Native . African . European . AMERICAN !!
As "Moms", a Vaudeville-linked comedienne, would ask: "Why does anybody in this country have to spend their life locked up in some "box" that other peoples are busy shoving them into? Ain't Nobody Got Time fo' Dat!!"
Exactly! Although I have not lived as long as she did, I have found that the most fundamental question that everyone in the United States must ask over their life span is this basic question of identity. In a heavy-handed "culture" that dictates racial and ethnic status with the power and backing of the federal government, we perpetually remain mired in race-based issues infecting every aspect of our daily lives.
A Blackfeet Encounter http://www.americanindiancenter.org/calendar2.php?view=event&id=2810 aired a few nights ago on PBS. Blackfeet is one of several Native tribes in my lineage, along with several European lines along with a "drop" of African heritage; the Blackfeet connection derives from Missouri, my place of birth. The mighty river washed down a lot from the far Northwest, it seems. That tribe is suffering mightily in this new 21st century from the phenomenon observed by De Tocqueville in the 1830's. It appears that the "extermination" goal of the United States government persists "on the Rez"!
Richard M. Brace, in his The Making of the Modern World (1955) shows how this system was imported to the Americas by the Catholic Church, arriving around the time of Cortes and Bishop de Las Casas (early 1500's). By 1800, there were an estimated 18 million persons under Spanish and Portuguese rule; more than half of whom were Natives and Negroes. The Creoles (whites born outside of Spain) and Gauchupines (whites born in Spain) comprised the remainder. The oppressive caste system was established and maintained by the Church. That poison showed up in the 2012 election, directed toward our first black president.
For me, I decided long ago to be me! All parts! I reject the immigrant-based notion that one can or should reject his heritage and "start over" in this country; "refreshed" with each new generation! Down that road lines insanity; for individuals, for families, for communities, and governments at all levels.
So, Be yourself! We now have DNA and the Mormons to help us find out who that is.
Stay Vigilant! Stay Involved!
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