What kind of perks does Indian heritage give you at schools?

[Anonymous]

Here is some information:

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013//30/american-indians-go-ivy-league-152768

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

If your grandfather passed as white, and you can, too, your NA culture is only a small part of you. The majority of your culture is now what, european/american? Today, there is no discrimination against NA in terms of culture. The gov't nor the public will discriminate against you because of your NA culture. Please feel free to practice it. My kids have learned about NA culture in school, as part of scouts and gone to the American Indian museum. Trust me, people won't discriminate against you.

But, no, your 1/32 or whatever NA part of you doesn't really count in terms of discrimination anymore, and if you are now middle class, you really don't deserve special treatment.

BTW, my kids are biracial, upper/middle class. They don't deserve any special treatment either.

Shorter PP: the fact that your ancestors were the victims of US-government-sponsored genocide is irrelevant.

Even shorter PP: history is irrelevant.

So, should a 1/16 NA who's from a wealthy family have advantages in school/jobs, etc.?

What advantages in school/jobs, etc.? Please be specific.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMO, I don't think greatx2 NA should qualify. That makes you like 1/8? At that point, you don't even look NA.

My great-great-grandparents walked from Tennessee to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears, a forced march instigated by the US Government in which their property was seized and they were made into internal refugees, put in concentration camps, then forced to march a thousand miles, which led to the death of a third of the tribe. It was genocide. If I got a slight admissions advantage because of my native American ancestry (my family has documented our genealogy and registered as Cherokee with the tribe in Tahlequah), I'm not going to feel any guilt.

And you probably wouldn't think my ancestors "looked NA" either....the east coast tribes have intermarried with Europeans since the 1500s and many Cherokee have blue eyes and light skin.

Thanks, but I already know about the Trail of Tears. I remember it from my history class in school. What the gov't did to NA as a whole is pretty horrid. Actually, many European colonials did the same thing to the local aboriginals, ie Australia, Canada, etc.

Unfortunately, in our society, how you are treated is based on the color of your skin. So, if you look European, then you would get treated differently, and your opportunities are far wider and better than if you looked 100% Native American.

1st and 2nd generation descendants of Japanese heritage that were interned don't get special treatment either, and yet the impact of what the gov't did to them is much more recent. Same for descendants of slaves.

Now, if the person who is 1/32 still lives on the Reservation and is abjectly poor, like many who live there are, then yes, I would think you get some special treatment because you are poor. But if you are middle class, living in the burbs, then no, I really don't think a person who is 1/32 NA should get any special treatment. Same for a person who is 1/32 Black, middle/upper class.

That is the point I made earlier. My family is middle class now because my grandfather "passed" as white. We weren't able to inherit our culture because, in the US, it is live-on-a-reservation-in-poverty or...nothing, as there are no significant Native American groups outside of the reservations, while many other ethic and immigrant groups have been able to establish strong cultural groups all over the US. I was separated from my culture by government policies that deliberately destroyed it and a racist society that reinforced it. And now people tell me my ethnicity "doesn't count" because I didn't grow up on a reservation.

If your grandfather passed as white, and you can, too, your NA culture is only a small part of you. The majority of your culture is now what, european/american? Today, there is no discrimination against NA in terms of culture. The gov't nor the public will discriminate against you because of your NA culture. Please feel free to practice it. My kids have learned about NA culture in school, as part of scouts and gone to the American Indian museum. Trust me, people won't discriminate against you.

But, no, your 1/32 or whatever NA part of you doesn't really count in terms of discrimination anymore, and if you are now middle class, you really don't deserve special treatment.

BTW, my kids are biracial, upper/middle class. They don't deserve any special treatment either.

You can't be serious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMO, I don't think greatx2 NA should qualify. That makes you like 1/8? At that point, you don't even look NA.

My great-great-grandparents walked from Tennessee to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears, a forced march instigated by the US Government in which their property was seized and they were made into internal refugees, put in concentration camps, then forced to march a thousand miles, which led to the death of a third of the tribe. It was genocide. If I got a slight admissions advantage because of my native American ancestry (my family has documented our genealogy and registered as Cherokee with the tribe in Tahlequah), I'm not going to feel any guilt.

And you probably wouldn't think my ancestors "looked NA" either....the east coast tribes have intermarried with Europeans since the 1500s and many Cherokee have blue eyes and light skin.

Thanks, but I already know about the Trail of Tears. I remember it from my history class in school. What the gov't did to NA as a whole is pretty horrid. Actually, many European colonials did the same thing to the local aboriginals, ie Australia, Canada, etc.

Unfortunately, in our society, how you are treated is based on the color of your skin. So, if you look European, then you would get treated differently, and your opportunities are far wider and better than if you looked 100% Native American.

1st and 2nd generation descendants of Japanese heritage that were interned don't get special treatment either, and yet the impact of what the gov't did to them is much more recent. Same for descendants of slaves.

Now, if the person who is 1/32 still lives on the Reservation and is abjectly poor, like many who live there are, then yes, I would think you get some special treatment because you are poor. But if you are middle class, living in the burbs, then no, I really don't think a person who is 1/32 NA should get any special treatment. Same for a person who is 1/32 Black, middle/upper class.

That is the point I made earlier. My family is middle class now because my grandfather "passed" as white. We weren't able to inherit our culture because, in the US, it is live-on-a-reservation-in-poverty or...nothing, as there are no significant Native American groups outside of the reservations, while many other ethic and immigrant groups have been able to establish strong cultural groups all over the US. I was separated from my culture by government policies that deliberately destroyed it and a racist society that reinforced it. And now people tell me my ethnicity "doesn't count" because I didn't grow up on a reservation.

Well, my family traditions are all out of 1950s better homes and gardens. Because even European immigrants were told to loose their culture and become American. No special Irish dance passed down to me. No unique German Christmas traditions. Most families gave up cultural heritage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMO, I don't think greatx2 NA should qualify. That makes you like 1/8? At that point, you don't even look NA.

My great-great-grandparents walked from Tennessee to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears, a forced march instigated by the US Government in which their property was seized and they were made into internal refugees, put in concentration camps, then forced to march a thousand miles, which led to the death of a third of the tribe. It was genocide. If I got a slight admissions advantage because of my native American ancestry (my family has documented our genealogy and registered as Cherokee with the tribe in Tahlequah), I'm not going to feel any guilt.

And you probably wouldn't think my ancestors "looked NA" either....the east coast tribes have intermarried with Europeans since the 1500s and many Cherokee have blue eyes and light skin.

Many of our ancestors were treated like shit. Mine worked in coal mines and died of black lung long before you could get money for it.

Except we weren't treated like shit when we, you know, were living peacefully on the land we had lived on for thousands of years. It's one thing to come to the US and be treated like shit in exchange for opportunity for your kids. It's another to be here, minding your own business, and have other people show up and kick you off your land and prevent you from practicing your culture.

Yeah, brush up on American Indian history. There was a lot of wars between tribes. Look at the Axtecs. And Incas. It wasn't all like Disney movies show.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Except we weren't treated like shit when we, you know, were living peacefully on the land we had lived on for thousands of years. It's one thing to come to the US and be treated like shit in exchange for opportunity for your kids. It's another to be here, minding your own business, and have other people show up and kick you off your land and prevent you from practicing your culture.

Yeah, brush up on American Indian history. There was a lot of wars between tribes. Look at the Aztecs. And Incas. It wasn't all like Disney movies show.

So what? Heaven knows there were a lot of wars between tribes in Europe, too. Would it therefore have been ok to steal the Europeans' land and commit genocide?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMO, I don't think greatx2 NA should qualify. That makes you like 1/8? At that point, you don't even look NA.

My great-great-grandparents walked from Tennessee to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears, a forced march instigated by the US Government in which their property was seized and they were made into internal refugees, put in concentration camps, then forced to march a thousand miles, which led to the death of a third of the tribe. It was genocide. If I got a slight admissions advantage because of my native American ancestry (my family has documented our genealogy and registered as Cherokee with the tribe in Tahlequah), I'm not going to feel any guilt.

And you probably wouldn't think my ancestors "looked NA" either....the east coast tribes have intermarried with Europeans since the 1500s and many Cherokee have blue eyes and light skin.

Thanks, but I already know about the Trail of Tears. I remember it from my history class in school. What the gov't did to NA as a whole is pretty horrid. Actually, many European colonials did the same thing to the local aboriginals, ie Australia, Canada, etc.

Unfortunately, in our society, how you are treated is based on the color of your skin. So, if you look European, then you would get treated differently, and your opportunities are far wider and better than if you looked 100% Native American.

1st and 2nd generation descendants of Japanese heritage that were interned don't get special treatment either, and yet the impact of what the gov't did to them is much more recent. Same for descendants of slaves.

Now, if the person who is 1/32 still lives on the Reservation and is abjectly poor, like many who live there are, then yes, I would think you get some special treatment because you are poor. But if you are middle class, living in the burbs, then no, I really don't think a person who is 1/32 NA should get any special treatment. Same for a person who is 1/32 Black, middle/upper class.

That is the point I made earlier. My family is middle class now because my grandfather "passed" as white. We weren't able to inherit our culture because, in the US, it is live-on-a-reservation-in-poverty or...nothing, as there are no significant Native American groups outside of the reservations, while many other ethic and immigrant groups have been able to establish strong cultural groups all over the US. I was separated from my culture by government policies that deliberately destroyed it and a racist society that reinforced it. And now people tell me my ethnicity "doesn't count" because I didn't grow up on a reservation.

If your grandfather passed as white, and you can, too, your NA culture is only a small part of you. The majority of your culture is now what, european/american? Today, there is no discrimination against NA in terms of culture. The gov't nor the public will discriminate against you because of your NA culture. Please feel free to practice it. My kids have learned about NA culture in school, as part of scouts and gone to the American Indian museum. Trust me, people won't discriminate against you.

But, no, your 1/32 or whatever NA part of you doesn't really count in terms of discrimination anymore, and if you are now middle class, you really don't deserve special treatment.

BTW, my kids are biracial, upper/middle class. They don't deserve any special treatment either.

You can't be serious.

The point was that people don't discriminate against the Am. Indian culture anymore, so yes, I was serious. You, or the other PP, seems to think that because PP's grandfather had to hide his NA ancestry and lose his culture that being 1/8 or 1/16 NA still should allow for special treatment even though they are now middle class. It doesn't.

If, however, a 1/8 or 1/16 NA still lived on a Reservation and was dirt poor, then yes, you should be given some special treatment. But the PP is middle class, so no, you don't get special treatment.

If OP was thinking that checking the NA box would garner some special treatment in a college app, then yes, you probably would. But, I'm guessing that the College would not think that when you check that box that you are 1/16 NA. If you are 1/16 NA, then you should check more than one box.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Except we weren't treated like shit when we, you know, were living peacefully on the land we had lived on for thousands of years. It's one thing to come to the US and be treated like shit in exchange for opportunity for your kids. It's another to be here, minding your own business, and have other people show up and kick you off your land and prevent you from practicing your culture.

Yeah, brush up on American Indian history. There was a lot of wars between tribes. Look at the Aztecs. And Incas. It wasn't all like Disney movies show.

So what? Heaven knows there were a lot of wars between tribes in Europe, too. Would it therefore have been ok to steal the Europeans' land and commit genocide?

Yes. That was the name of the game until WWI. Romans invaded England - you don't see them still prattle on about it. Genghis Khan..Alexander the Great...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Well, my family traditions are all out of 1950s better homes and gardens. Because even European immigrants were told to loose their culture and become American. No special Irish dance passed down to me. No unique German Christmas traditions. Most families gave up cultural heritage.

I think that you are missing a major point. And the major point is that the people in Europe who immigrated to the US had a choice. The people who were in North America before Columbus did not have that choice. Neither did the people in Africa who came to North America as part of the Atlantic slave trade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Yes. That was the name of the game until WWI. Romans invaded England - you don't see them still prattle on about it. Genghis Khan..Alexander the Great...

How silly of the descendants of the people who were kicked off the land and targeted for cultural and actual extermination by the government of the United States to this day to be still "prattling on about it".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The point was that people don't discriminate against the Am. Indian culture anymore, so yes, I was serious. You, or the other PP, seems to think that because PP's grandfather had to hide his NA ancestry and lose his culture that being 1/8 or 1/16 NA still should allow for special treatment even though they are now middle class. It doesn't.

If, however, a 1/8 or 1/16 NA still lived on a Reservation and was dirt poor, then yes, you should be given some special treatment. But the PP is middle class, so no, you don't get special treatment.

If OP was thinking that checking the NA box would garner some special treatment in a college app, then yes, you probably would. But, I'm guessing that the College would not think that when you check that box that you are 1/16 NA. If you are 1/16 NA, then you should check more than one box.

You must be kidding. (I'm a different PP.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The point was that people don't discriminate against the Am. Indian culture anymore, so yes, I was serious. You, or the other PP, seems to think that because PP's grandfather had to hide his NA ancestry and lose his culture that being 1/8 or 1/16 NA still should allow for special treatment even though they are now middle class. It doesn't.

If, however, a 1/8 or 1/16 NA still lived on a Reservation and was dirt poor, then yes, you should be given some special treatment. But the PP is middle class, so no, you don't get special treatment.

If OP was thinking that checking the NA box would garner some special treatment in a college app, then yes, you probably would. But, I'm guessing that the College would not think that when you check that box that you are 1/16 NA. If you are 1/16 NA, then you should check more than one box.

You must be kidding. (I'm a different PP.)

OK, enlighten me. How do people still discriminate against the NA culture? Are there pockets of the US that are racist or prejudiced against NA? Sure, as there are pockets that are that way towards Asians, Blacks, Hispanics. Should all non Whites have special treatment, even if they are middle class?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

OK, enlighten me. How do people still discriminate against the NA culture? Are there pockets of the US that are racist or prejudiced against NA? Sure, as there are pockets that are that way towards Asians, Blacks, Hispanics. Should all non Whites have special treatment, even if they are middle class?

Yes. There is personal racism, and there is institutional racism. Please educate yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You mean Native American or Indian from India the country?

The correct term for "native American" is Indian. Or, maybe "American Indian."

The term "native American" is politically incorrect. Please don't use it.

I thought "Indian" was a racial slur and one was supposed to say either "Native American" or "First Nations Person"?

Nope, explain the bureau of Indian affairs? Www.bia.gov

[Anonymous]

I am 1/8 Cherokee. I have never "checked a box" or gotten any special "perks" because of it. I am from Appalachia and grew up poor, and people can identify me as Cherokee based on my bone structure and coloring. Nobody here in upper NW seems to notice.

To the PP who said that no one in the United States discriminates against Native American culture, you are so incredibly wrong. I'm flabbergasted.