Post by blackcrowheart on Jan 9, 2006 13:31:32 GMT -5
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 28, 2005
CONTACT: DAVID ARV BRAGI, BRAGI@GRAILMEDIA.COM
UNENROLLED NATIVE AMERICAN INDIANS EMBRACE THEIR HERITAGE
Hundreds of thousands of Native Americans who are unable to enroll in
a federally recognized tribe still identify with their indigenous
heritage, according to a new book.
"Their voices need to be heard," said David Arv Bragi, author
of "Invisible Indians: Mixed-Blood Native Americans Who Are Not
Enrolled in Federally Recognized Tribes".
A freelance journalist and enrolled member of the Muscogee Nation,
Bragi spent over three years interviewing dozens of unenrolled
individuals from over twenty-five North American tribes. "Hopefully,
they will demonstrate that one does not need to carry official papers
in one's pocket in order to be a 'real Indian'."
Like most of the over four million people who listed an American
Indian or Alaska Native ancestry during the 1990 US Census, the Mato-
Toyela family does not belong to any of the over five hundred tribes
that are recognized by the federal government as sovereign nations.
Yet they continue to practice Native customs passed down since the
beginning of history.
"We lead traditional Indian lifestyles to the best of our ability
although we do not 'belong' to a tribe," said Jessie Mato-Toyela, who
is descended from the Tarascan tribe of Mexico and lives in Oklahoma
with her husband and children. "Some of the traditions of our people,
I believe, are ingrained in us, it is instinctual. We eat the food of
our ancestors because we know it is good for us."
"If you've heard the phrase 'you can take the Indian out of the
woods, but not the woods out of the Indian' it would be close," said
her husband, Charlie Mato-Toyela, a maker of traditional flutes who
is of mixed Ojibwa, Lakota, Kuna, Choctaw and Cherokee descent. "Much
of our life happens in the way our ancestors of thousands of years as
well as just one hundred years ago lived their lives, just different
environments, different obstacles."
In order to prevent non-Indians from fraudulently obtaining Indian
lands, culture, casino profits or government benefits, many tribes
have adopted strict membership requirements. Individuals lacking
ancestral birth records, who have a low degree of tribal blood, or
whose tribes have no political relationship with the federal
government, are often denied official recognition of their ancestry.
Instead, they exist in a kind of legal and ethnic limbo, living as
multiracial individuals and families in a country that does not fully
acknowledge their multiracial heritage. Many of the unenrolled resent
their second-class status in Indian Country.
"People at powwows sometimes ask for your [enrollment] card and it is
a condition of getting into it," said Charlie Mato-Toyela. "It is a
predjudism [sic] that was inflicted on some of us by 'numbering us'
like we're in some death camp."
"Legally we have lost our right to be acknowledged as existing," said
Barbara Warren, a Cherokee who promotes Indian Education programs in
California's public schools. "We receive ridicule from our
own 'blood' relations, who call us derogatory names such as wannabes,
fake Indians, and traitors."
Yet, living outside of the system, unenrolled Native Americans walk
their own unique roads to preserve, reclaim and celebrate their
heritage. Some lead extraordinary lives as artisans, pow wow dancers,
educators, activists or community elders.
"Please don't tell me I'm playing at being an Indian," said Warren,
who also composes and performs northern drum songs with the Feather
River Singers and maintains the Web site of an unrecognized but
culturally active tribe called the Cherokees of California. "I do it
because it is who I am."
"I am mixed blood - more 'white' than 'red.'," said Warren. "My
European ancestors came to Turtle Island generations ago - most in
the early 1600s. Any emotional ties with my English/Scottish/German
ancestors have long ago faded. My sense of who I am is directly
connected to this land."
Others choose to honor their heritage privately, observing family
traditions, reclaiming lost knowledge, or just remembering in
solitude those who came before them.
"Since his birth he has been brought up knowing he is an Indian,"
said Jessie Mato-Toyela of their young son, River. "He has been to
many powwows, loves the drum and dance and song. He speaks a little
bit of Lakota - which comes from his father's side - and has learned
respect for our beliefs and traditions."
"Invisible Indians: Mixed-Blood Native Americans Who Are Not Enrolled
in Federally Recognized Tribes", by David Arv Bragi, was released by
Grail Media in September 2005 and is distributed by Lulu, Inc. In the
US it can be ordered online from most major booksellers, such as
Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Borders and Waldenbooks. In the UK it can
be ordered online from most major booksellers, such as Amazon UK, WH
Smith, Waterstone's, Quartermelon and Lakeside. Its ISBN number is
1411642597. In Europe, it can be ordered online from Amazon's
Websites in Germany and France.
David Arv Bragi has published articles and columns on health,
technology, cultural, political and business topics for SF Gate, San
Jose/Silicon Valley Business Journal, Portable Computing Magazine and
Strong Medicine. He is a former Grassroots.com news editor and edits
the multicultural webzine New Tribal Dawn.
This News Release is Copyright (c) 2005 by David Arv Bragi. All
Rights Reserved.
OCTOBER 28, 2005
CONTACT: DAVID ARV BRAGI, BRAGI@GRAILMEDIA.COM
UNENROLLED NATIVE AMERICAN INDIANS EMBRACE THEIR HERITAGE
Hundreds of thousands of Native Americans who are unable to enroll in
a federally recognized tribe still identify with their indigenous
heritage, according to a new book.
"Their voices need to be heard," said David Arv Bragi, author
of "Invisible Indians: Mixed-Blood Native Americans Who Are Not
Enrolled in Federally Recognized Tribes".
A freelance journalist and enrolled member of the Muscogee Nation,
Bragi spent over three years interviewing dozens of unenrolled
individuals from over twenty-five North American tribes. "Hopefully,
they will demonstrate that one does not need to carry official papers
in one's pocket in order to be a 'real Indian'."
Like most of the over four million people who listed an American
Indian or Alaska Native ancestry during the 1990 US Census, the Mato-
Toyela family does not belong to any of the over five hundred tribes
that are recognized by the federal government as sovereign nations.
Yet they continue to practice Native customs passed down since the
beginning of history.
"We lead traditional Indian lifestyles to the best of our ability
although we do not 'belong' to a tribe," said Jessie Mato-Toyela, who
is descended from the Tarascan tribe of Mexico and lives in Oklahoma
with her husband and children. "Some of the traditions of our people,
I believe, are ingrained in us, it is instinctual. We eat the food of
our ancestors because we know it is good for us."
"If you've heard the phrase 'you can take the Indian out of the
woods, but not the woods out of the Indian' it would be close," said
her husband, Charlie Mato-Toyela, a maker of traditional flutes who
is of mixed Ojibwa, Lakota, Kuna, Choctaw and Cherokee descent. "Much
of our life happens in the way our ancestors of thousands of years as
well as just one hundred years ago lived their lives, just different
environments, different obstacles."
In order to prevent non-Indians from fraudulently obtaining Indian
lands, culture, casino profits or government benefits, many tribes
have adopted strict membership requirements. Individuals lacking
ancestral birth records, who have a low degree of tribal blood, or
whose tribes have no political relationship with the federal
government, are often denied official recognition of their ancestry.
Instead, they exist in a kind of legal and ethnic limbo, living as
multiracial individuals and families in a country that does not fully
acknowledge their multiracial heritage. Many of the unenrolled resent
their second-class status in Indian Country.
"People at powwows sometimes ask for your [enrollment] card and it is
a condition of getting into it," said Charlie Mato-Toyela. "It is a
predjudism [sic] that was inflicted on some of us by 'numbering us'
like we're in some death camp."
"Legally we have lost our right to be acknowledged as existing," said
Barbara Warren, a Cherokee who promotes Indian Education programs in
California's public schools. "We receive ridicule from our
own 'blood' relations, who call us derogatory names such as wannabes,
fake Indians, and traitors."
Yet, living outside of the system, unenrolled Native Americans walk
their own unique roads to preserve, reclaim and celebrate their
heritage. Some lead extraordinary lives as artisans, pow wow dancers,
educators, activists or community elders.
"Please don't tell me I'm playing at being an Indian," said Warren,
who also composes and performs northern drum songs with the Feather
River Singers and maintains the Web site of an unrecognized but
culturally active tribe called the Cherokees of California. "I do it
because it is who I am."
"I am mixed blood - more 'white' than 'red.'," said Warren. "My
European ancestors came to Turtle Island generations ago - most in
the early 1600s. Any emotional ties with my English/Scottish/German
ancestors have long ago faded. My sense of who I am is directly
connected to this land."
Others choose to honor their heritage privately, observing family
traditions, reclaiming lost knowledge, or just remembering in
solitude those who came before them.
"Since his birth he has been brought up knowing he is an Indian,"
said Jessie Mato-Toyela of their young son, River. "He has been to
many powwows, loves the drum and dance and song. He speaks a little
bit of Lakota - which comes from his father's side - and has learned
respect for our beliefs and traditions."
"Invisible Indians: Mixed-Blood Native Americans Who Are Not Enrolled
in Federally Recognized Tribes", by David Arv Bragi, was released by
Grail Media in September 2005 and is distributed by Lulu, Inc. In the
US it can be ordered online from most major booksellers, such as
Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Borders and Waldenbooks. In the UK it can
be ordered online from most major booksellers, such as Amazon UK, WH
Smith, Waterstone's, Quartermelon and Lakeside. Its ISBN number is
1411642597. In Europe, it can be ordered online from Amazon's
Websites in Germany and France.
David Arv Bragi has published articles and columns on health,
technology, cultural, political and business topics for SF Gate, San
Jose/Silicon Valley Business Journal, Portable Computing Magazine and
Strong Medicine. He is a former Grassroots.com news editor and edits
the multicultural webzine New Tribal Dawn.
This News Release is Copyright (c) 2005 by David Arv Bragi. All
Rights Reserved.