Apparently, according to the US government, you merely need to be
able to trace four or less generations back, on at least one side of
your family, to some person who MAY have had Native American lineage
(given that almost no tribes kept written records until quite
recently). In other words, one-sixteenth Noble Red Man is enough to
get you or me on the roster of some tribe or the other (and simply
claiming such would probably suffice), and thus entitled to a cut of
the immense profits flowing into tribal coffers from them Injun
casinos....
Hmmm, I feel my Massachusetts Pequot blood stirring in my
veins...it's time to call my attorney....
Oh and BTW, to settle this silly debate once and for all:
"Native American" is meaningless. I was born in San Francisco. I'M a
Native American. Crazy Horse wasn't born in the United States. He
isn't a Native American.
"First People" (the Canadian PC version) is likewise meaningless.
First what? First to impale a whale?
Let's face it, "Indian" has gotten into the lexicon, everybody knows
who you're referring to when you use it, and most importantly,
THERE'S NOTHING INHERENTLY PERJORATIVE ABOUT THE TERM. You can
use "Navajo" or "Cherokee" to draw finer distinctions, if you wish.
There's also the consideration that we rarely mention someone's
ethnicity when referring to them, because of the vaguely PC feeling
that mentioning someone's race draws undue attention to it (as when
the newspaper dare not say "BLACK robbery suspect from Oakland"). So
why get our panties in a twist? When dealing with someone we haven't
met, what we tend to care about, and ask about, is what they do for
a living and where they're from, right?
And BTW, my friend Gupta, who operates the Speedy Mart down the
street, says the whole debate is wery, wery silly and he personally
wishes to be referred to as "Punjabi" anyway, so he says the Paiute
can keep the moniker, "Indian" if they wish.
What makes an Indian an Indian?
I just know that FREEvpFREE is clamoring for an alternative to the
long-running soap opera that's been running there ...
Harry,
For those of us who don't have time for the free for all, fill us in on
the Soap Opera. Anything good?
Scot
···
-----Original Message-----
From: Harry Porter [mailto:harry.por…@…net]
Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2004 10:55 AM
To: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [vpFREE] Re: What makes an Indian an Indian?
I just know that FREEvpFREE is clamoring for an alternative to the
long-running soap opera that's been running there ...
vpFREE Links: http://members.cox.net/vpfree/Links.htm
Yahoo! Groups Links
Scot Krause wrote:
Harry,
For those of us who don't have time for the free for all, fill us in on
the Soap Opera. Anything good?
Same old soap opera stuff. Jean is cheating with Bob, being unaware that Bob had been tricked into fathering Steve's step-son who is also Jean's 3rd husband. As a result, Harry, who just got out of prison (where he spent time because he was framed by Scot), has hired Jim to off Jean in the hope that Jim and Bob can get together. At least that was the last episode. 
Cheers.
Bill
Bill Velek wrote:
Same old soap opera stuff. Jean is cheating with Bob, being unaware
that Bob had been tricked into fathering Steve's step-son who is also
Jean's 3rd husband. As a result, Harry, who just got out of prison
(where he spent time because he was framed by Scot), has hired Jim to
off Jean in the hope that Jim and Bob can get together. At least that
was the last episode.
You nailed it on the nose, Bill - H.