but I don’t have to respond when you offer your assessment. I don’t measure my blood in pints and quarts, and I will not spill it at my feet for you.
Click the link to read more details!
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Identity (Article Excerpts and Links)
Contemporary Views of Traditional Identity
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/06/16/term-american-indian-plus-ethnicity-sovereignty-and-identity-155222
I would not say that Native American identity is shaped by ethnicity, rather Native American identity was and continues to be shaped by specific tribal cultures and traditions. American Indians do not form an ethnic group, they are composed of thousands of independent nations, communities, and cultures that have very different and specific identities.
Similarly, I would not say that American Indian identity has been shaped by sovereignty, rather American Indian cultures and identities have informed and supported the use or appropriation of the Western concept of sovereignty. If we mean by sovereignty the right and power to make our own decisions, then sovereignty has been a part of Indian nations from time immemorial.
Tribal citizens have cultural, kinship, often spiritual ties to a tribal nation and to its history, goals and values. Tribal citizens uphold and obey the laws and traditions of an indigenous nation. Tribal citizenship carries a political commitment to take on the responsibilities and benefits of tribal government and tribal nationality. However, tribal citizenship requires cultural understanding of the indigenous nation, and knowledge of the history of self-governance. Indigenous nations are holistic with overlapping cultural, political, kinship, economic, and community relations and identities. Tribal citizens take on time-honored obligations to respect kinship, community, nation, and ceremony, all of which are overlapping and holistic.
Pseudo Science to Get Rid Of
http://io9.com/10-pseudo-science-theories-wed-like-to-see-retired-fore-1592128908
Some excerpts below
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/06/16/term-american-indian-plus-ethnicity-sovereignty-and-identity-155222
I would not say that Native American identity is shaped by ethnicity, rather Native American identity was and continues to be shaped by specific tribal cultures and traditions. American Indians do not form an ethnic group, they are composed of thousands of independent nations, communities, and cultures that have very different and specific identities.
Similarly, I would not say that American Indian identity has been shaped by sovereignty, rather American Indian cultures and identities have informed and supported the use or appropriation of the Western concept of sovereignty. If we mean by sovereignty the right and power to make our own decisions, then sovereignty has been a part of Indian nations from time immemorial.
Tribal citizens have cultural, kinship, often spiritual ties to a tribal nation and to its history, goals and values. Tribal citizens uphold and obey the laws and traditions of an indigenous nation. Tribal citizenship carries a political commitment to take on the responsibilities and benefits of tribal government and tribal nationality. However, tribal citizenship requires cultural understanding of the indigenous nation, and knowledge of the history of self-governance. Indigenous nations are holistic with overlapping cultural, political, kinship, economic, and community relations and identities. Tribal citizens take on time-honored obligations to respect kinship, community, nation, and ceremony, all of which are overlapping and holistic.
Pseudo Science to Get Rid Of
http://io9.com/10-pseudo-science-theories-wed-like-to-see-retired-fore-1592128908
Some excerpts below
Phrenology
Want to
know what someone's like? Get to know them, or talk to a lot of people
who know them. Handwriting won't tell you anything, unless the letters
are written in blood. If you think someone's posture indicates their
character, I wish you an uncomfortable chair for the rest of your life.
And as for deciding that someone's body shape is an indication of what
they're like inside - we got taught to know better than this in
kindergarten, people. Get it together. I have no doubt that there will
always be new forms of this crap floating around. Some charlatan will
always find a way to claim physical characteristics indicate moral
character. Give it the hydra treatment. Chop off its head and burn its
neck stump.
Aliens Build the Ancient World
Look, I
know it's easier to think that aliens came down to Earth thousands of
years ago than it is to believe that the ancient peoples of Egypt or
South America and Central America had any skill, brains, or artistry.
But you still have to fill in questions like, "Why, of all the things
aliens could do with the world, did they choose to make giant stone
pyramids?" If you went to an alien world, would you want to build giant
stone pyramids, or would you prefer to loot the world of all of its
precious materials? (Or, if you were more benevolent, teach the natives
how to cultivate penicillin?) While we're on the subject, why did
aliens give up their interest in architecture? It's only been a couple
of thousand years, and we could really use some help building vertical
farms or supercities, or, I don't know, space ships. But I get it:
We're smart, ancient people are not. Keep it to yourself from now on.
Genetic Memory
A little
sentimentalism about one's ancestors can be quite pleasant. It's
interesting to look around an old family house, or take a trip to the
"homeland." Things get a little more complicated when people lay claim
to the gifts and talents of their ancestors. What works in novels
doesn't work in real life, and "innate knowledge," leads to all kinds of
pseudo-scientific nonsense. We're not salmon. We don't have a
instinct that leads us back to our origins.
Indians Who Aren't Indians
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/indians-who-arent-indians-256126711.html
The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld an earlier ruling that says the Métis are Indians in constitutional terms, which implies a higher standard of federal responsibility. It rejected, however, the notion non-status Indians are in fact Indians under the Constitution, although it said Parliament could grant such status under some circumstances.
They may look like Indians, identify as Indians, associate with Indians, participate in Indian cultural affairs and pass on their Indian oral histories, they may even speak an aboriginal language, but as far as the federal government is concerned, they aren't Indians.
This paradox and historic injustice traces its roots to the 19th century and the beginning of the treaty system. A status Indian was someone registered under the Indian Act as an Indian, but for a variety of reasons many aboriginals never registered with the authorities.
Some aboriginals avoided the process out of mistrust, while other names were simply not recorded. Aboriginal women who married non-Indians lost their status, although that injustice was eventually reversed by the courts. Other aboriginals lost or gave up their status for a variety of reasons.
The Métis have a process for determining membership in their group, including self-identification, acceptance by the Métis community and records that verify ancestry. A similar method could be used for non-status Indians who want to reclaim their heritage and their rights.
Indians Who Aren't Indians
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/indians-who-arent-indians-256126711.html
The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld an earlier ruling that says the Métis are Indians in constitutional terms, which implies a higher standard of federal responsibility. It rejected, however, the notion non-status Indians are in fact Indians under the Constitution, although it said Parliament could grant such status under some circumstances.
They may look like Indians, identify as Indians, associate with Indians, participate in Indian cultural affairs and pass on their Indian oral histories, they may even speak an aboriginal language, but as far as the federal government is concerned, they aren't Indians.
This paradox and historic injustice traces its roots to the 19th century and the beginning of the treaty system. A status Indian was someone registered under the Indian Act as an Indian, but for a variety of reasons many aboriginals never registered with the authorities.
Some aboriginals avoided the process out of mistrust, while other names were simply not recorded. Aboriginal women who married non-Indians lost their status, although that injustice was eventually reversed by the courts. Other aboriginals lost or gave up their status for a variety of reasons.
The Métis have a process for determining membership in their group, including self-identification, acceptance by the Métis community and records that verify ancestry. A similar method could be used for non-status Indians who want to reclaim their heritage and their rights.
On Card Carrying
Indians and Those Indians Who Don't
Warren Petoskey in Native Condition.
This is the historical trauma no one wants to talk about.
We, as Native people, take it as a badge of honor that we have been issued
cards qualifying us as citizens of our respective tribes. My number is 0322.
That number registers me with my tribe and with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in
Washington DC. Every tribal member in the United States and Canada has an
identification number in addition to our driver's license number and our social
security number among other numbers.
I have often thought of withdrawing my membership in my
tribal club association if it were not for daughters who struggle with diabetes
and need the medical services to control the disease. Neither can afford the
test strips, the medicines, or the continuing need for medical care.
The tribe who so generously allows me to have one of their
cards does little to address the conditions that have developed that are
intended to end our legal existence and the federal government's obligations by
treaty to us. If they are allowed to determine when we will suddenly disappear
because of the lack of their standards for blood quantum than we, as tribal
members, have done little to establish and protect our origin of sovereignty.
Sovereignty was and is not the gift of men, but the gift of the Creator.
Somehow we have allowed me to dictate who we are or who we aren't. This is
prejudice at its highest effort.
I think of the many tribes the federal government
terminated. In essence the federal government was and is saying these tribes no
longer exist or have any legal status in the United States or Canada. That is
like telling the Creator that they are going to take the lead in saying who is
and who isn't! So they have usurped the authority of the Creator and took
matters into their own hands.
After five hundred years of threat to our existence in which
nearly 100 million of our people were exterminated and we were determined to be
less than human, this little crumb from our master's table giving us a card to
carry validating us as citizens of our own tribes is an indication of their
lack of honor and respect. But we, as a people, have bought into it all and
practice that level of oppression on our own people and stick our heads in the
sand when other members of our Red Race is determined not to exist.
9 Things America Needs to Understand About Native Values
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/07/07/9-things-mainstream-america-needs-understand-155670?page=0%2C2
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/01/06/authenticity-ethnic-indians-non-indians-and-reservation-indians-152952
The cultural complexities of contemporary Indian communities tend to confuse non-Indians who are expecting and often demand traditional cultural expression and personas from contemporary Indian people. If a person does not look and act like an Indian—usually a stereotypical image of a Plains Sioux Indian—then many non-Indians doubt the Indian authenticity of tribal member.
Reservation Indians usually have very secure identities, and so when non-Indians or ethnic Indians doubt their authenticity, reservation Indians often find these circumstances amusing. Ethnic Indians can be defined as persons of Indian descent who are not members of a tribal community and often their families have not have had contact with a home community for generations. For reservation Indians, authenticity is confirmed within the local reservation community. While for many ethnic Indians and non-Indians, Indian authenticity is determined by stereotypes and images that are common within American society.
There are more non-Indians in the U.S. than reservation Indians, and generally the views of non-Indians prevail. Non-Indian views of Indian authenticity drowned out reservation understandings of Indian authenticity. Before the 1980s, some times Indians often conformed to U.S. images of authenticity by dressing in Plains Indian clothes and headdresses, partly because otherwise they could not be recognized as Indians. Southern California Indians, for example, do not traditionally have powwow dances, but have dances and songs based on their tribal creation teachings that narrate an epic migration of ancestral birds who end by establishing the homeland of the people. Unfortunately, much contemporary discussion about Indian authenticity focuses more on U.S. definitions of authenticity than tribal understandings, which are less well known and understood by the U.S. public and many ethnic Indians.
Trapped in Our Ancestors Old Ways
http://starcasm.net/archives/277205
From TLC: “The series chronicles the dramatic and emotional journey of Mary, Frank, Tamara, Qituvituag (also known as Q) and Nuala, as they embark on their high-stakes ‘escape’ from Alaska to explore the world outside their villages and small towns. Although they love their families and take pride in their heritage, they are yearning for more fulfilment and different experiences. Escaping Alaska captures their brave journey as they leave their sheltered lives behind.”
Native People, in All Their Glory: 20 Portraits by Ryan Red Corn
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/gallery/photo/native-people-all-their-glory-20-portraits-ryan-red-corn-155641
Working with Buffalo Nickel and on his own, Red Corn has built up a substantial portfolio of portraits of Natives; his subjects include entertainers and athletes, politicians and activists, kids and elders. Basically, everyone -- view gallery for a selection of some of his recent shots.
9 Things America Needs to Understand About Native Values
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/07/07/9-things-mainstream-america-needs-understand-155670?page=0%2C2
- Honesty and Integrity
- Prioritizing Who Is Paid Well For What
- Appreciation for Women
- Natural Law
- Respect
- Kinship and the Relationship Between All Beings
- The Sacredness of Life and Intention
- Generosity
- Mother Earth
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/01/06/authenticity-ethnic-indians-non-indians-and-reservation-indians-152952
The cultural complexities of contemporary Indian communities tend to confuse non-Indians who are expecting and often demand traditional cultural expression and personas from contemporary Indian people. If a person does not look and act like an Indian—usually a stereotypical image of a Plains Sioux Indian—then many non-Indians doubt the Indian authenticity of tribal member.
Reservation Indians usually have very secure identities, and so when non-Indians or ethnic Indians doubt their authenticity, reservation Indians often find these circumstances amusing. Ethnic Indians can be defined as persons of Indian descent who are not members of a tribal community and often their families have not have had contact with a home community for generations. For reservation Indians, authenticity is confirmed within the local reservation community. While for many ethnic Indians and non-Indians, Indian authenticity is determined by stereotypes and images that are common within American society.
There are more non-Indians in the U.S. than reservation Indians, and generally the views of non-Indians prevail. Non-Indian views of Indian authenticity drowned out reservation understandings of Indian authenticity. Before the 1980s, some times Indians often conformed to U.S. images of authenticity by dressing in Plains Indian clothes and headdresses, partly because otherwise they could not be recognized as Indians. Southern California Indians, for example, do not traditionally have powwow dances, but have dances and songs based on their tribal creation teachings that narrate an epic migration of ancestral birds who end by establishing the homeland of the people. Unfortunately, much contemporary discussion about Indian authenticity focuses more on U.S. definitions of authenticity than tribal understandings, which are less well known and understood by the U.S. public and many ethnic Indians.
Trapped in Our Ancestors Old Ways
http://starcasm.net/archives/277205
From TLC: “The series chronicles the dramatic and emotional journey of Mary, Frank, Tamara, Qituvituag (also known as Q) and Nuala, as they embark on their high-stakes ‘escape’ from Alaska to explore the world outside their villages and small towns. Although they love their families and take pride in their heritage, they are yearning for more fulfilment and different experiences. Escaping Alaska captures their brave journey as they leave their sheltered lives behind.”
Native People, in All Their Glory: 20 Portraits by Ryan Red Corn
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/gallery/photo/native-people-all-their-glory-20-portraits-ryan-red-corn-155641
Working with Buffalo Nickel and on his own, Red Corn has built up a substantial portfolio of portraits of Natives; his subjects include entertainers and athletes, politicians and activists, kids and elders. Basically, everyone -- view gallery for a selection of some of his recent shots.
I am Not Pocahontas
http://www.theweeklings.com/ewashuta/2014/09/04/pocahontas/
The word "Pagan" is a problem when applied to Native Americans
http://nativeamericanresources.blogspot.com/2011/10/letters-2011-word-pagan.html
Beyond Assimilation and Nationalism: Walking in Two Worlds Is Necessary
The word "Pagan" is a problem when applied to Native Americans
http://nativeamericanresources.blogspot.com/2011/10/letters-2011-word-pagan.html
Beyond Assimilation and Nationalism: Walking in Two Worlds Is Necessary
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/12/23/beyond-assimilation-and-nationalism-walking-two-worlds-necessary-152788
Indians use a variety of strategies to manage their life prospects and identities. The old stereotypes of opposing traditionalist and progressive strategies do not capture the complexity of contemporary life choices, nor the consequences of tribal identity and commitments to sustaining tribal nations.
Indians use a variety of strategies to manage their life prospects and identities. The old stereotypes of opposing traditionalist and progressive strategies do not capture the complexity of contemporary life choices, nor the consequences of tribal identity and commitments to sustaining tribal nations.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
New Discovery in DNA Research!
New Discovery Confirms Native American Views on Their Ancestry
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/05/18/new-discovery-confirms-native-american-views-their-ancestry-154927
For the past 15 years the question of whether modern American Indians were descended from the ancient people who lived in North and South America more than 10,000 years ago has been the subject of a contentious and bruising scientific debate. This debate has had profound legal implications, since under the current laws in the United States, the custody and control of human remains is dependent on whether or not there is a relationship to a modern Indian tribe.
Naia, believed to have been a young girl of 15 or 16, apparently fell to her death in the sinkhole sometime between 12,000 and 13,000 years ago. About 10,000 years ago, as the Ice Ages came to an end and melting glaciers raised sea levels around the world, the cave system was flooded. Her remains, now 130 feet below sea level, were preserved. Under Mexican law her skeleton could not be disturbed, even for scientific study, but the cave systems are a popular tourist dive location and divers had been found digging around her, prompting the government and scientists to recover her.
Girl’s 12,000-year-old skeleton may solve a mystery
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/girls-12000-year-old-skeleton-may-solve-a-mystery/2014/05/15/e45a6330-da90-11e3-8009-71de85b9c527_story.html
A paper published Thursday online in the journal Science argues that the discrepancy in appearance between the Paleoamericans and later Native Americans is most likely the result of recent, and relatively rapid, human evolution — and not the result of subsequent migrations of people into the Americas.
Tests on mitochondrial DNA taken from Naia show that she had a genetic marker common today across the Americas, one that scientists say evolved in a prehistoric population that had been isolated for thousands of years in Beringia, the land mass between Alaska and Siberia that formed a bridge between the continents during the Ice Ages.
Adding to the mystery is that the Paleoamericans, such as Naia, didn’t look like later Native Americans. Naia had a small, projecting face, with narrow cheekbones, wide-set eyes and a prominent forehead. Native Americans of later millennia tended to have broader, longer, flatter faces, and rounder skulls, said James Chatters, an independent researcher based in Washington state and the lead author of the paper.
The distinct morphology of the Paleoamericans is most famously found in the “Kennewick Man,” a 9,000-year-old skeleton discovered two decades ago along the Columbia River in Washington state. Facial reconstruction resulted in someone who looked a bit like the actor Patrick Stewart (“Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “X-Men”). Scientists theorized that he could have been related to populations in East Asia that spread along the coast and eventually colonized Polynesia. Under that scenario, more recent Native Americans could be descended from a separate migratory population.
DNA Analysis Shows That Native American Genealogy Is One of the Most Unique in the World
http://www.whitewolfpack.com/2014/08/dna-analysis-shows-that-native-american.htm
and
http://www.wisdompills.com/2014/06/13/dna-testing-proves-native-american-genealogy-to-be-among-the-most-unique-in-the-world/
The importance of such efforts cannot be overstated. The threads of these ancient cultures – having existed here for tens of thousands of years prior to the arrival of the ‘pioneers’ – no matter how tenuous they may currently be, must be preserved, strengthened and woven back into a quilt that tells the unique story of not only their past, but of their bright future as well.
The study follows up on earlier research that found a unique variant of a genetic marker in the DNA of modern descendants of Native Americans. “While earlier studies have already supported this conclusion, what’s different about our work is that it provides the first solid data that simply cannot be reconciled with multiple ancestral populations,” said Kari Britt Schroeder of the University of California, one of the authors of the study.
As a result of the previous research, the so-called “9-repeat allele” (or variant) was found in all of the 41 Native American and Asian (from the western side of the Bering Strait) populations that were sampled. At the same time, the allele was absent in all 54 of the Eurasian, African and Oceanian groups that were also sampled in the study.The researchers supposed that the distribution of the allele was due to the fact that all these ethnic groups (modern Native Americans, Greenlanders and western Beringians) derived from a common founder population, which had been isolated from the rest of the Asian continent thousands of years prior to their migration to the Americas.
“Our work provides strong evidence that, in general, Native Americans are more closely related to each other than to any other existing Asian populations, except those that live at the very edge of the Bering Strait,” concluded Schroeder. (Source)
The results of the study were published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.
http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/26/5/995
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/05/18/new-discovery-confirms-native-american-views-their-ancestry-154927
For the past 15 years the question of whether modern American Indians were descended from the ancient people who lived in North and South America more than 10,000 years ago has been the subject of a contentious and bruising scientific debate. This debate has had profound legal implications, since under the current laws in the United States, the custody and control of human remains is dependent on whether or not there is a relationship to a modern Indian tribe.
Naia, believed to have been a young girl of 15 or 16, apparently fell to her death in the sinkhole sometime between 12,000 and 13,000 years ago. About 10,000 years ago, as the Ice Ages came to an end and melting glaciers raised sea levels around the world, the cave system was flooded. Her remains, now 130 feet below sea level, were preserved. Under Mexican law her skeleton could not be disturbed, even for scientific study, but the cave systems are a popular tourist dive location and divers had been found digging around her, prompting the government and scientists to recover her.
Girl’s 12,000-year-old skeleton may solve a mystery
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/girls-12000-year-old-skeleton-may-solve-a-mystery/2014/05/15/e45a6330-da90-11e3-8009-71de85b9c527_story.html
A paper published Thursday online in the journal Science argues that the discrepancy in appearance between the Paleoamericans and later Native Americans is most likely the result of recent, and relatively rapid, human evolution — and not the result of subsequent migrations of people into the Americas.
Tests on mitochondrial DNA taken from Naia show that she had a genetic marker common today across the Americas, one that scientists say evolved in a prehistoric population that had been isolated for thousands of years in Beringia, the land mass between Alaska and Siberia that formed a bridge between the continents during the Ice Ages.
Adding to the mystery is that the Paleoamericans, such as Naia, didn’t look like later Native Americans. Naia had a small, projecting face, with narrow cheekbones, wide-set eyes and a prominent forehead. Native Americans of later millennia tended to have broader, longer, flatter faces, and rounder skulls, said James Chatters, an independent researcher based in Washington state and the lead author of the paper.
The distinct morphology of the Paleoamericans is most famously found in the “Kennewick Man,” a 9,000-year-old skeleton discovered two decades ago along the Columbia River in Washington state. Facial reconstruction resulted in someone who looked a bit like the actor Patrick Stewart (“Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “X-Men”). Scientists theorized that he could have been related to populations in East Asia that spread along the coast and eventually colonized Polynesia. Under that scenario, more recent Native Americans could be descended from a separate migratory population.
NEW - THE OLMECS WERE AMERINDIANS NOT AFRICANS - AND THE MALIANS & IGNERIS CREATED THE GARIFUNA - A NEW CARIBBEAN PEOPLE!
A lot of Afrocentrists have a cherished THEORY that the entire Olmec
civilization was an African one - just because of Colossal heads that
resemble African warriors - yet on scientific scrutiny they do not
LITERALLY resemble ANY real human - what human has eye sockets so huge?
An Alien-human hybrid? This is a simple fact overlooked when one WANTS
to believe in something but CANNOT prove it, but they cannot explain
either why 99% of ALL the OTHER Olmec artifacts (as you can see in the 3
videos below) DO NOT have anything that remotely hints at anything
African Negroid - only the usual Amerindian culture of Meso-America,
neither have DNA tests of Olmec descendants today revealed ANY genetic
connection to Africa, only to Asia and the Mongoloid race.DNA Analysis Shows That Native American Genealogy Is One of the Most Unique in the World
http://www.whitewolfpack.com/2014/08/dna-analysis-shows-that-native-american.htm
and
http://www.wisdompills.com/2014/06/13/dna-testing-proves-native-american-genealogy-to-be-among-the-most-unique-in-the-world/
The importance of such efforts cannot be overstated. The threads of these ancient cultures – having existed here for tens of thousands of years prior to the arrival of the ‘pioneers’ – no matter how tenuous they may currently be, must be preserved, strengthened and woven back into a quilt that tells the unique story of not only their past, but of their bright future as well.
The study follows up on earlier research that found a unique variant of a genetic marker in the DNA of modern descendants of Native Americans. “While earlier studies have already supported this conclusion, what’s different about our work is that it provides the first solid data that simply cannot be reconciled with multiple ancestral populations,” said Kari Britt Schroeder of the University of California, one of the authors of the study.
As a result of the previous research, the so-called “9-repeat allele” (or variant) was found in all of the 41 Native American and Asian (from the western side of the Bering Strait) populations that were sampled. At the same time, the allele was absent in all 54 of the Eurasian, African and Oceanian groups that were also sampled in the study.The researchers supposed that the distribution of the allele was due to the fact that all these ethnic groups (modern Native Americans, Greenlanders and western Beringians) derived from a common founder population, which had been isolated from the rest of the Asian continent thousands of years prior to their migration to the Americas.
“Our work provides strong evidence that, in general, Native Americans are more closely related to each other than to any other existing Asian populations, except those that live at the very edge of the Bering Strait,” concluded Schroeder. (Source)
The results of the study were published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.
http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/26/5/995
Friday, February 28, 2014
A How-To Guide For Beginning Your Genealogical Journey
A How-To Guide For Beginning Your Genealogical Journey - Click below for more links to genealogical sites
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/02/24/how-guide-beginning-your-genealogical-journey-153487 --> Your heritage is not just about tribal membership or lack thereof and each family is unique.
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/08/13/3-native-american-genealogy-sources-you-may-not-know-about-156357
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/02/24/how-guide-beginning-your-genealogical-journey-153487 --> Your heritage is not just about tribal membership or lack thereof and each family is unique.
- Obtain vital records (birth, death, marriage) for yourself, your parents and all four grandparents. These are usually available from state, county or city vital records offices in the United States. Some are available online. Be forewarned, most of them are not free to obtain. Next, locate your families in the 1940, 1930, 1920, 1910 and 1900 U.S. Censuses. These are online but mostly available through subscription genealogy services. Your local library may have also access.
- Work backwards in time. Forget about modern-day standardized name and place spellings—you will encounter many spelling variants in your search. Census enumerations provide information, though are not always 100 percent accurate, about individuals, such as:
- Where each family member was born and their age;
- Where the father and mother of each person was born;
- How long the couple has been married;
- Whether it is a first or second marriage for each spouse;
- How many children the mother has given birth to and how many of those children were still living at the time of the particular census.
- Arm yourself with facts and documentation about your families as you begin to search. Don’t fall for a “French model” tale—your family history deserves better.
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/08/13/3-native-american-genealogy-sources-you-may-not-know-about-156357
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Johnny Depp Portrays Tonto in Lone Ranger Disney Movie
This is a FANTASTIC article. Not just on Tonto, but also stereotypes in general.
Hollywood Gets It Wrong, But It Still Matters
http://www.war-times.org/johnny-depp%E2%80%99s-tonto-hollywood-gets-it-wrong-it-still-matters
Imagine for a moment what the reaction would be if Johnny Depp played the African American sidekick of a white cowboy. In Black face. Folks would pretty much go ballistic, right? What if Depp’s grandmother told him that he had an African American ancestor somewhere back there? Would that make it okay? What if Depp said he wanted to reverse all the negative images of African Americans in cinema? Would that make it okay? What if the producers of the film donated proceeds from the premiere to the United Negro College Fund? What if there was an African American consultant working on the set? What if the movie provided roles for a dozen or so Black actors? Would any of these make it okay for Johnny Depp to don black face and portray an African American?
Some try to rationalize Depp’s Tonto as just a figment of some white writer’s imagination. But as Adrienne Keene writes at Native Appropriations.com, racial stereotyping is alive and well in most every depiction of Native peoples that we see today, Tonto included:
Let’s also not forget the major professional sports teams brandishing their racist mascots while using the justification that they are “honoring” Native peoples. Remind me again how the Washington Redskins mascot honors Native Peoples? Or the Atlanta Braves or the Cleveland Indians or the recent Stanley cup winners, the Chicago Blackhawks?
These stereotypes matter. They matter because they continue to perpetrate a view of Indians that is ultimately used to justify how they are treated in society as a whole.
AND A COUPLE MORE ARTICLES ON JOHNNY DEPP'S PORTRAYAL OF TONTO IN THE LONE RANGER MOVIE
The Real Problem with the Lone Ranger Movie? It's Racism, Stupid.
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/07/08/real-problem-lone-ranger-movie-its-racism-stupid-150323
The hysteria over Johnny Depp as Tonto is (probably) in its denoument: The Lone Ranger opened to terrible reviews and disappointing box office numbers, and American Indians who didn't like the idea of Depp as a Native icon were to some extent vindicated. There will be some pieces to pick up and some lessons learned, but a lot of questions have been answered.
In a piece for Slate entitled "Johnny Depp’s Tonto: Not as Racist as You Might Think. But Still Kind of Racist," Aisha Harris was more forgiving than others, but still couldn't get past the limitations of the source material. "Depp’s attempt to be a 'warrior' role model to all the American Indian kids lucky enough to watch him save the day fails—and for the simple reason that the original material is too entrenched in an essentially racist ideology."
Native American Ancestry?
The thrust of the release is that both Hammer and Johnny Depp, who
plays Tonto, are descendants of "real American freedom fighters."
For Hammer, that means Cherokee, with "one of the earliest documented Cherokee leaders and known peace advocate, Chief Kanagatucko" way back in his family tree, according to Ancestry.com's researchers. Depp's justice-seeking relative was Elizabeth Key, the first woman in the North American colonies of African descent to sue for her slavery and win, in 1656.
Depp, who has faced criticism as a non-Native playing a Native character, has claimed American Indian blood -- specifically a grandmother who was Cherokee or Creek. The Ancestry.com release does not address the issue of Depp's purported Native blood.
I saw the Lone Ranger so that you don't have to
http://nativeappropriations.com/2013/07/i-saw-the-lone-ranger-so-you-dont-have-to.html
It’s been 12 hours since I saw The Lone Ranger, and I still have the darn William Tell Overture stuck in my head. I wonder how long that lasts. It’s like waking up with a Tonto hangover, I guess. I have so many thoughts on this film, and only maybe one of them is good. But I think we need to start off with this: The Lone Ranger is just a bad movie. It’s 2.5 hours of a film with an identity crisis, not knowing if it’s supposed to be funny, campy, dramatic, “authentic,” or what. At points it was very hard to separate the stereotypical and hurtful from the bad script, bad editing, and bad character development of the movie itself.
I wrote in my notes: FINALLY! I AM SO BORED! and then that scene drug on for another 15 minutes and I just wanted it to end. I forgot what we were even fighting for. Which I think was the problem all along.
This is also the most violent movie I’ve seen in awhile, and I’m a fan of Game of Thrones.
And for those of you new to the blog or need a refresher, here’s all my Tonto coverage over the last year or so, which covers the casting, the costume, and a whole bunch of other things: my initial reactions, why you should care about Tonto when there are “bigger issues” out there, tearing apart Depp’s reasoning over his costume choices, the controversy I dealt with for writing about Tonto, and Armie Hammer’s comments about Indians loving the movie.
The first words of the whole film: “Kemooosabeeeh.
I won’t go this in-depth with the rest of the film, but I wanted to set the stage. The very first scene we are presented with an image of a Native person, in a museum–which presumably we’re supposed to critique, but there’s no questioning of Tonto’s position there. To me it reinforces the idea that all the Indians are dead, relics of the past, which is actually a theme throughout. This Indian is so silly and backward he trades a dead mouse for a bag of peanuts, doesn’t even know how to eat peanuts, and is feeding a bird, but it’s dead. Even the child knows that’s wrong. So this is the “new” Tonto? Definitely an improvement, amiright? (that was sarcasm. In case you missed it.)
Tonto, A Misguided Friend to the Indians
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-eyre/native-americans-hollywood_b_3569823.html
At its core, this movie is a re-telling of a 1933 radio show about Hollywood's inventing Native Americans, historical confusion, and most of all this movie is about "entertainment!"
The new The Lone Ranger movie delivers on all of these promises in its contemporary tale of taming of the West. True to the genre's form, it is also a white man's debate between good and bad values and American morality.
One white man, Latham Cole (played by Tom Wilkinson), manifests his destiny by gaining all he can through the riches of the railroad (we call him "capitalism-at-all-expense tribe"), and the other white man, John Reid (played by Armie Hammer), believes in justice and "his" moral-truth (we call him the "righteous-and-overbearing tribe").
But wait, I thought this new The Lone Ranger movie was Johnny Depp's effort to show Tonto in a different light? Well, truth be told, yes, Depp's Tonto is seen in a different light, in that evidently the fictitious Tonto was much more important to the story of righteous manifest destiny than we previously knew. Yet, it is still a Native (I use the interpretation of the word "Native" very loosely) character as a secondary figure to the "white" debate over Manifest Destiny and their ideas about good and bad as they seek the taming of the West.
"This train is not going to stop..." might have been better served as a line Depp's Tonto character received, "This train is not going to stop, Depp!"
But, maybe Johnny Depp knows this better than anyone because as a Hollywood "powerhouse," Depp knows Hollywood's long and non-regulated telling of Native Americans misrepresented culture and history in movies. In Hollywood's telling of Native America, "facts" are never important and don't need to be as long as we are entertained. Native Americans in Hollywood movies have always served as a centerpiece to be molded by the "right," but mostly the "left," for the filmmaker or the studio or the financiers' personal American ideals -- and the new The Lone Ranger is no different.
Since the beginning of the moving image, Hollywood has created and appropriated its very own image of Native America that was always made by non-Native Americans for their own political point of view towards the masses.
Johnny Depp's "Tonto" resembles nothing that is Native American in reality, not his talk, not his crow on his head, not his face paint or his Potawatomi language "Kemosabe," spoken by a fictional Comanche character. Depp's Tonto is an entertaining farce. It's an idea audiences world-wide own through Hollywood invention and appropriation. The Lone Ranger's storyline, its characters and its ideas are not based in historical fact or related to Native America or its contemporary progressive people. Period.
Today, there needs to be a new category for the appropriation of Native American images by Hollywood and by non-Natives that try and portray that idea for mass consumption. I know, let's call it "entertainment."
And, I have to say, there are a lot of Native people who seem irate over Depp's portrayal of "red face." I was recently asked, "Is Depp's Tonto offensive to Native people?" I thought to myself, two things. One, if a Native person is offended by this Tonto character they must not recognize how unbelievable this character is, and two, if Native people think this is their opportunity to change other people's minds regarding negative representations of Native characterization I would say, "Go see another movie!!"
Hollywood Gets It Wrong, But It Still Matters
http://www.war-times.org/johnny-depp%E2%80%99s-tonto-hollywood-gets-it-wrong-it-still-matters
Imagine for a moment what the reaction would be if Johnny Depp played the African American sidekick of a white cowboy. In Black face. Folks would pretty much go ballistic, right? What if Depp’s grandmother told him that he had an African American ancestor somewhere back there? Would that make it okay? What if Depp said he wanted to reverse all the negative images of African Americans in cinema? Would that make it okay? What if the producers of the film donated proceeds from the premiere to the United Negro College Fund? What if there was an African American consultant working on the set? What if the movie provided roles for a dozen or so Black actors? Would any of these make it okay for Johnny Depp to don black face and portray an African American?
Some try to rationalize Depp’s Tonto as just a figment of some white writer’s imagination. But as Adrienne Keene writes at Native Appropriations.com, racial stereotyping is alive and well in most every depiction of Native peoples that we see today, Tonto included:
“Here’s the thing. Yeah, Tonto is a
fictional character, and there are plenty of white actors and actresses
who play fictional characters, and we don’t automatically assume that
white people are fictional, so it shouldn’t matter, right? We saw
Natalie Portman as an evil-crazy-swan-human in the Black Swan, and we
don’t assume that Natalie Portman’s character is representative of her,
or all white people, in real life. But that, my friend, is white
privilege at work. Everyday we see millions of representations of white
people in varied and diverse roles. We see white actors as “real”
people, as “fantasy” characters, and everything in between.
But for Native people, the only images that
the vast, vast majority of Americans see are stereotypical in nature.
You go to the grocery store and see plenty of smiling white children on
cereal boxes, contrasted with the only readily recognizable Native
image–the Land o’ Lakes butter girl…There are also hardly any (if any)
Native people in current, mainstream television shows. And this carries
over even more strongly into Hollywood.”
Let’s also not forget the major professional sports teams brandishing their racist mascots while using the justification that they are “honoring” Native peoples. Remind me again how the Washington Redskins mascot honors Native Peoples? Or the Atlanta Braves or the Cleveland Indians or the recent Stanley cup winners, the Chicago Blackhawks?
These stereotypes matter. They matter because they continue to perpetrate a view of Indians that is ultimately used to justify how they are treated in society as a whole.
AND A COUPLE MORE ARTICLES ON JOHNNY DEPP'S PORTRAYAL OF TONTO IN THE LONE RANGER MOVIE
The Real Problem with the Lone Ranger Movie? It's Racism, Stupid.
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/07/08/real-problem-lone-ranger-movie-its-racism-stupid-150323
The hysteria over Johnny Depp as Tonto is (probably) in its denoument: The Lone Ranger opened to terrible reviews and disappointing box office numbers, and American Indians who didn't like the idea of Depp as a Native icon were to some extent vindicated. There will be some pieces to pick up and some lessons learned, but a lot of questions have been answered.
In a piece for Slate entitled "Johnny Depp’s Tonto: Not as Racist as You Might Think. But Still Kind of Racist," Aisha Harris was more forgiving than others, but still couldn't get past the limitations of the source material. "Depp’s attempt to be a 'warrior' role model to all the American Indian kids lucky enough to watch him save the day fails—and for the simple reason that the original material is too entrenched in an essentially racist ideology."
Native American Ancestry?
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/06/26/its-hammer-not-depp-indian-blood-says-ancestrycom-150140
June 26, 2013
According
to a press release issued today by genealogy website Ancestry.com,
Armie Hammer, the actor who plays the title role in Disney's upcoming
western film The Lone Ranger, has Native American heritage.
For Hammer, that means Cherokee, with "one of the earliest documented Cherokee leaders and known peace advocate, Chief Kanagatucko" way back in his family tree, according to Ancestry.com's researchers. Depp's justice-seeking relative was Elizabeth Key, the first woman in the North American colonies of African descent to sue for her slavery and win, in 1656.
Depp, who has faced criticism as a non-Native playing a Native character, has claimed American Indian blood -- specifically a grandmother who was Cherokee or Creek. The Ancestry.com release does not address the issue of Depp's purported Native blood.
I saw the Lone Ranger so that you don't have to
http://nativeappropriations.com/2013/07/i-saw-the-lone-ranger-so-you-dont-have-to.html
It’s been 12 hours since I saw The Lone Ranger, and I still have the darn William Tell Overture stuck in my head. I wonder how long that lasts. It’s like waking up with a Tonto hangover, I guess. I have so many thoughts on this film, and only maybe one of them is good. But I think we need to start off with this: The Lone Ranger is just a bad movie. It’s 2.5 hours of a film with an identity crisis, not knowing if it’s supposed to be funny, campy, dramatic, “authentic,” or what. At points it was very hard to separate the stereotypical and hurtful from the bad script, bad editing, and bad character development of the movie itself.
I wrote in my notes: FINALLY! I AM SO BORED! and then that scene drug on for another 15 minutes and I just wanted it to end. I forgot what we were even fighting for. Which I think was the problem all along.
This is also the most violent movie I’ve seen in awhile, and I’m a fan of Game of Thrones.
And for those of you new to the blog or need a refresher, here’s all my Tonto coverage over the last year or so, which covers the casting, the costume, and a whole bunch of other things: my initial reactions, why you should care about Tonto when there are “bigger issues” out there, tearing apart Depp’s reasoning over his costume choices, the controversy I dealt with for writing about Tonto, and Armie Hammer’s comments about Indians loving the movie.
The first words of the whole film: “Kemooosabeeeh.
I won’t go this in-depth with the rest of the film, but I wanted to set the stage. The very first scene we are presented with an image of a Native person, in a museum–which presumably we’re supposed to critique, but there’s no questioning of Tonto’s position there. To me it reinforces the idea that all the Indians are dead, relics of the past, which is actually a theme throughout. This Indian is so silly and backward he trades a dead mouse for a bag of peanuts, doesn’t even know how to eat peanuts, and is feeding a bird, but it’s dead. Even the child knows that’s wrong. So this is the “new” Tonto? Definitely an improvement, amiright? (that was sarcasm. In case you missed it.)
Tonto, A Misguided Friend to the Indians
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-eyre/native-americans-hollywood_b_3569823.html
At its core, this movie is a re-telling of a 1933 radio show about Hollywood's inventing Native Americans, historical confusion, and most of all this movie is about "entertainment!"
The new The Lone Ranger movie delivers on all of these promises in its contemporary tale of taming of the West. True to the genre's form, it is also a white man's debate between good and bad values and American morality.
One white man, Latham Cole (played by Tom Wilkinson), manifests his destiny by gaining all he can through the riches of the railroad (we call him "capitalism-at-all-expense tribe"), and the other white man, John Reid (played by Armie Hammer), believes in justice and "his" moral-truth (we call him the "righteous-and-overbearing tribe").
But wait, I thought this new The Lone Ranger movie was Johnny Depp's effort to show Tonto in a different light? Well, truth be told, yes, Depp's Tonto is seen in a different light, in that evidently the fictitious Tonto was much more important to the story of righteous manifest destiny than we previously knew. Yet, it is still a Native (I use the interpretation of the word "Native" very loosely) character as a secondary figure to the "white" debate over Manifest Destiny and their ideas about good and bad as they seek the taming of the West.
"This train is not going to stop..." might have been better served as a line Depp's Tonto character received, "This train is not going to stop, Depp!"
But, maybe Johnny Depp knows this better than anyone because as a Hollywood "powerhouse," Depp knows Hollywood's long and non-regulated telling of Native Americans misrepresented culture and history in movies. In Hollywood's telling of Native America, "facts" are never important and don't need to be as long as we are entertained. Native Americans in Hollywood movies have always served as a centerpiece to be molded by the "right," but mostly the "left," for the filmmaker or the studio or the financiers' personal American ideals -- and the new The Lone Ranger is no different.
Since the beginning of the moving image, Hollywood has created and appropriated its very own image of Native America that was always made by non-Native Americans for their own political point of view towards the masses.
Johnny Depp's "Tonto" resembles nothing that is Native American in reality, not his talk, not his crow on his head, not his face paint or his Potawatomi language "Kemosabe," spoken by a fictional Comanche character. Depp's Tonto is an entertaining farce. It's an idea audiences world-wide own through Hollywood invention and appropriation. The Lone Ranger's storyline, its characters and its ideas are not based in historical fact or related to Native America or its contemporary progressive people. Period.
Today, there needs to be a new category for the appropriation of Native American images by Hollywood and by non-Natives that try and portray that idea for mass consumption. I know, let's call it "entertainment."
And, I have to say, there are a lot of Native people who seem irate over Depp's portrayal of "red face." I was recently asked, "Is Depp's Tonto offensive to Native people?" I thought to myself, two things. One, if a Native person is offended by this Tonto character they must not recognize how unbelievable this character is, and two, if Native people think this is their opportunity to change other people's minds regarding negative representations of Native characterization I would say, "Go see another movie!!"
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Elizabeth Warren - Massachusetts Candidate for Senate - NA Ancestry vs. White Identity
And as David Treuer pointed out in his opinion piece in The Washington Post, many Indians have identified
as whites to have access to more opportunities. “From the mid-19th
century, the beginning of the reservation period, up through the early
20th century, regardless of how people identified themselves, being
classified by the U.S. government as an American Indian automatically
curtailed one’s rights,” he said.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
DNA Research (We Are Not Extinct!)
This article (erroneously) says the Taino are extinct.On average, the genomes of Puerto Ricans contain 10 to 15% Native American DNA, which is largely Taíno, says Bustamante.
* Comments from many of my friends, Robert, Licy, and Vanessa are on the bottom.
* This is SO EXCITING - the COMMENTS from UCTP and my friends CAUSED THE ARTICLE TO CHANGE
As a result of the feedback from community members, thetitle of the article in question has been changed from "Breathing life into an extinct ethnicity' to "Rebuilding the genome of a hidden ethnicity". All references to "extinction" have been removed. At the end of the article there is now a corrective statement that reads:
"Corrected: This article originally stated that the Taíno were extinct, which is incorrect. Nature apologizes for the offence caused, and has corrected the text to better explain the research project described."
The original article appeared on Oct. 14, 2011 and was corrected on Oct. 17, 2011. It took three days from the time of the first post to not only receive apologies from one of the scientists leading the project but also from the magazine itself.
While it is still not a "perfect article", I have left a message on the site to thank the editor Brian Owens and Professor Bustamante for the public apology and the corrections. I felt it was the Taino thing to do…
In achieving these corrections and apologies, I feel we accomplished something historic. Think about the alternative if we did nothing at all.
This article demonstrates the sad consequences of DNA testing
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/10/13/bitter-fight-determine-who-american-indian-turns-dna-testing-57165
People interviewed for this story, whether they are for or against the use of DNA testing, agree there is already a litmus test—for you to be considered Indian any of the following statements are true:
A) Your family/people experienced a traumatic history with disease, displacement and death;
B) Your family/people endured generations of intense poverty and disenfranchisement;
C) That you are alive means your family/people survived repeated attempts by various governments to exterminate them—physically, culturally, spiritually.
“Really, the measure of being Indian should be a pain index,” Alexie says. “You know, how many funerals have you gone to?”
DNA results that reveal unpleasant surprises about parentage are a frequent occurrence in Indian country, where grandmothers or aunties often care for infants born into bad domestic situations. “That’s one of the things about DNA testing—it is letting all of the skeletons out of the closet,” says James Mills, president of Creating Stronger Nations, a consulting firm that works with tribes to create policy documents on a range of governance issues, including enrollment. “The moment you draw a line in the sand on enrollment, the moment you have rules, there is going to be some unfairness. There is no perfect system. There just isn’t one.”
But even that test is subjective. “It comes down to who is a tribal member,” says Mills, pointing to the authority granted by Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, a landmark 1978 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that notes sovereign Indian nations determine their own membership. “Tribes have rules about membership and for many years, many tribes were very lax about their rules. [But now], if you are a successful per-capita tribe, people will come out of the woodwork,” clamoring to be members. “Tribes began to get stricter about the enforcement of their rules…and thus you have this disenrollment phenomenon.”
This site has some information on Native American DNA testing.
Over the past few weeks a number of agencies have contacted one or more editors of the Caribbean Amerindian Centrelink (http://www.centrelink.org/) with news and details concerning DNA testing services for those interested in verifying or documenting their Taino or other Amerindian biological parentage.
And this site talks about cultural survival - The Taino of the Caribbean: the People Who are Not Supposed to Exist
Here is another article, The Perils of Human Genomics (with a lot of sarcasm in the comments), about reclaiming/identifying as Taino. Scroll down to read these two comments:
16. Kolibri Carrillo Says:
October 26th, 2011 at 6:52 am
17. Maurice Travers Says:
October 26th, 2011 at 7:14 am
Sirs
I am one of those so called “taino ” activists whose lies onur goes on about . I am a white anglo / saxon british male who is blessed to be friends with many of these “extinct ” people . Dr Bustamente and the authour of the article graciously admitted that they had made an error of Judgement when presented with facts that dispelled the Columbian myth of extinction . For the information of onur a study carried out over a wide spectrum of inhabitants of Boriken (Puerto Rico ) in a sample of 700 61% showed Mitrochrondial DNA indicating Amerindian (Taino ) decendency The reasearch was carried out by prof Vasesquez of the university there as to the fact that he claims greek origin he should read his history the Greeks are extinct as is every other race in this world .There is no pure anyone left today. I am minded to remind Everyone here of a greeting used by the Lakota soiux Tribe of North america .
Miyakuye Oyasin WE ARE ALL RELATED
Blessings to all
M
Rejoinder to Roberto Mucaro http://www.prdream.com/wordpress/?p=3376
Mr. Borrero is correct in pointing out that the number of people in Puerto Rico who self-identify as “Indian” has increased 49 percent from 13,336 in the year 2000 to 19,510 in 2010. But this is still only less than 1 percent of the total Island population of 3.7 million.
There are other NeoTaíno organizations and subgroups that are sometimes in conflict with each other, such as the Jatibonicu Taíno Tribal Nation of Boriken, the Taíno Turabo Aymaco Tribe of Puerto Rico, and the Consejo General de Taínos Borincanos, with the issue of purity coming up in statements on occasion. For example, the “Tribal Charter” of the Taíno Turabo Aymaco Tribe of Boriken states that their tribe “is made-up of: documented and non-documented, pure blood, and non-pure blood descendants of the Taíno Turabo and Aymaco Tribes,” and “pure and non-pure blood descendants of other various Taíno Tribes from the entire Caribbean.”
A little more to think about here: http://voxxi.com/2011/12/12/taino-ancestry-goes-beyond-dna-its-cultural/ Advocates for Taíno people say their culture is passed down through oral traditions, not solely DNA. Taíno supporters have a problem with academic scholar Dr. Gabriel Haslip-Viera’s recent paper where he says Taíno advocates are using a DNA study to claim “a pure indigenous pedigree.”
They say they never made that claim and have challenged Haslip-Viera to prove it. According to the United Confederation of Taíno People (UCTP) the concept of a “degree of Indian blood” was not set by them, but by those whose ultimate goal is to eliminate indigenous tribes. Taíno advocates say Haslip-Viera omits any reference to oral tradition as a form of community and national history.
Roberto “Múkaro” Borrero, president of UCTP said in a statement:
“It should be further noted that Taíno descendants do not require the approval of Dr. Haslip-Viera or others to be Taíno. This position is also affirmed by the world community as per the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”
Should your ancestry be based on how you see yourself or how much DNA you have of that ethnicity?
This article shows why There is no DNA test to prove you're Native American
https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4318236742527300206#editor/target=post;postID=6841055636249105922
* Comments from many of my friends, Robert, Licy, and Vanessa are on the bottom.
* This is SO EXCITING - the COMMENTS from UCTP and my friends CAUSED THE ARTICLE TO CHANGE
As a result of the feedback from community members, thetitle of the article in question has been changed from "Breathing life into an extinct ethnicity' to "Rebuilding the genome of a hidden ethnicity". All references to "extinction" have been removed. At the end of the article there is now a corrective statement that reads:
"Corrected: This article originally stated that the Taíno were extinct, which is incorrect. Nature apologizes for the offence caused, and has corrected the text to better explain the research project described."
The original article appeared on Oct. 14, 2011 and was corrected on Oct. 17, 2011. It took three days from the time of the first post to not only receive apologies from one of the scientists leading the project but also from the magazine itself.
While it is still not a "perfect article", I have left a message on the site to thank the editor Brian Owens and Professor Bustamante for the public apology and the corrections. I felt it was the Taino thing to do…
In achieving these corrections and apologies, I feel we accomplished something historic. Think about the alternative if we did nothing at all.
This article demonstrates the sad consequences of DNA testing
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/10/13/bitter-fight-determine-who-american-indian-turns-dna-testing-57165
People interviewed for this story, whether they are for or against the use of DNA testing, agree there is already a litmus test—for you to be considered Indian any of the following statements are true:
A) Your family/people experienced a traumatic history with disease, displacement and death;
B) Your family/people endured generations of intense poverty and disenfranchisement;
C) That you are alive means your family/people survived repeated attempts by various governments to exterminate them—physically, culturally, spiritually.
“Really, the measure of being Indian should be a pain index,” Alexie says. “You know, how many funerals have you gone to?”
DNA results that reveal unpleasant surprises about parentage are a frequent occurrence in Indian country, where grandmothers or aunties often care for infants born into bad domestic situations. “That’s one of the things about DNA testing—it is letting all of the skeletons out of the closet,” says James Mills, president of Creating Stronger Nations, a consulting firm that works with tribes to create policy documents on a range of governance issues, including enrollment. “The moment you draw a line in the sand on enrollment, the moment you have rules, there is going to be some unfairness. There is no perfect system. There just isn’t one.”
But even that test is subjective. “It comes down to who is a tribal member,” says Mills, pointing to the authority granted by Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, a landmark 1978 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that notes sovereign Indian nations determine their own membership. “Tribes have rules about membership and for many years, many tribes were very lax about their rules. [But now], if you are a successful per-capita tribe, people will come out of the woodwork,” clamoring to be members. “Tribes began to get stricter about the enforcement of their rules…and thus you have this disenrollment phenomenon.”
This site has some information on Native American DNA testing.
Over the past few weeks a number of agencies have contacted one or more editors of the Caribbean Amerindian Centrelink (http://www.centrelink.org/) with news and details concerning DNA testing services for those interested in verifying or documenting their Taino or other Amerindian biological parentage.
And this site talks about cultural survival - The Taino of the Caribbean: the People Who are Not Supposed to Exist
Here is another article, The Perils of Human Genomics (with a lot of sarcasm in the comments), about reclaiming/identifying as Taino. Scroll down to read these two comments:
16. Kolibri Carrillo Says:
October 26th, 2011 at 6:52 am
The more I read about this topic, the more I am compelled to address this issue of the so called Taino extinction. I am Taino by blood and culture. I do not need a DNA test nor recognition from any faction political or cultural. I am not from a poor or disadvantage life, I am educated and do not need any financial assistance from government as reparation. I am retired from a government agency in NYC and on full pension. I pay taxes like everyone else. Why do I identify myself to the indigenous culture of my home island called Boriken (Puerto Rico)? My mother’s birth certificate says so. Why do I claim to be of both indigenous culture of the Caribbean? I am Taino and Carib because my Mother told me so. I do not need the Smithsonian study or the speculations of scientist to tell me who I am. I do not need a card from my country’s government to tell me who I am. I am Taino and Caribe mixed with Spanish. Thus I am mestizo like my own Mother. My post here does not come from a need to have some form of identity, I am an American; born and raised in the United States of America. That is my citizenship. I am a Taino and Carib woman, that is my identity. I am not looking for any social or economic advantage at claiming my identity as Taino. I do not need anyone’s approval to know who I am. Mr. Onur whoever you are, I am not a Taino identity activist. I am Kolibri Carrillo daughter of a Taino/Carib woman. I am entitled to self identity.
October 26th, 2011 at 7:14 am
Sirs
I am one of those so called “taino ” activists whose lies onur goes on about . I am a white anglo / saxon british male who is blessed to be friends with many of these “extinct ” people . Dr Bustamente and the authour of the article graciously admitted that they had made an error of Judgement when presented with facts that dispelled the Columbian myth of extinction . For the information of onur a study carried out over a wide spectrum of inhabitants of Boriken (Puerto Rico ) in a sample of 700 61% showed Mitrochrondial DNA indicating Amerindian (Taino ) decendency The reasearch was carried out by prof Vasesquez of the university there as to the fact that he claims greek origin he should read his history the Greeks are extinct as is every other race in this world .There is no pure anyone left today. I am minded to remind Everyone here of a greeting used by the Lakota soiux Tribe of North america .
Miyakuye Oyasin WE ARE ALL RELATED
Blessings to all
M
Rejoinder to Roberto Mucaro http://www.prdream.com/wordpress/?p=3376
Mr. Borrero is correct in pointing out that the number of people in Puerto Rico who self-identify as “Indian” has increased 49 percent from 13,336 in the year 2000 to 19,510 in 2010. But this is still only less than 1 percent of the total Island population of 3.7 million.
There are other NeoTaíno organizations and subgroups that are sometimes in conflict with each other, such as the Jatibonicu Taíno Tribal Nation of Boriken, the Taíno Turabo Aymaco Tribe of Puerto Rico, and the Consejo General de Taínos Borincanos, with the issue of purity coming up in statements on occasion. For example, the “Tribal Charter” of the Taíno Turabo Aymaco Tribe of Boriken states that their tribe “is made-up of: documented and non-documented, pure blood, and non-pure blood descendants of the Taíno Turabo and Aymaco Tribes,” and “pure and non-pure blood descendants of other various Taíno Tribes from the entire Caribbean.”
A little more to think about here: http://voxxi.com/2011/12/12/taino-ancestry-goes-beyond-dna-its-cultural/ Advocates for Taíno people say their culture is passed down through oral traditions, not solely DNA. Taíno supporters have a problem with academic scholar Dr. Gabriel Haslip-Viera’s recent paper where he says Taíno advocates are using a DNA study to claim “a pure indigenous pedigree.”
They say they never made that claim and have challenged Haslip-Viera to prove it. According to the United Confederation of Taíno People (UCTP) the concept of a “degree of Indian blood” was not set by them, but by those whose ultimate goal is to eliminate indigenous tribes. Taíno advocates say Haslip-Viera omits any reference to oral tradition as a form of community and national history.
Roberto “Múkaro” Borrero, president of UCTP said in a statement:
“It should be further noted that Taíno descendants do not require the approval of Dr. Haslip-Viera or others to be Taíno. This position is also affirmed by the world community as per the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”
Should your ancestry be based on how you see yourself or how much DNA you have of that ethnicity?
DNA testing is changing how Native Americans think about tribal membership. Yet anthropologist Kim Tallbear warns that genetic tests are a blunt tool. She tells Linda Geddes why tribal identity is not just a matter of blood ties
New Discoveries: http://nativeamericanresources.blogspot.com/2014/05/new-discovery.html
Single Ancestral Group:
http://www.geneticarchaeology.com/research/Native_Americans_descended_from_a_single_ancestral_group_DNA_study_confirms.asp
For two decades, researchers have been using a growing volume of genetic data to debate whether ancestors of Native Americans emigrated to the New World in one wave or successive waves, or from one ancestral Asian population or a number of different populations.
Risks to Tribes (Who Owns Native Culture?): http://web.williams.edu/AnthSoc/native/
What do Mormons think about our DNA? http://www.mrm.org/dna
http://www.councilforresponsiblegenetics.org/GeneWatch/GeneWatchPage.aspx?pageId=562
DNA evidence is immperfect
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/article/can-dna-determine-who-is-american-indian%3F-45442
It cannot determine blood quantum or cultural knowledge, among other things.
New Discoveries: http://nativeamericanresources.blogspot.com/2014/05/new-discovery.html
Single Ancestral Group:
http://www.geneticarchaeology.com/research/Native_Americans_descended_from_a_single_ancestral_group_DNA_study_confirms.asp
For two decades, researchers have been using a growing volume of genetic data to debate whether ancestors of Native Americans emigrated to the New World in one wave or successive waves, or from one ancestral Asian population or a number of different populations.
Risks to Tribes (Who Owns Native Culture?): http://web.williams.edu/AnthSoc/native/
What do Mormons think about our DNA? http://www.mrm.org/dna
Smart New Ways to Trace Your Native
Ancestry
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/08/13/3-native-american-genealogy-sources-you-may-not-know-about-156357
Taino DNA isn't accounted for in "land-based" studies…http://www.councilforresponsiblegenetics.org/GeneWatch/GeneWatchPage.aspx?pageId=562
DNA evidence is immperfect
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/article/can-dna-determine-who-is-american-indian%3F-45442
It cannot determine blood quantum or cultural knowledge, among other things.
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