sometimes I feel sort of bad about being a selkie and indigenous since, in my culture, there's nothing similar to a selkie at all, and in the past, very little acknowledgment of pinnipeds. I worry my community won't accept me, that my idea of my species is somehow invalidated by my indigeneity. I don't think that's true, though. I don't think being a selkie detracts from my indigenous identity. I think it's one of the many parts that make up me, and 'me' is indigenous. While being a selkie may not be connected to my culture, I've found ways to incorporate parts of my species into my beliefs and rituals in ways that integrate seamlessly with my indigeneity. I've found indigenous artisans from other tribes selling seal skin items, members of other tribes who want to share their stories with other indigenous groups in exchange for stories from them, and gotten to learn so much about the history of pinnipeds in indigenous groups, even if it's not my own. I don't think that's something that I should overlook when it comes to how being a selkie can work in an indigenous structure- learning about these things, speaking with these artists, has given me a newer appreciation for my species that I never had before, all thanks to indigenous people across the globe who are sharing their knowledge. In working on prayer and sacrifice I have incorporated my species, and in art I have references to my species and my indigeneity simultaneously.
I think, especially as a native who doesn't feel "native enough", it can be easy to fall for the idea that every part of your identity must inherently be culturally tied- that all you can do is research and learn, you can never do anything that diverges from it, you cannot have a complex identity unless it is some fully from within your culture with no outside ties. But, that's not true! I am myself. My species is part of myself, and 'myself' is indigenous. In practice, in blood, by community. I am an indigenous Mexican selkie :) isn't that awesome
