"There's a difference between those who see themselves merely as a Native descendant, versus those who embrace their Native roots as being a living and integral part of who they are. One who considers themselves only a descendant says things like, "I'm 1/16th (insert random popularized Native Nation title)” or, "My great grandmother was a Cherokee princess."
This statement may or may not be true, but either way its declaration is largely anecdotal, and only acknowledged when it's perceived as beneficial to them, i.e. a job, a scholarship, a new boyfriend's Pocahottie fetish, or as an excuse for why it's ok for them to wear a headdress while half dressed and drunk on Halloween or at a concert, festival, or sporting event.
These folks will go weeks, months or years without considering their Native ancestry and it's certainly not a part of their everyday lives.
That's why they don't care about the tragedy of missing and murdered Indigenous women, treaty rights, or extreme poverty in Native communities.
While not a “full blood” others with mixed ancestry can and do embrace their Native roots and a sense of ownership takes place.
When they see race based mascots or ridiculous Native caricatures, they don't see some remote extinct group being "honored." They see that they personally are being mocked, and know they are not a buckskin pantied sexbot, or a silly redskinned stereotype.
They know Natives are alive, human and real because they are Native. They also understand that the land and water and our ceremonies must be protected, because it is theirs as well as their grandparent's, and children's, and children's children.
They are not just descendants- they are Native. As such they will seek out the truth of their heritage and you will find them thirsting for knowledge about their people, culture, language, and ways. They become part of the whole- from tiospaye to Oyate."
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