Spewing Animosity From the Native Community

It's a bit of a twist for me to see someone within the Native community carry so much animosity. I understand the hardships Natives went through, and continue to go through today, however MY family doesn't harbor so much resentment...we feel it's best to just go on with our lives and try to embrace as much of our heritage as we can (while, of course voicing our opinion on the injustices we see every day, we just don't harp on it every hour of the day).

Unfortunately, I encounter one individual, a part of the same tribal association as I am (Ojibwe) and sense a great deal of animosity from them. Every question asked in regards to Native spirituality is met with negativity and down right anger. I feel this person must have faced a lot of negativity in their lives that they have to reflect it back on genuine questions (however faulty they may be).

Someone asks a genuine question of seeking their ancestry and wanting to learn more about their history, and they are met with a lot of resentment and anger and not entirely accurate information (and when I say "accurate information", I mean, they claim a Native is only a Native when they receive necessary documentation from the US Govt. I am not a resident of the United States and have no documentation that states I am a native, because I am only "half" (my mother is full native, my father is Irish). In Canada, I am referred to as a Metis, however I do not have "Status", therefore within the laws of Canada, I am referred to as a "Non Status Native" or "...Metis" (Metis referring to "half-blood" to be a bit vulgar in the vocabulary).

In all honesty, when these American Natives answer questions claiming one cannot be Native without this government issued registration, it's naturally insulting to me, because I AM a native, however much I may not be recognized by the United States (a country of which I am not of nor reside). They forget that Natives not only live in the US and are bound by US laws, but we also live in Canada as well, and are bound by CANADIAN laws...and the law states that I AM a Native.


But I digress. It's one thing to be angry over people's attempts at misappropriating the Native culture (cue popular music festivals where numerous "White Chickies" wear headdresses and "war paint" while wearing skin tight white tanks and short-shorts), it's a total other thing to be angry with anyone trying to reconnect to their roots.

It's a matter of "pick your battles". This one chooses to fight each battle...in the end, s/he will end up being very exhausted and accomplishing very little.