Native American Blogger

‘Who’s Your People?’ A Note About Real Indians and Native Identity Thing About Skins: An award-winning Canadian author you should know Gyasi Ross • January 9, 2017 AP Images Iron Eyes Cody Probably 8 years ago, a good friend of mine named “Chad” told me that ‘Native identity’ is going to be the biggest and most contentious issue in the future.  I disagreed with him. I believed (and still do, to a large degree) that many Native nations were on the precipice of moving more toward a “nationhood” regime where blood quantum wasn’t the primary consideration of citizenship. I believe that, at some point in the near future, Native nations are going to publicly acknowledge that an ethnically homogenous populace is not required to be a nation.  Instead, you need a certain level of common values, common language(s), and common goals. I still think that’s gonna happen—Indigenous people will work together (as we saw in Standing Rock) because of common values and common goals...

December 29, 2012 marks the 122nd Anniversary of the murder of 297 Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. These 297 people, in their winter camp, were murdered by federal agents and members of the 7th Cavalry who had come to confiscate their firearms ?for their own safety and protection?. The slaughter began after the majority of the Sioux had peacefully turned in their firearms. The Calvary began shooting, and managed to wipe out the entire camp. 200 of the 297 victims were women and children. About 40 members of the 7th Cavalry were killed, but over half of them were victims of fratricide from the Hotchkiss guns of their overzealous comrades-in-arms. Twenty members of the 7th Cavalry's death squad, were deemed ?National Heroes? and were awarded the Medal of Honor for their acts of [cowardice] heroism. We hear very little of Wounded Knee today. It is usually not mentioned in our history classes or books. Wh...