Does Peyote Figure Into Black Foot Indian Rituals?

Peyote, a psychoactive agent, is commonly illegal in the United States, but an exception is made for its use in Native American church rituals. This chapter provides a historical overview of Native American traditions of ritual Peyote, which has at least 5,500 years of entheogenic and medicinal use by indigenous North Americans. The Tonkawa, Mescalero, and Lipan Apache were the first practitioners of Peyote. The use of peyote as a controlled substance does not apply to the religious ceremonies of the Native American Church, but many states ignored this.

This paper discusses evidence for and against the various, sometimes contradictory, statements regarding the religious use of peyote among Piegan Indians. Peyote is known for its psychoactive properties when ingested and has at least 5,500 years of entheogenic and medicinal use by indigenous North Americans. The ritualistic practice of peyote and shamanism are commonly linked, but in the case of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, the use of peyote in ceremonies is considered a sacred process. The use of peyote in ceremonies is a sacred process adopted from the Northern tribes of the region.


📹 The Problem with DNA Testing for Native American Heritage w/Shannon O’Loughlin | Joe Rogan

Taken from JRE #1442 w/Shannon O’Loughlin: https://youtu.be/UL3RvjhFu_s.


What tribe uses peyote?

Peyote has been used by indigenous peoples, including the Huichol of northern Mexico, Native American tribes, and Southwestern Athabaskan-language tribal groups. The Tonkawa, Mescalero, and Lipan Apache were the first practitioners of peyote religion in the regions north of present-day Mexico. The Native American Church, under its auspices, began using peyote in religious practices in the 19th century as part of a revival of native spirituality. Members refer to peyote as “the sacred medicine” and use it to combat spiritual, physical, and social ills.

Concerned about the drug’s psychoactive effects, U. S. authorities attempted to ban Native American religious rituals involving peyote, including the Ghost Dance. Today, the Native American Church is one of several religious organizations using peyote as part of its religious practice. Some users claim the drug connects them to God. Traditional Navajo belief or ceremonial practice did not mention peyote before its introduction by the neighboring Utes. The Navajo Nation now has the most members of the Native American Church.

What are the uses of peyote?

Native American tribes use peyote for its psychoactive properties, including treating toothache, childbirth pain, fever, breast pain, skin diseases, rheumatism, alcoholism, diabetes, colds, blindness, and strength in walking. Mescaline, found in Peyote cactus, is one of the oldest known hallucinogenic agents, but its psychoactive mechanisms remain poorly understood. This article reviews the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of mescaline, focusing on its in vivo and in vitro metabolic profile and its implications for response variability.

When was peyote banned?

The federal government prohibited the use of peyote, a Native American entheogenic substance, throughout the United States in 1967, following the enactment of state-level legislation outlawing its use in over a dozen US states by 1930. The utilization of cookies on this website is contingent upon consent. Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B. V., its licensors, and contributors. All rights are reserved, including those pertaining to text and data mining, AI training, and analogous technologies.

What happens in a peyote ceremony?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

What happens in a peyote ceremony?

The traditional ritual involves a clockwise drum passing, singing rounds, and Peyote passing. The majority of the time is spent in silent prayer, followed by a ceremony at midnight. Access to content on Oxford Academic is typically provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. Members of an institution can access content through IP-based access, which is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically and cannot be accessed.

To access content remotely, members can sign in through their institution using Shibboleth/Open Athens technology, which provides a single sign-on between their institution’s website and Oxford Academic.

What is the spiritual significance of peyote?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

What is the spiritual significance of peyote?

Peyote is a benevolent guardian spirit that facilitates communication between humans and divinity. Access to content on Oxford Academic is typically provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. Members of an institution can access content through IP-based access, which is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically and cannot be accessed.

To access content remotely, users can sign in through their institution using Shibboleth/Open Athens technology, which provides a single sign-on between their institution’s website and Oxford Academic.

What is the historical use of peyote?

Peyote, a plant native to the Americas, has been used for centuries for its hallucinogenic effects and medicinal properties. It can be used to treat snake bites, burns, wounds, rheumatism, toothache, fever, and scorpion stings. The plant is also used for treating toothache, fever, and scorpion stings. The copyright for this content belongs to Elsevier B. V., its licensors, and contributors, and all rights are reserved.

How is peyote legal?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

How is peyote legal?

The American Indian Religious Freedom Act Amendments of 1994 protect the harvest, possession, consumption, and cultivation of peyote as part of “bona fide religious ceremonies” in the United States. This act, codified at 42 U. S. C. § 1996a, allows for the use of peyote by non-native, non-enrolled persons in the context of ceremonies of the Native American Church. However, US v. Boyll expanded permitted use to all persons engaged in traditional Indian use, regardless of race.

In October 2021, Seattle’s City Council approved a resolution to decriminalize noncommercial activity around non-peyote-derived mescaline. This decision was partially in response to the US Supreme Court’s decision in Employment Division v. Smith, 494 U. S. 872, which held that laws prohibiting the use of peyote that do not specifically exempt religious use nevertheless do not violate the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

The use of peyote has been legalized in various countries, including Peru, Switzerland, and Thailand. In the United States, peyote is legal in several countries, including the Philippines, Thailand, and the United States. The use of peyote in various forms, such as traditional Indian ceremonies, has led to increased awareness and understanding of its potential benefits.

In conclusion, the US has made significant strides in decriminalizing the use of peyote, with Seattle becoming the largest US city to do so. This move aligns with the principles of the First Amendment, which protects individuals from the use of drugs that do not specifically exempt religious use.

Is peyote illegal?

Peyote, a small cactus, is used in Native American religious ceremonies for its medicinal properties. Its crown parts can be chewed or soaked in water to make tea. However, in the US, it is illegal to possess peyote. People use peyote to cause hallucinations and treat conditions like fevers, wounds, and joint pain. However, there is no strong scientific evidence supporting these uses, and using peyote can be unsafe due to its presence of mescaline, a chemical that causes hallucinations.

Is peyote legal?

Peyote and mescaline are classified as Schedule I substances under the Controlled Substances Act, exhibiting a high potential for abuse, a lack of currently accepted medical use in the United States, and an absence of safety for medical supervision.

Do peyote plants make you hallucinate?

Peyote, a small cactus, contains mescaline, a chemical that causes hallucinations. While it is illegal in the US, it can be used in Native American Church religious ceremonies. People use peyote to cause hallucinations and treat conditions like fevers, wounds, and joint pain, but there is no strong scientific evidence supporting these uses. Additionally, using peyote can be unsafe due to its mescaline content.

Who is the god of peyote?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

Who is the god of peyote?

Patecatl is a significant figure in Aztec mythology, known for his role in healing and fertility, the discovery of peyote, and as the “lord of the root of pulque”. He was the father of Centzon Totochtin and is the lord of the thirteen days from 1 Monkey to 13 House in the Aztec calendar. The preceding thirteen days are ruled by Mictlantecuhtli, while the following thirteen are ruled by Itztlacoliuhqui.

Patecatl is also the provider of the Shadow Coul Tonalli for those born on Grass Malinalli, symbolizing the health and healing effects of medicinal herbs grown from the earth’s “jaws”. His wife is the pulque-goddess Mayahuel. In the Aztec calendar, Patecatl is the lord of the land of medicines and is the husband of the pulque-goddess Mayahuel.


📹 Song and Dance on the Blackfeet Reservation

In partnership with the Smithsonian .Learn about tribal history and see traditions kept alive through captivating song and dance.


Does Peyote Figure Into Black Foot Indian Rituals?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

Pramod Shastri

I am Astrologer Pramod Shastri, dedicated to helping people unlock their potential through the ancient wisdom of astrology. Over the years, I have guided clients on career, relationships, and life paths, offering personalized solutions for each individual. With my expertise and profound knowledge, I provide unique insights to help you achieve harmony and success in life.

Address: Sector 8, Panchkula, Hryana, PIN - 134109, India.
Phone: +91 9988051848, +91 9988051818
Email: [email protected]

About me

39 comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • I am Choctaw / Chickasaw, born and raised in Oklahoma, and my wife is Muscogee Creek. I love this woman’s comment “It’s not about race”. Also we do not get a monetary check every month. We do have a lot of benefits and programs that are offered to us that we do utilize. There are too many to name. I have a friend who is Comanche, and she gets what is called a “per capita” check every month, and the amount is is different from month to month depending on the tribes gaming revenue.

  • I’m almost half Black Foot Native American. So i worked at my uncles collision repair shop & we didn’t do full restorations because unless that’s all you do there’s no money in it. But we did restorations for friends. One guy we were doing one for was a 67 fast back mustang & his name was Jack & he was Native American. He came in every few months to see his car, we only worked on it when the shop was slow cause we did 35-40 cars a week. He knew that because we told him up front. So one day im out back & im working on a car & he comes out there to say hi & i had known him for about 2 years at this point. But again only seen him every 4-6 months. So he says…can i ask you a personal question, I’ve been meaning to ask you this? I said sure, he said are you Native American? I said yeah i am & he said Black Foot….? I said how the hell did you know that & he said because im 100% Black Foot & i can see it in your eyes & a little in your face. Isn’t that crazy?

  • I’m mixed “Native American” and through the Dawes Roll have ancestors to more than one Nation but I am only allowed to be a citizen in one of those Nations, and I am. I grew up speaking American Indian languages, etc. So I’m culturally “Native” and White since I grew up mixed and also have US citizenship. I have great-nieces and nephews who are blond, blue, etc., and only about 1/8th “Native” blood but they have LINEAL descent citizenship to a Nation and I teach them an American Indian language, etc. as well as English, Spanish, and Italian. Other tribal nations have blood quantum requirements. I don’t like the Dawes Roll lineal descent completely, because there are cases where some individuals have the bloodline, but an ancestor did not sign the Roll, and therefore they cannot be citizens of the Nation even the ones who are dark and speak the language, etc. I know a case where the ancestor who should have signed the Roll for his descendants had left Oklahoma and traveled to California (having many children everywhere he went as has been discovered) then somehow turned up in Spain, France, Italy, and more all the while having children where he went but none can be citizens of the Nation because he was not there to sign the Roll because he left after his mother and other family was murdered by the US government.

  • This is a sensitive subject. My stepmother was 1/2 Native. She looked Mexican. She had three children with an Irish guy before she met my father. One looks Native, but two could pass for Irish. You really can’t look at people and tell how Indian they are. I knew a blonde haired, blue-eyed girl in college who was fully 1/4th Native, but she looked German or Northern European. She received money for being Native American.

  • I’m enrolled Cherokee and I’m 1/4 blood quantum which means I have a full blood grandparent. Holidays are filled with card carrying Cherokees from full blood to 1/1064 Cherokee. Thing is we can all trace our roots to the same people and can provide documentation. The chief who many see as The Cherokee people’s Moses that fought for his people before and after removal with everything he had was only 1/8 Cherokee by blood. Chief WW Keeler and Bill John Baker were 1/32 by blood. We have the descendants of the formerly enslaved Cherokee freedmen, some with no actual Cherokee blood and yet still fully Cherokee. The Choctaw are similar in this way. There’s no other race of people that we scrutinize the amount of non white blood they have down to the fraction. The Cherokee and Choctaw didn’t practice for this naturally but it was instead forced upon them and other tribes to eventually erase them entirely and they’ve done a decent job in that way.

  • This was great. I have done the testing and it came out that my grandfather that i do not know – he travelled with a circus in 1933 was part NorthernAmerica indigenous + canadian First nation and scandinavian. Sadly i do not know who he is – but our dns tests ( my sibblings) all comes out with the same : Scandinavian, N.A + First N. I have tried to find out more about him but it was hushed down and we are only told a few things..I know my grandmother ( Norweigan) married a norweigan man to stop the rumors… My dad did not look like them at all and he was the only child with an American middle name. Charles. He had black hair, dark skin… the only thing different was the blue eyes.. We all have inherited traits the cheekbones, the strange stuff with our teeth, hands and feet, the tan color – my brothers does not have facial hair ( just a few straws.. Lol) .. i just wish i could find my family – i might have uncles and aunts out there.. I am not out for money or anything – just want to learn more about a culture i feel i have the right to know about. After some reserach we think it most be Sioux – because they traveled with buffalo Bill to Europe and scandinavia in the late 1800.. Some of the guys had children with other women.. One of the guys was a real ladies man – or actually notorious for his escapades with the ladies and were actually sent back to USA.. So that is the most plausible since grandfather came via the circus world. Espec. since we know my dad wasthe son of one of the artists during a month of love in sept.

  • I’m Cherokee, Shawnee and Ojibwa and about 1/4 Welsh. I did a DNA test (mostly for health reasons but also some curiosity). It said I was mostly Asian!! I guess because of ancient Mongolians crossing the Bering Strait or something? I remember my Grandparents taking me to the Tribal Council office somewhere in North Carolina (?) when I was about 5 or 6, going over family pictures and telling stories of family and where they lived, clan names. They were recently retired and trying to find more of our relatives to visit not “enroll”. They never took a check for being Indian. They were hard working people. Sidenote: We traveled in an RV all across the Appalachian mountains meeting cousins after that and we all had a great time. It was something that they planned to do after retirement. It wasn’t to get a BIA card and open a casino lol..

  • Also, something that she did not bring up was that according to the federal government, you have to pick a tribe if you are more then 1. Someone I knew years ago was 1/2 Cherokee and 1/2 Sioux. He was registered as half, because he could not be both. He chose Sioux, which I am a small % on my mom’s side. I’m also Osage and Potawatomi on my dad’s side.

  • Wow!! Finally an actual discussion about First Nation history from a First Nation member/citizen!! The meeting was too short!! Plz, have a longer one….I have soo many questions! ! I had no idea there were over 300 unrecognized tribes by the government. …and I had no idea what the blood quantum was really about until she explained it…..American history books didn’t cover this and I’m so glad she spoke up about it…..so thank you! ! And Plz bring her back again! !!

  • Get a person from one of the the hundreds of Indigenous nations that haven’t been wiped out that can demonstrate what a modern Indigenous person that has kept the ancient ways of spirituality, healing, living, being, speaking, raising children, governance. Not someone who has been assimilated. This is a troubling representation of “Indian” that you chose. NOT Native American – we predate the concept of America. We want to be called by our names for our people that we say in our language not the names white colonizers gave us. Speak to a real representative

  • At 0:35 when Joe asked Shannon O’Loughlin what percentage of Native American she is she immediately changed the subject and never answered the question until she finally admitted her ancestry is part Polish and part Native American about half and half, but she gave no precise percentages. Instead she launched into her rehearsed talking points about the federal government abusing and trying to rid themselves of Native Americans. Her rejection of a “blood quantum” test used by the federal government appears to mirror a statement by the UN years ago that relied instead as “self-identification” as a member of an indigenous group. This is very similar to the current “self identification” subjective perception used for gender identification rather than an objective biological fact. According to a 2015 article in INSIDE HIGHER ED entitled PREVENTING ETHNIC FRAUD: “According to the United Nations’ Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues statement on indigenous identity, the association says, the ethnicity “test” is “self-identification as indigenous peoples at the individual level and accepted by the community as their member.” “It’s not one of “enrollment, or blood quantum, or recognition by the state, or meeting any particular set of criteria for defining ‘proper’ or ‘authentic’ indigenous identity.” The statement seems to reject a 2003 recommendation from the Association of American Indian and Native Alaskan Professors that colleges and universities prevent ethnic fraud by requiring documentation of enrollment in a state or federally recognized nation or tribe, with preference given to those who meet the criteria.

  • I live in Northern Canada (West Coast) and as a person who works and plays with people of various cultures, we hear about abuses, which is always hard, but then we also hear from science that the predators are often part of a close circle. Whether true or or not, because i truly do not know, Why does it “Seem” like we cant discuss the abuse going on within small, medium or large communities? by the neighbour or family member right next to them? Are we to suppose it is always a non-indigenous who commits the crime? There are evil people in all races, but I’ve not yet heard of a native male apologizing for something they may have perpetuated whether ideas or stereotypes; not even due to their own dysfunctional upbringing . These men need some healing too, but the women and young girls who fall prey to these men, (uncles, boyfriends or hook-ups) are made to feel okay. AND! Maybe, I have just not been exposed to the teachers who are out there

  • the saddest part is that most of the people who self identify as indians, don’t look much like actual indians because they have been so assimilated or actually aren’t even indians lol, but you need to understand that there are actual indians still alive on reserves. Joe needs to get guests who have that experience, there are a lot of us out here who grew up speaking our languages, on reserves and settlements, and some of us are capable of conversing lol

  • What’s the point? To prove that you’re Native American for a self awareness of ethnicity or for all benefits it comes with? I’ve recently visited powwow in NY and disappointment isn’t even a word I felt. Seems like they keep their culture alive for to keep benefits from US. It’s been 200 years. Even food there – was venison and buffalo. Not even bother to take care of cow or chicken?

  • She is not aboriginal!!!! The term Native American is not based in biology or genetics.. and didn’t exist before the 1960s. That’s why they’re scared of genetic testing… The genetic testing will prove that these people are migrant Europeans mixed with migrant Asians .not aboriginal Americans at all.. native American as a term does not denote if you are the first or primordial people of a land… Anyone born in America irregardless of ethnicity is a native…so called natives have usurped the true history of the people of this land….how can a migrant,become aboriginal to the land mass they migrated too

  • We can keep moving forward and we can keep finding our empowerment, but what we can’t do is rewrite history. We are AMERICAN INDIANS!! The British new arrival Indians from India can get over it. This is our country and we are American Indians. They can use what they have prescribed for themselves as Indian Americans. This generation has no business questioning what generations many years before ours did. We just have to travel down our prescribed paths and add beauty by building on the foundations we have been handed.

  • I am reading the story about the Parkers. My mother’s maiden name is Parker. Both her parents were part Native American. So, I am Norwegian, Scottish, Irish and Native American. I know my grandfather is from the Paiute tribe. My grandmother we still don’t know. She never spoke of it. I actually met someone I worked with that is related to the actual Parker clan that Joe Rogan is talking about. Such an interesting story and very violent one.

  • She is SO SO wrong, and doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about. To be a member of a tribe, you have to prove you ancestor signed the Dawes Act (Tribal Rolls) back in the 1800s. This is very difficult to do. It’s not like they had birth certificates. The ppl who signed the Dawes Act were the surviving Native Americans. So we know what Tribe we belong too. Those who signed the DA, are considered pure blood, b/c they are the ones whose relatives were here when contact was made. There were no outsiders for them to marry. They married within the indian tribes. They might marry someone from another tribe, but they are still indian. Still fullblood. Depending on the tribes traditions. They probably lived with the tribe the female came from. Thus making their children members of that tribe. There wasn’t anyone else HERE to marry FFS. Only once someone starts marrying non indians, is when you start getting your 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 etc…which would mean they family continued to marry outside the indigenous community. If they marry back into the indigenous community, then it goes the other way. As per a “Indian Check” lmfao, true and not true. This depends on the tribe. Tribes that sold land to the Federal Government, put the money in trust, and when the tribal member turns 18, they get a check. I got a whopping $500. It’s a one time payment. This doesn’t apply to every single tribe either.

  • 😂 omg this lady doesn’t even look 5 percent Native I’m so tired of everyone claiming to be even 10 percent I’m Apache and Spanish and everyone always just acknowledges the native American in me because my features anyways I always get blacks and White’s telling me they part Cherokee it makes me laugh because there are other tribes out there 😂😂😂😂 y do they lie so much 💯

  • 4:59 okay so it goes from Indian two native now indigenous okay when I think of Indian I think of India I’m good with just native. I mean even native is kind of ridiculous because if you’re from somewhere you’re native to that land same thing with indigenous so just go back to the native it was fine anyone that’s getting mad at it. It’s probably some woke person. But in my own opinion native is fine just don’t call me a prairie N word or anything else I’m good

  • 5:45 oh my freaking God yep she’s one of those indigenous the reason why I’m okay with Native because they came first. the word indigenous basically if you came from let’s say Boston you are indigenous to Boston let’s use Detroit you are indigenous from Detroit who gives a crap damn oh man. I’m going to take a breath because this is just some woke shit and I’m over it

  • I think a lot of Americans want to be Indians because they want to have some legitimacy for being there. Only ignorant people would not feel deep sadness and shame for the way European immigrants treated Indian Americans. (I live in the UK. French and Swiss passport, so no skin in that game, just observing). Personally, I like the term first nation, because it refers to the fact native Americans were already there when European invaded.

  • I think it’s odd the way we Americans call ourselves Italian, Irish or whatever. Most of us are not. We have some ancestors from those places but that does not make us them. Few of us live the culture, speak and read the language of our ancestors. My ancestors came from Germany, therefore I am German? Not really, not at all actually. Just that I know where my ancestors came from 5 generations ago.

  • One of the largest requests genealogy and DNA testing to confirm trial affiliation started with the growing number of casinos and the money it brings in. This is by no means the only reason, but tribes started seeing a large number of people trying to make claims to their native American heritage. So many tribes started cleaning up their records and challenging many current members of their status in the tribe.

  • My father is from South Eastern El Salvador, Usulutan. From what I researched, Southeastern ES was Lenca territory. My mother is Mexican from the state of Guerrero, I’m not aware of what native tribe is there but I do know that her paternal grandfather was a man from Spain. I’m trying to find a way to see what’s the best test to find out my detailed ethnic background

  • What is she taking about?! I’m 98% pure blood Maya – from the Yucatán peninsula. edit ~ Basque 1% Spain’s side. Basque Predates the spaniards and yt colonizers- by archaeology artifacts, genealogy, and their native language that has no ties to any European language. 1% Basque -ANOTHER native tribe found in-between Spain/France. Yes I was born in my native land. Sorry that you’re upset that you are mixed 🙄. You are trying to twist the narrative so YOU can say you’re a native. This lady is beyond dululu 😵‍💫😮‍💨 *edited because I learned more about the tribe Basque. There is no yt in me. I’m native through an through.

  • My grandmothers were 1/2 Cherokee Indian and both of my parents were 1/4 Cherokee Americans but my dad looked European and my Mother looked Swedish! But their parents looked like Jewish people my grandpa on dad’s side looked like George Burns the comedian and my grandma looked like a Jewish woman from Germany ! After my eldest son the guy with all the degrees from Uof M did our family tree it was discover my grandfather on dads side was born of a ASHKENAZI FAMILY THAT LIVED IN ST PETERSBURG FRANCE IN THE RHINELAND AND ALL OF HER FAMILY TREE SURNAMES WERE ALSO ASHKENAZI SO THATS WHY MY DAD LOOKED LIKE HE DID AND MOMS CHEROKEE MIXED WITH BRITISH GENES GAVE HER A LOOK LIKE Ingrid Bergman!

  • My ancestors came from accomack va dating back to early 1600s. All up and down the Chesapeake. Its amazing to see the va maps where you see how close accomack is to jamestown fort. All i know is my greatgrandparents were indian. The northam and scott names can be found in accomack. Im related to both.

  • My grandchild said he was Mexican, i laughed and said, where you born in Mexico, he replied “no”, I said where were you born? He said America, I said. That makes you American,,, lol he looked so confused, but said its about were your born, not where you think you came from. Be proud to be an American…

  • My yoga guru said that the Mayan civilization was a transplanted civilization that came from South India, and that there is even a word in Sanskrit which refers to the Americas. The Mayan civilization was at it’s height between 500 AD and 1000 AD. If some of those Mayans wandered up north, then some of those “Indians” may have been Indians.

  • As someone who was adopted I completely understand that heritage is not only about DNA. Heritage is how and by who you were raised. Additionally most people have various dna… only recently have we learned how varied because of testing. And genes are tricky… they like to play genetic whack-a-mole… for instance I have a friend from a very dark island family… all his family is the color of dark chocolate and yet he is the color of light milk chocolate with a flaming red Afro and green eyes. Turned out he had a Red headed pirate as a great great great grandfather and it took that long for the gene to pop up. 80% of Mexicans have indigenous dna… my brothers wife is Mexican, Native American and Polish. She is an official tribal member and gets annual casino money even though the percent of indigenous dna is low. I’m adopted and have no idea what my dna would show, but I was raised in a “cowbilly” home… half of my family being from the Midwest and the other half from near Appalachia. I love steak, potatos and cornbread. I wish I could claim to be more exotic… maybe one day I’ll do a dna test with my fingers crossed. But for all I know my dna might show me to be Irish, Russian or any of the lighter skinned races.

  • It is really complicated. Especially in Texas. I have been told my family has been here before it was owned by the U.S., before it was owned by Mexico, before it was owned by Spain, before it was owned by France. I don’t know how much truth there is to that, but it does bring up some interesting questions. I am something like 20% Native American, but I don’t consider myself Native American. My great grandmother grew up on a reservation, if you see a picture of her you would think she is definitely 100% Native American. On my grandfathers side, he is from Mexico. Of course, they say that they are descendants of Native Americans, too. Which is true. Since Mexico is part of America, but I’ll get into that more. At some point, most of both sides of my family spoke Spanish or English. At what point do you stop being Native and start being American or Mexican. If it is true that my family was in Texas for that long then at some point they were all Mexican since Mexican owned Texas. …and New Mexico, Colorado, California, Nevada, Utah, etc. How do you differentiate between which group is from where? The simply answer is that once you leave the tribe, once you leave the reservation, you’re losing that connection for country. It’s not an answer that people like to hear, but it is one indicator. I still have family on reservations, but I don’t know them, they don’t know me. How can I claim any of that? I can’t. I get Latino, at best. I still have family in Mexico, but I am not considered Mexican to them.

  • “there’s no way getting around it being odd” – trying to hang onto pieces of hunter-gatherer stone-age culture while living in the 21st century and using modern technology. I understand why they’re doing it, but it’s bound to be odd. Maybe the best things to hang onto from that time are simple – exercise and the outdoors, appreciation of the simple things, small communities where people know each other. Our psychology is probably still best-adapted to a hunter-gatherer stone age lifestyle in many ways, though I for one am very grateful I don’t have to constantly hunt animals in order to stay alive. The best thing about the invention of agriculture is escaping the endless violence that most animals are caught up in (hunting or being hunted).

  • I realize DNA, or blood quantum isn’t perfect and can be abused in both directions but I think it still stands as a way people can better associate tribal membership and claims. I don’t expect someone who has a single great grandmother that was Cherokee to have as much stake on claims, and tribal association as someone who lives in Oklahoma with full ancestry in the tribe that was moved there on the trail of tears. I thought she seemed defensive on the question and it just raises the suspicion. Especially if you represent or speak on behalf of a tribe or Indians in general it would be an easy question to answer and put out there. “I’m 1/4 this” let’s move on.

  • From birth I, my siblings, my mother etc. have been labeled as black or African American. This woman is not native American. If you take my blood and the blood of these so called natives today they will not have any ties to my ancestors. True native American people have hair like mines and look like me. Ask yourselves why the Blackfoot Indians were given that name. We never signed a treaty ceding our land to anyone. These people are descendants of the transplants brought here to assimilate our culture. These people have no blood ties to my ancestors land…

  • Thats a problem? In Mexico even if you r 100% full blooded but lost the language of your parents your considered Mestizo( mixed). Not to mention that 100 years ago we had a native american president that got rid of the over 300 languages still spoken and made spanish the official because he saw it as weakness for the nation. There are still 62 languages left today. Many languages were lost during the 300 spanish rule of Mexico. Many tribes were mixed with spanish but still spoke their languages. My dna: 51% native,1% Asian, 46% European, 2% African and Im considered white in Mexico and also in the US as a white hispanic because of my light skin.

  • I’m heavily mixed so I won’t go into full detail but my DNA test yeilded odd results. On my Caucasian side I was expecting Irish but the results said Welsh. I was also expecting German but it was largely dominated by “European” and a few other surrounding areas. On my black side I was expecting jamaican but there was zero mention of the Island and the result was Nigerian. On my black hispanic ancestry I was expecting possibly the Dominican Republic. Instead I got Iberia, Spain (just north of Morocco). DNA tests will give you the root beginning of your ethnicity (within a certain limit in time) but it will not recognize Nationality.

  • It’s not about race? It actually is because the policy was to whiten the Indian out of Indian nations. And they have been successfully doing that for generations. People ask you or don’t believe you because you are also white. Despite whatever attenuated native ancestry you may have, your ancestors kept benefiting from white supremacy and they also kept choosing white. White so at some point while you have native ancestry, you are a white person. Now. You’re lived experience. Is that of a white person? Whether you like it or not. Now, while it is true that a native nation can invite or allow other people into their community, that still does not make you native. Proximity to a native community does not make you native. And that is a hard pill to swallow perhaps? But why don’t you also celebrate your white roots. You know white indigeneity from Europe has also been impacted by colonialization and needs to be healed and needs its people to return to it to heal that. People are triggered by being referred to as white, yet that is what they are and the reason they’re triggered is because whiteness is often equated with violence and colonization. What would happen if the white people would heal those aspects of themselves? They wouldn’t need to start grabbing on to other people’s identity. I get if you lived in native communities since you were born, but that’s the same as a Swiss person being born in the Andes. That’s still wouldn’t make that person indigenous to the Andes, although that would make them a community member of course and I’m sure he would be welcomed in the community.

  • In my situation Colonel Nathaniel Gist married into my grandfather mother side. Producing Cheif Sequoyah. Nathaniel Gist was half Cherokee himself. My DNA connects to both the Gist family but also to Dragging Canoe, Cheif Red Bird, John Jolly, Mankiller, Cheif Sequoyah. My Cherokee family of my childhood were coppercolored people. By law it changed from Colored, to Negro, Afro-American, African American and now Black. It became illegal to call yourself coppercolored. When Gist married Wurte White Owl Raven, her father also a trader named Watts, the Cherokee then added the surnames Watts, Gist, Guess, and Guest as Cherokee giving way to the colonization if the tribes that results in today’s blood quadrant. My family name confirmed through document by several Cherokee family trees but also the Gist as Nathaniel Gist daughter where abouts had been unknown but she appears on my family tree having married a man from Barbados who was from Liberia Africa. I’m almost 67 yrs old. Today’s nations has changed its appearance from my grandparents.

Pin It on Pinterest

We use cookies in order to give you the best possible experience on our website. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies.
Accept
Privacy Policy