Celebrate, Acknowledge and Educate!
"Normalize changing your mind when presented with new information."
I'm Native American born to the Diné and Dakhota Hunkpati (Navajo/Crow Creek Sioux tribes). Since I'm from two different tribes, they have their own language, culture and traditions, I felt that both represent me and who I am. So I took two words from each language and created the Sapa Dibé Club which translates to Sapa meaning"black" in Dakota and "Dibé" means "sheep" in Navajo, in English translates to "Black Sheep" Club. I'm creating this as a place to educate people in the business media production and mobile media production. However, I want to start a series of educating all people on the different tribes in the United States.
Note: I'm not a scholar however teaching the basic education on Native American tribes will help bring us into the 21st century as modern Indigenous People and to help realize we are not limited just to tipis and headdress. There are 574 tribes in the United States as of 2021. Here's the link:
Diné Means "The People"
The photo on the left are Diné (Navajo). Located in the 4 corners of the Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado, they are a southern tribe. They live in hogans, not tipis. They are a tribe that does NOT wear war bonnets or live in tipis. Diné are known for Tsiiyéél (Navajo Bun) no other tribes will wear their hair this way.
Now let's talk about the generic greeting that seems forever associate with Native Americans, "How" or with the correct spelling is Hau from the Lakota/Dakota languages. Because of the misrepresentation of Natives in movies and cartoons. The phase "How" was incorporated into EVERYTHING Native American. That is ONE language from a specific tribe, the Plains Natives.
In Diné it's Yá'át'ééh (Ya-t-eh) as you can see...it's NOT "How".
Hau is the masculine way of saying Hello in Dakota/Lakota.
Han is the feminine version.
My mom is enrolled in an online Dakota Language class with the University of Minnesota. She graduated Arizona State University with a bachelors in English Literature with a minor in History. She grew up in Fort Thompson, South Dakota with her grandparents speaking Dakota in the home. While boarding schools prohibited anything pertaining to our culture and traditions. Many still spoke it in home. Today, my mom incorporates Dakota into everyday life from "see you later" Tókša akhé to "hurry up"ináȟni... I hear that a lot.
(Picture: Red Mountain held on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Tribe - My mom is the one on the end in blue.)
On my Diné side, my dad grew up speaking Diné (Navajo) and is still fluent. My Shinálí or Grandma (paternal) only spoke Diné, Grandma Rose. She rode horse back attending to her sheep and cattle. Grandma Rose also was a made rugs. I'm grateful I have very few items I have from her, one is a coral necklace, pair of wool carding brushes she used and a rug specifically for horse back riding. She passed away in 1999 at 90.
(In this photo to the left I'm on the right, my cousin Brian is on the other side.)
The photo below is how I will always remember my Grandma Rose - on horseback, in a skirt. Also, when you tell people "We speak English in America." First language speakers, such as my grandparents spoke their Native tongue first so tribes beg to differ the inaccurate "English only" requirements. We are preserving our native languages.
Because I'm from two separate tribes, I can only be enrolled in one tribe. Native American's are the only ethnicity that is referred to with Blood Quantum. In order to be enrolled you must prove you are from said tribe via parents and grandparents with a certain amount of "blood." I'm currently enrolled in the Crow Creek Sioux tribe because they will acknowledge my 3/4 blood quantum from both parents but if I enrolled in Navajo Nation, they would only acknowledge my 1/2 Diné blood from my dad. I didn't make the rules but they are the rules.
The main reason the U.S. government did the blood quantum was to monitor reservations census and mix with assimilation, that eventually we, as Natives, would dwindle in enrollment numbers. In other words, a decease in number will show decease in treaties that support Native Americans.
Growing up, I used to perform for my elementary school talent shows. I started Fancy Shawl Dancing when I was two and I stopped with I was 15 years old. During my late teens and twenties, is less about connecting to my culture and more about "having fun & fitting in." When I moved to Arizona and there were a lot more people that looked like me with beautiful brown skin, then there were in Utah.
I had the opportunity to work for the Gila River Indian Community in the Public Relations Office. I met more Natives from the Akimel O’otham & Pee-Posh tribes, Apache and Tohono O'odham or "T.O." Naturally, a lot Diné, but we are everywhere. Gila River is known for Ira Hayes, he was one of the Marines who raised the flag immortalized in the iconic photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima by photographer Joe Rosenthal. Also Russell Moore, who played the trombone with Louis Armstrong.
Later, I would work for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Community Relations Office. SRPMIC are Onk Akimel O'Odham & Xalychidom Piipaash. They are a sister tribe to Gila River.
In the state of Arizona there are 22 tribes including SRPMIC and GRIC. I've met people who were born and raised in Arizona that did not know, we still existed. Imagine if Arizona schools taught about these tribes other than just associating it with casinos.
I worked there during the pandemic, and I took this photo of the water tower. The lights were represented of those who lost their lives during COVID-19.
Little Fact: A lot of reservations have a water tower.
Working for different tribes allowed me to connect with many different Natives from different parts of the country. In the past I was always the one Native American in the room. Now, I'm seeing more and more in the work place other than tribal governments. We're are able to connect and feel the support of one another out in a world where we were almost non existent.
I even had to brush up on my Diné Clans because when you meet another Navajo, you better know where you're from.
Tsi’ naajinii - Black Streak People
(from the dark part of the wood)
Tachii’nii
Red Running into the Water
Nakaii Diné - Mexican Clan
Naashtezhi Diné
Zuni Clan
Being Native American means something different than just an American.
In November 2019, I had to opportunity of visiting India for a friend's wedding. This would be the first time of flying over seas, besides going to Hawaii. Of course, my mom was nervous because I was traveling alone but I was ready for an adventure. I remember talking to my friend, Nikki about visiting and she said I would "blend right in." I flew into Mumbai (after missing my flight) but was able to get onto a late night flight to Goa.
After Meeting Nikki's family, the love and support of the people around made me feel at ease and let me know that you refer to your elder's as Auntie or Uncle. With the invitation of attending the wedding I was also invited to wear a saree. I found one that didn't wrinkle and I learn how to wrap it. I did okay, lol. At the wedding, one of the Auntie's put a bindi on my forehead.
We talked about everything but one conversation stuck out, being called"Indians." When I first met Nikki, while she was attending BYU in Utah, we had this discussion and guess what, they do not consider themselves "East Indians" because this ARE Indian FROM India.
Christopher Columbus was convinced he had arrived in "the Indies" (Asia), his intended destination he coined the original term, "Indians."
If you think about "American Indian" is the most colonial term for us since it came from Columbus, not to mention, he never set foot on American soil. At least Viking Leif Ericson didn't need to call us anything and the very least the wrong people.
While traveling, I wore my Diné moccasins. I needed to travel in comfort and. style, aye! In Goa one thing that stuck out to me was the beautiful red dirt opposite the lush gorgeous green of the trees. It matched the red dirt in Navajo Nation minus the juniper and pine trees.
Native American History IS American History
As we evolve as learning and growing humans, we are more than capable of learning about other peoples cultures and traditions. Native American studies should be in every school and every grade. There are different levels of information that kids can learn and education is key in combating racism and bigotry. I would challenge anyone to find out more about local tribes in your state. See how many reservations and/or Native Communities around you. Visit a museum, support Indigenous owned small businesses. Be open to learning and listening. As Natives, we learn about American History while making sure we learn about our own, its time for the rest of America to catch up.
コメント