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BEING INDIAN IS...
having a large family
of over a million brothers and sister!
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BEING INDIAN IS...
feeling that Little Bear, Prays-for-All, Big Heart
are more beautiful names than Jones, Smith, or
Brown.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
watching cowboys shoot to kill 40 of your kind,
with a six-shot revolver on the TV late show
without getting a scratch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
observing your children watching
a cowboy and Indian TV western movie
and cheering for the cowboys.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
joining the U.S. Army
to save your country from the perils of agression
and being against the U.S. Army on your reservation
to keep thje Army Corps of Engineers from stealing
your sacred land.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
graduating from a government Bureau of
Indian Affairs school
and not being able to read a 6th grade English book
from you white friend's urban school.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
having your child come home from school
and ask you about the "strange beliefs"
of the Indians
that his/her teacher mentioned in school today.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
never making quick evaluations of people
but reserving judgment until their actions show
what kind of people they really are.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
feeding anyone and everyone
who comes to your door
with whatever you have.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
knowing
The Great Spirit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
having a Christian missionary tell you
it is wrong to believe in more than
one Divine Being,
then listening to him tell you about God,
Jesus Christ,
The Holy Ghost, the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph,
St. Patrick, St. Christopher, St. Francis,
your spirit, your soul, etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
never giving up
the struggle for survival.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
standing up for life principles and
truths, unashamed,
without having compromised your values.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
not only being proud of who you were born from
but mindful of how you conduct yourself
in the world.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
to have your liberal white friends urge you to
follow
the same path as your Black brothers to
gain some advantage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
having your friends and relatives
accuse you of being a traitor if you
seek an education,
earn more than $7,000 a year,
wear a white shirt and tie,
drive a car less than three years old,
and live in a three bedroom home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
having heard your grandparents and yourself say,
"When they honor the treaties and we get our
land claim payments"...
then suddenly realizing your children are saying
the same words.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
having your non-Indian friends
go on a Vison Quest,
led by a white man to the mountains,
but leaving you home because
you can't make the $300
registration fee to attend.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
listening to your well-intentioned white brother
try to tell you about your native spirituality.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
hearing from non-Indians
how rotten the government has treated Indians
but still voting them back into office.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
listening to people tell you about
their grandmother or great-grandmother
that was a Cherokee Indian Princess.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
seeing other Indians
in search of an Indian identity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
being greeted by non-Indians
with pseudo names from real ancestors
of your tribe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
having to prove with documentation that you are
one,
when other races and people in the country
don't have to.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
knowing that your ancestors were
slaughtered like animals in the name of
Christianity
and then being told that Christianity
is out to save us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
buying "authentic" Indian jewelry
made in Taiwan or Japan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
learning of people becoming Indian
without having an Indian mother or father.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
finding out that people think
all Indians lived in tipis.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
being told that Columbus discovered America
from his ship,
when we were watching him from shore.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
trying to relate to people who say they are
(mathematically) 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, etc.
degree of blood.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
wearing braids and being called a "hippie"
by those who object to long hair.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
going to school when you're young
and having the teacher
skip over the Indian chapter in the history book
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
seeing others forget the true meaning of
Thanksgiving.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
having others make jokes
about your heritage and culture.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
living in two worlds.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
knowing the word "Indian"
is not your true name.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
being called "Chief" or "Tonto"
by patronizing non-Indians.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
being human, with human thoughts and feelings
like your non-Indian brothers and sisters.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
holding onto a piece of paper treaty
that was signed but never honored.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
knowing alcohol doesn't make you Indian
just drunk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
seeing elders die and the language & customs
die with them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
seing Mother Earth destroyed
by those who don't know Her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS....
hearing others think
all Indians wear war bonnets.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
seeing the government
spend billions of dollars abroad
but fail to honor the Indian treaties.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
sad.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
hard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
crying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
laughing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEING INDIAN IS...
forever!

Written By J.C. High Eagle

Togetherness

ŠJana Little Eagle Star

Painting by
Denton Lund