Couple of years back I went to a garage sale. This tall, lanky shaggy White dude was walking around talking to everyone. He was showing off all these guns he was selling and telling me every little detail about them. I didn't care but I let him talk and I kept looking. I then came across a dreamcatcher, a foot long totem pole, a painting of a buffalo and a carved pipe. All of it looked like shit, it looked like a 6 year old was fucking around with some of his fathers woodworking tools. He was very impressed with his work, told me he knew I was Indian and that I could have the whole lot for only $30.00. I smiled at that. I asked him if he was Indian and sure enough, his great grandmother was a Cherokee. He said that he couldn't prove it of course but he has a "great respect for our people's ways". So I will review. Here is a White guy, hick as all get out, making Indian "crafts" from no less than four different nations, and he is passing them off as authentic for the low low price of $30.00 To me that takes a ton of nuts to do something like that and then to talk to an actual Indian and attempt to pass off this shit as real. He had no shame but he had plenty of audacity. No other culture experiences this. White's don't make dashiki's or Kinte cloth and pass them off as authentic. " My great gramma was Black and I've been researching our lineage and making these authentic carvings." (Asians do!) They don't copy Latino culture in that way. I have never seen White's make Guatemalan shirts or blankets and other little knick knacks and say, 'Look I made these! My great grandma was from Buenos Aries ya know."
Last year I went over to a friends house for a graduation party for his kid. When I got there my friend came up to me followed by this very somber scruffy looking White dude in a Lynryd Skynrd T-Shirt, I am not making that up, and the guy says, "Mitakye Oyasin". In Lakota that means, "All my relations" and it is a statement and not a greeting. I looked around like I was on some hidden camera show because it was just too weird. I didn't respond and then for the next half hour this dude followed me around and was trying to get me to talk about Indian spirituality and my tribe and if I go to ceremonies and where and all of that. I was vague about everything and then he told me that he is a medicine man with the "United Cherokee Nation of North America" and because I am stupid I asked him, "What the hell is that?" He explained it is a group of Cherokee people who do not recognize the government of the U.S.A. and it's way of identifying Indian people. He then proceeded to tell me that the UCNNA is actually more traditional than the Cherokee of North Carolina and Oklahoma. I was just stunned, then he told me that as a medicine man he could read people's minds, communicate with spirits and animals, see into the future and even tell you what your clan was. Of course he charged for all of this but for members of the UCNNA he gave a discount. When asked how does one become a member of the UCNNA he said you had to apply then the grand governing council would review your application and then you get a tribal number and a I.D. card and for an extra $25.00 you would get a name that you would be called whenever you were at the meetings or amongst other members of the UCNNA. He was very pleased with himself until I told him to leave me alone, never speak to me again, that he was a lunatic and a racist and I wanted nothing more to do with him. He was PISSED because like I have said over and over, when it comes to identifying as Indian the one thing that will set a White person off like no one's business is calling them out as fake and telling them NO. They lose their shit so fast! He then of course went on a triad about "full bloods" of which I have never said I was one, and other stuff but I walked away did not pay him any mind. My friend was not happy with me and I told him to go fuck himself. In my life outside of social media I have my own dislike/block button. I tell people how I feel and it works the same way.
Just this past Sa-turday I learned a very very valuable lesson about social media. I must do my own due diligence when accepting friendship requests from people. I friended a guy who lives in Coldwater, not more than 45 minutes from Jackson, and he said he was Cherokee also. Feeling generous I gave him the benefit of the doubt. That was my second mistake. My third mistake was engaging this ass clown in a conversation. He texted me and wanted to know more about the Justice Or Else movement that I am involved in and why Minister Farrakhan was reaching out to Native Americans. I forwarded the video of the speech that Minister Farrakhan gave to the Unity Conference and then the interview he did with Jay Winter Nighthawk. Few hours later this guy got a hold of me again. Suffering a bad case of the "I can't sleeps" I responded. The conversation started out odd, this guy was telling me that Farrakhan had a house in Union City Michigan and he would often see his bodyguards around. Then he asked if I could forward his information to 'Brother Farrakhan" and have him contact him. I asked what he wanted to talk to the Minister about. He replied that he wanted to speak to him about the upcoming danger that is happening in September, (RED FLAG!) and about he and his group coming and speaking at the march. That made me smile because my first thought was, "Wow this dude thinks he is that important that he wants to come to the march and speak to the entire nation." Being curious/knuckle headed I asked him if he had a website to which he responded, "Do you follow the ways of your forefathers?" at this point I re-checked his page. It had a lot of shit about Jade Helm, Waco, 9-11 and other government stuff. I just figured he was a slight conspiracy theorist and while I have pretty strong opinions, I know isn't THAT a surprise?, about these conspiracy I am more inclined to rage against the things right in front of us.
Following due diligence protocol I told him to pause on the conversation so I could read thru his website. During this entire time he was messaging me about where Guaraini come from, where is my reservation, when did I begin following "The ways of our ancestors" and that he too was "Cherokee and Blackfoot but raised White." Now I have heard this whole "raised White" thing from every single wannabe I have ever met. I am not exaggerating that. Every Single ONE.
Here is the website: http://www.theancientcherokeechurchoftheonegodyohewaah.org/
Back to the word Audacity. Liberals, Conservatives and almost every White person I know who is in any position of authority has a smidgen of this attitude. Politicians, when it comes to Indians, have audacity AND a paternal outlook on us. Within Indian country we have been just infected with wannabes who come around and want to "help". When they say this what they really mean is they want to save us. In effect they want to save us from us. That is tantamount to a fly beseeching the help of the spider to get out of the web.
There are people out there, mostly White but I have seen a few Blacks in there, who so desperately do not want to be White that they imitate as much about what they think Indian people are and do, that they are a hindrance to our progression. For instance, there is the pervasive idea that we are somehow "Extra" or "Uberspiritual", more spiritual than any other race on Earth. It is an unfair and outright stupid assumption. Here is a part of our conversation, this is the point I decided that being cordial was only influencing him to speak to me like I am a noob at being Indian. (FULL DISCLOSURE - I have been an Indian, of both North and South variety, since October 26th 1969, or 9 months porior if you want to be technical. I have always known I was an Indian, it is NOT a family rumor, I have ties to the Indian community, I know my clan, I know my family names, I know the soverginty issues that effect my nation in particular and I don't have anything to prove).
Aaron F____ : The spirit has guided me to be on the Red Road. I have been told prophecies about the Rainbow Warriors coming to help.
Me: That "prophecy" is horseshit, It was made up by the guy who created Greenpeace. The Hopi have never had a prophecy looking for Whites to come and save us. What reservation are you from?
Aaron F_____: Eastern Band Cherokee. Grandpa was metis and Grandma was Blackfoot. I was raised White but I come to the Red Road guided by spirit.
Me: Sure. So were you like adopted or something?
Aaron F___: No Grandpa had to run off because he killed a man in self defense and feared retribution.
Doesn't that just sound ignorant? Thing is I have head everything from burned down courthouses with the birth records lost, everyone from a deputy to a Governor having a issue with a great great grandparent and some nefarious plot to keep the "Indian side" of the family suppressed. Then of course there is the grandmother who was Indian and never spoke about it because to do so would mean danger from the Whites. All of that is bullhockey and they know it and so do we. They always use a Grandmother because to use a man they have to admit that a Indian man laid with a precious White woman and because mixed marriages were also illegal. So not only do they dishonor us as a people but they dishonor their own ancestors by denying them as having any place in their own lives. If they knew anything about being an Indian they would know that what they are doing is a disgrace.
The kid really pissed me off when he became condescending to me about spirituality. I wrote it off to pure White audacity and arrognace but it was more than that. It was because according to the church he belongs to he and his fellow members are the TRUE PRIESTS AND PROPHETS. They are the lost tribe of Israel and their job is to unite all of US, the Indians of America, with themselves in order to user in a kingdom that will rule in a righteous manner. They are our great White hope! This biblical prophecy is really just a way for Whites to define us and come up with an idea of where we come from because when Columbus stumbled upon us he could not say where or what we are because, unlike Blacks, Whites and Asians, we are not biblical. In order to fit the narrative of White Supremacy they must be able to identify us and put us in a position that is less than them.
After he had seen the video of Minister Farakhan addressing Native youth he responded :
Aaron F___: Good video, but he seems a bit short sighted for not only are Blacks, and Reds suppressed, but whites, and yellows are too. Do you know why the white elitists, ariens, and Nazis that now control this country think they are the master race? Also no man no matter what color own any of this land or another.
Me: The Brown and the Black of this continent have been catching a level of hell from Whites that before now has never been seen in the world. The decimation of over 90% of us here in North America, the Middle Passage that has untold millions of bones of African people, the propaganda, the bounty, the lies, the theft of land and slavery. This entire nation actually stands only because Whites murdered us and made Blacks work for free. Now when you say "aliens" are you talking about like lizzard people? Like the Queen and George Bush are supposed to be lizard people from another planet? I gotta tell ya man, that is another load of garbage that I just can't buy into. Those people, the Queen, The Bush's, everyone from Prescott to W. are evil to the core. They don't have to be cold blooded creatures from another galaxy to inflict pain and suffering on the darker people of the Earth, they just have to be greedy, Republican devils and that is enough.
Aaron F___: Them: Are you Christian?
Me: No
Them: Are you Muslim?
Me: No
Them: Are you a Jew?
Me: No
Them: Are you Atheist?
Me: No
Them: So what are you?
Me: I am Cherokee. I am the True Israel. I am that I am. YHWH None above. None below. For ALL are Sacred, for ALL are of the One True Creator, and his voice is the Spirit of all Creation.
jesuit beast FREE ALL MY PEOPLE!
Me: Jesuit beast? Dude, I think you may need to speak to someone. Are you saying the Jesuits are to blame for all the ills of the world? And you are not Cherokee. You have nothing but family rumor. You don't attend any of our gatherings, you come to no ceremonies and it takes a lot more than saying something until YOU believe it to make it so. Believe me when I tell you being an Indian in America is really really over rated. It's not an easy thing to be/do at all.
Where a lot of liberals have an advantage over conservatives is that they see this system, this capitalistic system, as detrimental to people. It is founded on White Supremacy and greed, The mantra of the wealthy in the 80's was "Greed is good" which is antithetical to Indian way of thought, To blame it on the Jews, the Jesuits, the Catholics or any religion is folly and juvenile. This guy had the whole paternal thing in abundance by thinking he was the TRUE anything and then to put the paranoia that only Alex Jones listners can come up with into one package makes for someone that I am not spiritually equipped to be around without verbally de-pantsing them. I'm not spiritually fit enough to ignore stupidity at this level. I always say something.
He then write that the 'Jesuit Beast" has everyone fooled and has kept his kind of Cherokee away from the other Cherokee on purpose and has suppressed hidden knowledge about Sequoya and his dealings with the government. He goes on to send me a picture of a White Owl and says that is his clan. I told him we don't have an Owl Clan, White, Blue or Purple. He says I am part of the "Governments Cherokee" and am lost. Then he wants me to pass on a message to 'Our brother Farrakhan" My curiosity got the best of me and I asked what the message was and of course it was "Tell him it is time to come home"
I didn't bother to ask what that meant.
Here is what you will find on that website:
The Ancient Cherokee Church of One God Yo Hee Waah
They have been recognized as legitimate by the Cherokee Nation of MEXICO (WTF?) by the Republic of Mexico.
Senator James Inhofe gave them honors on the congressional record.
An Article in Cowboys and Indians magazine
They have gotten "Kudos" from the Dallas American Indian Chamber of Commerce.
And last but not least.............tribal rolls are OPEN NOW!
Contradiction much? He tells me I am lost because I am part of a group of Indians recognized by the government of the U.S.A. and the way that the government recognizes us? Enrollment cards. How do they recognize each other? Enrollment cards. They hate the government because it is evil and corrupted by "Jesuit Beasts" yet they use the same tools as the government. By the way, enrollment into this happy band of wackadoos cost only $25.00 The hitch is that you MUST be approved by the Chief.
Available for members only: White Chief must have approved application on file
Not a Member?
I DID NOT make that up. He is WHITE CHIEF has to approve you. He is White, A White guy approves you to be a member of the Israeli Cherokee Nation. You can also buy a certificate, a Shirt, a coffee mug and artwork by Spirithawk and Waterhawk.
I get really angry when I know that these people give themselves names without going thru or following any traditional protocols. The only reason they can do it is because they don't respect us. They don't see us as legitimate and human. They are the worst type of White Supremacist. They are stuck in this false sense of self that they, and ONLY they, are the future of mankind. Only they can save us. For that mindset to be present you have to be delusional and have an over inflated sense of self. Without The Creator of All Natural Things I could never, ever, do anything for anyone.
Like people who approve of using us as mascots, or stealing our sacred lands, or abusing our children or women (80% of assaults on Native women are perpetrated by non-Indian people), stealing our names and our ceremonies. They make "Indian" jewelry and pass it off as authentic, they go to protests and speak for us, they write articles or wear shirts or invade our organizations with the mindset of not helping but of showing us how it is done. These same people. this cancer to our society, they are the cause and not the cure for what is wrong in our communities.
They are sick. They are a disease and instead of looking for "teachable moments" They should be exposed and ridiculed out from among us. They can not assist us in finding our authentic self. The warrior inside of us that is a warrior that loves because they don't accept themselves as what they are so how in the hell can they teach us anything about authenticity?
So after I chewed on him a bit he wrote this:
Aaron F____: White supremacy i come to you remembering the faces of my fathers of the forgotten Cherokee Owl Clan. Spitting in the face of the One True Creator. It is you Brother that has allowed yourself to be dividend from your Brothers n Sisters of All colors by the jesuit beast. I will not judge fir you allow hate the teachings of the jesuit beast to blind you. I Spirit willing you will not be the last avenue of contact for this most high honor. May you find the Trye Red path so that you too may reach the path of all colors.
Me: IS that how you think that spiritual people speak? Is that your idea of how a elder or a medicine man or woman speaks? See that zen Indian bullshit is a Hollywood stereotype. That is a made up nonsensical thing that was made by some White guys in a room trying to romanticize us for the amusement of others. Unlike you, I have been to ceremony AND have participated. I have been gifted Eagle feathers AND a sacred pipe by real live actual holy men and women. I have sat in sweat lodges without any Whites AND I have never paid for any of it. This 'Face of my Ancestors or Fathers" or whatever the hell you called it. I know who our enemy is and I even know how our enemy got here and yes, this part kills people like you, I know your tricknology! I am not separated by color, that's absurd and if you knew me you would know that I don't play that shit. You would know that I look for ways tobe a servant to my Creator and my people on a daily basis. Here is something that you never considered. I know White people who would laugh at you in your face for the shit you are spewing. First words out of a couple of my bros from my wrestling days out of their mouths would be, "Dude WHAT THA FUCK?" and they would laugh their ass off!
It ended when he told me he would pray for me to no longer be blinded by the Jesuit beast and the lies they have fed me. Remember the big deal that was made of that White woman who protrayed herself as Black and even was leader of a NAACP chapter? Remember when everyone made a big big deal about it? Yeah, we got THOUSANDS of her in our community and I pity each one of them. I can't stand them but I do know that as part of creation they are part of me also. That's because I take my path in a serious manner. I am a servant to my people and the grind is EVERYONE is my people.
