I need Native help!

Whenever I try to respect the old ways and traditions of the Native American people I get told that I have no business following native traditions because I am not full blooded. My father was half Lakota (no papers to prove it though). Things have happened in my past to remind me of what I am. The most hostile of the remarks I get are from Native Americans when I say that I may not look Native but my heart is! How can I respect and follow Native beliefs and traditions when those very people get upset over it?

[Kaere]

Moved into Native American forum.

[Native spirit]

Hey Wimberlyt,


I have native ancestory in my family. i speak to a lot of Native people .what i can say is they are very protective of their ways, their traditions as they they should be in my opinion,
so much was taken from them on their own lands, they are bound to be protective of their ways, some more than others will share a few things with you, but others wont,
if your dad is half Lakota cant you ask him.

Namaste

Unfortunately, I never knew him. He left mom when she was 7 1/2 months pregnant with me. What little I know of him I learned from my Grandmother. She passed away before I could learn more. I tried searching the Rez's for his name, but no luck. All I know is he was half Lakota. For most of my life I've been drawn to the Native American culture, ways and beliefs.

Welcome wimberlyt

I am Native Indian, Tohontaenrat tribe.
My mother is full blood, my father is a mix.
I can't speak for everyone, we are many people, of manny faiths and views.
But for me and what I know of my people - we carry with us the defeat that has happened to our forefathers. There is oppression, injustice, we were wronged. We are angry. It is too late to do much with that anger, and still, we are angry. We are lost. We are caught between the world of our ancestors and the world of the 'white man' which may of us still don't understand.
We would like to welcome new people and share ourSelves and our spirits as we are connected in Spirit and Love and HumanKind...and generally we are welcoming, believing often that when the teacher is ready the student shows up.
However, when a 'student' knocks on an 'elders' door and wants the secrets of our wisdom....the elder is no fool...and will want to know............What can you offer in return?

Just my thoughts.~

I guess I would be considered a student. Lol! Seriously, I want to learn to see nature and life the way the elders do. I want learn more about my ancestors, how they lived, how they taught their children. I suppose I am a child in that sense. I don't mean to offend anyone, not at all. I simply want to learn our ways. I want to understand what what I'm feeling and why. As I stated in an earlier post something happened years ago that gave me a reminder about my Native ancestry.

I was coming home from work and noticed a what looked like a large dog up on the levee. I pulled over and got out to see it. I noticed it wasn't a dog, but a wolf. It looked right at me and I began to get more that a little scared. I didn't know if it was going to attack or what, but when I looked in its eyes, I felt a sense of peace and was no longer afraid. What it did next surprised the hell out of me. It actually nodded and disappeared over the levee. I spent the next few day wondering if it really happened or if I was losing it. Needless to say I never told anyone what I saw. They would think that I was nuts or something.

A couple weeks later as I was driving home, I was passing some cliffs close to where I lived at the time and I had a strange feeling of dread or sadness and I had strange sensation in my chest. It wasn't pain as such but more of a feeling of someone pushing their fist against me just below my ribs. As soon as I got past the cliffs, it just stopped. At first I thought it may have been heartburn or gas or something. So, I didn't think much more about it. Then it started happening regularly (still does) every time I passed that particular section of cliffs. I asked my roommate if anything bad had happened on those cliff in the past. He asked how I knew that. I told him (without going into detail) that it was just a feeling. He said that there was a massacre of Cahokia Indians up and in those cliffs. While attending a powwow I was able to talk to an Ojibwa elder about everything that happened starting with the wolf. He told me the wolf was an animal spirit telling me what I am and the feelings I get from the cliffs are the spirits of the ancestors speaking to me and reminding me of what I am and of what happened. I really don't know to explain it. Ever since these events occurred, I have been drawn to the Native American people and beliefs.

I agree with Carameldancer - you may have to prove yourself by offering what you can, perhaps through volunteer work, for a start? From what I know of the native cultures, much cannot be taught but must be experienced through the community and family. If you can make connections with the native community and humbly offer your services in some way without any expectation of something in return, then your patience may be rewarded.
I had heard of a 'help the elders' foundation which raises funds for native elders in need... that would be a good place to start.

Thank you all for the much welcomed advice.

wimberlyt

i'm familiar with what you say. my cherokee father, sister and brother all had black hair and brown eyes. i'm also welsh and the youngest-born with the welsh genes. i'm a redhead.

i'm not full blood but that doesn't make me any less than. cherokee are more open to the metis. it depends on the nation. some are open some are not.

plus, not all full bloods are dark. some cherokee and iroquois and northern tribes have lighter complexions. it varies.

if some do not accept you-their loss. just walk your talk and perhaps they'll see you're sincere. that's just because many native people have been burned before.

[Star Wolf Medicine Woman]

I am puzzled at your quandry. I was taught that if you had one drop of Native blood no matter how small then you are Native.... I know you can do DNA testing to determine the % of bloods.. My Northern Cheyeene buddy carries a card with his NAI Geneialagy on it, it says exactly what percentage of blood he has linked to specific tribal groups.. Have you not heard of this.. He told me, he had to carry this card with him, by Federal law ....