Saturday, October 30, 2010

Okay, I'm a fake Indian.

Ojibwe chief Rocky BoyImage via Wikipedia I am half Swede and a quarter Bohemian (as my grandpa liked to call himself). But a small part of me is also Ojibway Indian. I grew up blond and blue eyed so I certainly don't in any way shape or form look like an Indian. The dark haired folks in my family look more Indian than myself. I never grew up on the Rez and I don't have any friends who are Indian. Most true Indians would consider me to be what they call a "fake Indian" (someone who never grew up Indian and knows little about the culture). I am a fake Indian, I make no claims that I am anything than what I am. I am a white guy who grew up in small town America. I have a hard time with the Swede side because they are such an extreme socialistic country I hesitate to claim them. However I have great respect for the Vikings who did discover North America before Columbus. I do have appreciation  for the Czech Republic because of how Christianity is sweeping the land now that they are no longer under Communist oppression. But I am still intrigued by the Ojibway side of me. I have a lot of information on my heritage but very little from the Ojibway side. I've figured out who my great great grandparents are but that's about it. Since this is the area I know the least about, it's also the area I want to know more about. So I've been trying to learn. My mom was ashamed of her Indian heritage and probably rightly so considering all the discrimination that went on back then. Because of that, she ignored part of who she was and never bothered to learn anything to pass along to us. So I'm trying to make up for it. So what is the point? I guess I just want to know the mystery behind it all.
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