- This topic has 12 voices and 18 replies.
-
Posts
-
I agree with your sense of it. We are so brainwashed in this country to think that we have to define ourselves either/or. It’s so unnatural. Other culture would think we’re insane, but we’re all bought into it. My friend, Thomas McElwain, says that every country has its area of insanity, and for us, it’s around race. By that he means each culture has some culture-specific value that’s taken for granted within the culture, but seems very strange to anyone outside it.
This issue about defining people by race is one of my strongest pet peeves here on the mainland. I was mostly raised in Hawai’i, and we define people more strongly by culture than by race. Its completely normal for people to pick and chose which of their background they’ll identify with, or even if they identify with a culture that is not from their race. Racial features play a lesser role since most people are of mixed race. We put a stronger emphasis on where you were raised and in what culture.
For instance, a full blood Japanese person raised in Hawai’i is in a completely different category then one raised on the mainland or in Japan. I was raised traditional Hawaiian and Japanese, my racial background is Caucasian, east coast Indian, and central Asian. Folks in Hawai’i had no problem with that, but on the mainland, folks keep thinking that I must be part Hawaiian or Japanese cause I grew up speaking the languages and eating the food, and I don’t look full Caucasian. Or they think I am Northwest Indian because I am very familiar with their ways. As far as I am concerned, someone can claim black and Indian at the same time, no problem.
Just this morning I was chatting with friends when a random fellow walked by and asked if I was from Hawai’i. He turned out to be a Hawai’i tourist from my island visiting my current home here in isolated Eastern Oregon. He said he could tell I was from Hawai’i just by body language. And I haven’t lived there for 11 years!
Shad
It’s just so sad to come all this way and find so much information about your history and then to find out they don’t really want you. I’ve been doing a lot of family research and I am a part of the Haliwa Saponi people, but what do I do from here? I’m also black,asian and native. I don’t want to make a fool of myself. Some people make you feel like a wannabe, that’s not the case. I think everybody deserves a chance to connect with their ancestors no matter what they look like. Love is love
This is a sentiment many have expressed. Calling someone a ‘wannabe’ is easy. In reality, with the amount of time people devote to their searches, and the feelings that motivate them to commit that time, a more accurate label is ‘havetobe’. While so many accounts trace back to Halifax County and specific Haliwa surnames, I can see why there are limits on membership. Often it has to do with BIA requirements. If you lines haven’t lived in NC/VA for the last 300 years… Looking at my lines and the Underground Railroad that was going between NC and IN – who knows if my ancestors would have survived the violence occurring around 1790-1820 when they all left.
Still there are small communities in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri and elsewhere that Saponi descendants helped found. Increasingly these small communities are organizing and bringing people together. They may or may not be recognized by Federal, State or other Tribal groups. To me that is not as important as finding our cousins and others who have similar experiences and ancestry to share. Connecting with my cousins has helped me a great deal in understanding my own identity and ancestry. The identity of those who have posted on this board is more complicated than many people wish to acknowledge. Just because others don’ t take the time to understand doesn’t change reality.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
