My neighbors got their #CherokeeNation Tribal IDs updated at an outreach event in Chicago yesterday. They also got to meet Principal Chief Chuck Hoskins.
Outreach like this is great, I wish more Native Nations would do it in Chicago.
#Tsalagi #Cherokee #Native #Indigenous
2/
Usually once a year or so I get some version or another of the #Cherokee story. Today:
Neighbor: Blah blah blah, I didn't even know Buffy St Marie was Native...
Me: Really? 👀
Neighbor: My family says we have Native ancestry, probably [here it comes] Cherokee!
Me: Oh... [silent facepalm, no energy or time to shatter the myth...]
~30% of US residents think they have Native ancestry, most of those Cherokee, when the real number is about 3%, a whole lot of imagination...
#Native #Indigenous
3/
What's irritating about these fake Cherokee ancestry stories is what it does to real Natives/Cherokees and especially reconnecting Natives.
It's not about citizenship, there are plenty of Natives who aren't citizens yet or got screwed over by the incompetence and corruption of Dawes Rolls or other census takers... Real Natives that can't discuss or learn culture confidently without side-eyes, doubt or...
For the 30% out there, do your homework or keep your mouth shut.
#Native #Indigenous
Yehuda TurtleIsland.social
Amanda Makepeace (ᏣᏁᎾ)