Defining Ourselves, Native American and Metis Identity.

We are all part of the Sacred Circle of Life, but how do we see ourselves in context to the whole?

This question has been rumbling around in my
head for some time now and I'm reaching out into cyberspace for some answers. Metis, Melungeon, Swamp Yankee,Ridge Runner, Pink , they all mean pretty much the same thing. We are part of the Native American community. We are also part of the flow of immigrants from other continents that have helped to populate Turtle Island over the past several centuries. So who are we ? How do we see our selves in context to the the Native American community and beyond? How do other members of the Native American community see us? How do nonmetis ,"fullblooded", Native Americans see themselves?

Words are just one of the tools that we use to proclaim our identities. The following is a lit of terms that have been used as terms for people of mixed, native with non-native decent.

  • Metis (often a Canadian term)
  • Swamp Yankee (used in New England)
  • Pink (most often seen on the internet)
  • Ridgerunner (used in Appalachia, most commonly Pennsylvania)
  • Halfbreed
  • Mixed blood
  • Creole
  • Voyageurs (usually French-Canadian)
  • Woodsrunners
  • Bois Brule (again, usually French Canadian)
  • Country-born
  • Black Scot
  • Mestizos
  • Non-status indians
  • Children or families of Mountain Men
  • Buckskinners
  • Savages
  • French Indian
  • Tee-pee creeper
  • Wannabee ( usually derogatory, meaning that the person is faking Native American heritage. Also applied to New Age practioners
  • Member of the Wannabee Nation
  • Part NDN (again, an internet term,or more properly , a "skinternet" term "
  • Mixed Breed
  • Melungeon

A BIT ABOUT IDENTITY

Identity is how we describe ourselves, or how others describe us. Identity is about self definition
and it is about group perception. It includes physical characteristics such as skin color , sex or age. It is about what groups we belong to, for example what families are we part of, or with whom do we work, worship or play. It is about what food we eat or what clothes we wear. Identity is about an internal and external sense of self. Identity is linked to a sense of place and a sense of home. Ethnic andor racial identities are a deep part of this self definition and about group membership. The purpose of this webpage and the survey that it contains is to create a mechanism for people of Native and "mixed" Native and Non-Native heritage to explore and define that identity.
For simplcity's sake I will use he term "Metis" on these webpages to mean any person of combine Native American and Non-native heritage. (Please note Metis can also refer to a specific cultural/linguistic group in Canada.)

Please click on "next page" to turn page and TAKE MY SURVEY! Thanks!

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