Comments on: She doesn't "Look Native"…

By: Angie

Angie — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:39:56 +0000

Gosh, I feel you! I’m the red-headed, light-skinned, blue-eyed child of a (visibly) Mohawk man and an essentially white woman (a bit of Wendat, Anishanaabe, and East Indian). My father was adopted out as part of the Sixties Scoop and raised in a community that held very negative opinions of Mohawk people. He’s struggled with his identity and found it a source of both strength and pain. He couldn’t “get away” with identifying as white. I could, but I choose not to. I’m interested in all of my ancestry and identify closely with both the Quebec Irish community my mom is from and the mixed-race, urban Aboriginal community. I’ve now settled in volunteering with an organization for Aboriginal women fleeing violence or coping with addictions. In exchange for my support, these older women have taught me so much about the religion, music, art, and community ties my dad was denied. If I ever have babies, you bet I’ll teach them to be proud little mutts, too. After all, how much more “traditionally” Canadian can you get than an Irish/Mohawk/French/English mix?

By: Hillary

Hillary — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 21:40:24 +0000

People say I look different and so I tell them I’m 50% black, 25% Native American (Arawak), and 25% White. Trust me, I look pretty different. Okay so when these random strangers that ask me, they think I’m a “black girl reaching”. In other words, being ashamed of being black and trying to cover it up. My friends believe me though. They’ve met my family. Other than that, I love seeing people’s faces when I tell them what I am.

By: Anoni Muss

Anoni Muss — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:30:47 +0000

I’m not trying to bring up an older post to cause trouble, but all I want to say as a Hispanic girl I know how you feel. I’m whiter than snow and I don’t have the stereotypical “Nuorican chick” or “brown skin only” look.

People look at me like an explosion has gone off when I tell them i’m Hispanic. People fail to understand that we’re an ethnicity. We can be of any race. There are black hispanics and asian hispanics and etc etc.

In fact, I used to be friends with this girl whose mother liked to brag about how smart she was (when she got all her information from NPR and etc). When the girl found out I’m Hispanic she suddenly said “but you CAN’T be because you don’t have the stereotypical look.” I felt so embarrassed for both of us.

So believe me. I know how you feel when it comes to this whole stereotyping thing.

By: Ouyang Dan

Ouyang Dan — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 05:05:52 +0000

@Straight Eagle:

You don’t have to thank me.

It is how we see ourselves that matters.

Blessings and love,

~ They named me Sky Woman (Gijigokwe), and I never stop reaching to be just that.

By: Eva

Eva — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 04:05:17 +0000

Thank you for writing this!!! Growing up I always heard the words you don’t look native( I grew up in AZ)… I am half native mix(predominantly mic mac) and white. I have medium skin tone, dark hair and bright blue eyes. I was told for years that I couldn’t be native because I have blue eyes… I let it get to me for a time, then I came to realize that it didn’t matter what others thought. When I go to powwow here on the east coast I look around and I see many elders with blue eyes, lighter skin. Many of these same elders tell me that at my age they looked just like me… I walk 2 paths and I am proud of it! I am raising my sons to be the same way!

-signed they call me Straight Eagle

By: Adria

Adria — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 06:42:11 +0000

Thank you so much for writing this! I’ve encountered that dreaded phrase my entire life. Friends and coworkers have told me I don’t look Native, but look more Armenian than anything else, as well as hearing it from family. It’s pretty easy to get discouraged and down on yourself or your heritage. Granted I’ll probably never know the discrimination and racism my relatives have encountered, it doesn’t ease the pain of rejection. It saddens me that anyone should have to go through racism and such, really, but that’s a whole ‘nother ramble. Knowing that other people deal with this phrase makes me feel a little better, granted sad that others deal with it. Keep your head up.

-Signed, A Pale Olive-faced, Native Quebecoise

By: Being Native in the Twilight Saga and The Importance of Being Sam and Emily… « random babble…

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:20:24 +0000

[...] blood until he researched for his Twilight role). To secure the cred of the makers of the film, so that we all know that not only do they look Native, but that they are indeed Native. To secure the racial and ethnic integrity of all the actors, [...]

By: rebecca gonzales

rebecca gonzales — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:24:15 +0000

I can relate to many of the comments made on this post. When I was born the nurses said to my mother, “My, what a beautiful Spanish baby”; in lieu of “Mexican” due to the year (1961). I had black hair, dark eyes and high cheekbones; the product of a Choctaw father mixed with Scots-Irish, Black Dutch, British with a last name which was descended of the Moors from Spain. My mother was German, Cherokee and Irish. All of my life I have struggled with my identity yet have felt closest to my Native roots. I’ve been mistaken for Latina, Brazilian and even Asian. I’ve also heard heartless comments like, “you don’t look Indian” as well as racial slurs, “did you grow up in a teepee?”. I wondered why my daddy looked different than most of the other daddies in the small Missouri town I lived in. Both of my parents struggled with their identities and for the most part hid their Native roots. Such were the times for them to assimilate in Oklahoma and Arkansas during the Great Depression. This confusion passed down to me and I have struggled with it. My choice of career is as a multi-cultural counselor. I attend powwow’s every chance I get (and dance) and do my best to live my life with Native ancestoral values. Still, there are days when I look into the mirror and see the light olive skinned woman with green-hazel eyes, freckles, black hair with silver/white streaks and wonder who she is.

By: Marguerite Thibaudeau

Marguerite Thibaudeau — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 21:45:22 +0000

This is so sad. Being Indian is not about looks, of who thinks who should be. This is all racist stereo typing as to what a Indian should be, based on colonialism and European racism. The statement “All My Relations” is the foundations of our teachings, we are all related. I have been on the other end of this spectrum. I am a mixed blood, with no papers. I walk this path, and our own people have adopted this attitude to control and manipulate the haves and have nots. Mind you these people have been put into this situation due to financial survival. I try to walk this path in a good way, I try to treat people with respect, i do not question how Creator decided how I would look, This is all part of my journey. How can someone who is not Indian decide who is, and how can someone who is Indian decide from a picture who is. The teachings of the 7th fire says it all. We better stop ripping each other apart, we have work to do, and Creator determines who is and who isn’t in the end..
aho!

By: What Pictures Can’t Tell You… « random babble…

What Pictures Can’t Tell You… « random babble… — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:15:04 +0000

[...] but for most mixed race people, there isn’t anyone. If we embrace one aspect of it, we don’t look Native enough, or they don’t look the right kind of Asian, her eyes aren’t slanted enough, or his [...]