The Indian Is Always the Bad Guy

 "Let's play cowboys and Indians. It's sad, why? 'cause the Indian was always the bad guy." Litefoot

When I started this blog, I knew there would be people who didn't like what I wrote. That is a given since there are so many who are part of the "Cherokee Myth Phenomenon." What I didn't realize is that I would continuously be attacked by someone who just can't give up the myth. Some people don't like to give up something they have made a personal part of their lives, even when the evidence to show their family story is untrue is put right in front of their faces. If they have heard they are Cherokee, then by golly, they want it to be true, even if they never find any evidence to prove it. They want to believe every single lie on the internet that seems to justify their reason for NOT finding the proof. They will bend and shape and twist information to make it fit they way they need it to fit to prove their point. The problem is, those things are not acceptable in genealogy. Anyone who has respect for the area of genealogy, whether amateur or professional, knows sources are of the utmost importance.

Though this blog is included in the genealogy blog category, it is not strictly for genealogy. It is also a blog about Cherokee history and about other things that CHEROKEES like to read. This is a blog about us, for us, and about the things we talk about in our day to day lives with each other. One thing that a majority of Cherokees take issue with are wannabes. They don't like it when people go around making up fake tribes or when people go around making up fake history so they can try to make their family fit into our history. And most Cherokees sure don't like it when every Tom, Dick and Harry goes around claiming to be Cherokee when they really aren't.

People claiming to be Cherokee without proof think they aren't hurting anyone, but they are. Cherokees have become the laughing stock of Indian Country. You want to know why? Because EVERYONE says they are Cherokee! After a while, it gets a little old when every time you announce your tribe, you get the laugh and eye roll! Seriously. And it isn't because of anything we have done, but instead, what everyone else is doing............claiming to be us! 

Then, to make matters worse, those without proof try to make those of us who have proved what we claim look bad for defending who we are! We are the descendants of those who were forced to remove from the eastern homeland. We are the descendants of those who rebuilt the nation in a strange environment after enduring unbelievable hardships. We are the descendants of those who stayed with the nation through thick and thin, no matter what occurred. We are the descendants of those who ensured that the nation continued to survive and became what it is today. That history is ours. The right to claim that history is ours. The right to claim those Cherokee ancestors is ours. The reason? Because we can prove we come from the people who lived that history, therefore, that history belongs to us and us alone. It is an insult when anyone and everyone thinks they have a right to claim our history even though they have no proof to show their ancestors were part of that history.

It is also an insult when people think we have no right to be mad about anything fakes and wannabes do. We have no problem with people researching to see if they have Cherokee ancestry, but we do have a problem with people who make up silly excuses as to why they can't prove they are Cherokee. Or when they claim they descend from a Cherokee princess. Or when they say their ancestors were the brave ones who hid out and stayed in the east while our ancestors were the sell outs who left. Or when our ancestors are referred to as taking "blood money" for being on a roll. Or when we are called "government Indians" while they refer to themselves as "free". Pretty insulting, isn't it? But it is what we Cherokees endure day in and day out unless we allow wannabes and frauds claim whatever they want.

Basically, Cherokees have no right to speak the truth. We have to allow people to say whatever they want and claim whatever they want. We have no right to get mad or defend ourselves when fakes and wannabes lie about us or twist our words. We have no right to get upset when the descendants of a family who benefited from the Trail of Tears now claims to be one of us. We have no right to get mad when the descendants of a family who filed multiple fraudulent and rejected Guion Miller applications now claims to be one of us. We have no right to get upset or mad about anything because if we do, then we are the ones who are wrong. I guess that old saying is right, the more things change, the more they stay the same. When it comes to people who have grown up with a sense of "white privilege", nothing will ever change. First, they took our land in the east. Then they tried to obtain Cherokee money they were not entitled to. And now they try to take the last thing we have left, our very identity. And we are supposed to just stand back and let them do it or we are once again, "the bad guy."


Those are my thoughts for today.
Thanks for reading.

CC
The Granddaughter

copyright 2011, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

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