How Little I Know about the Indigenous

After sitting in our first class for ten minutes, and having to write down what we knew about the Native Americans, I obviously came to the conclusion that I personally knew very little about them.  I knew some stereotypical remarks that I have learned over time: the whole Pocahontas story, that they all dress in loincloth and feathers, they all carry around a tomahawk, etc. etc. etc.  I realized that I also knew some benign facts such as most tribes own casinos and that you only have to be eighteen to gamble in these said casinos.  That is when the sad truth hit me.  I realized that for the longest time, I have none very little about the Indigenous people of the country that I have lived my entire life in.  If that could not get away worse, I knew that a part of me on my father's side is part "Native American".  Cherokee to be exact.  I know that that is something that I know extremely little about, just because it is something that my grandfather does not really bring up.  All that is really discussed is that that is in our heritage, because he is 1/16 Cherokee.  Since he is part of that nationality, he felt that that is something that we all should know because even though it is an extremely low fraction, us grandchildren are 1/64 Cherokee.  But besides that information, that is all we really know.  I always wondered why it was something that my Grandfather, and even my Father, never really discussed openly with us.  Maybe it was because they didn't really know much about it themselves.  Maybe (and I am ashamed as I type this) is that they didn't really want to find anything out about it.

This is where my last reasoning comes through and connects with what we have been discussing in class.  Why is it that people are afraid of finding out what their nationality is?  Or why is it that people don't want to admit to what their nationality really is?  Your nationality is not something you can change.  You can't change it if you move somewhere else, even a different country.  I can't change it is you learn a different, more "acceptable" language, religion, or culture.  The simple fact that people need to learn is that you are what you are.  No matter what you do, you will never be able to change that.  And no matter who you marry, or what nationality they are, that is never going to change the fact that your children, and their children, and their children, etc. are always going to be that said nationality, even if it is minuscule (similar to my Cherokee nationality).