Well I’m not a native american or poc so I don’t really feel qualified or able to answer this, honestly, but maybe a follower has an idea?
I can answer this! Kind of.
And by kind of, I mean that it’s very complicated and ultimately subjective. Even after all this explanation there may be opinions that will say otherwise. I just hope that I can give you my two cents and that I can help you find an answer. I myself am half Native American (Iroquois Mohawk, to be specific) and half white. And while I grew up in a family that was doing its best to conform to white culture (Christian practices, white foods, an entire half of my family that had no idea Mohawk was anything other than a hairstyle, etc.) my siblings and I were also doing our best to learn about a culture that was just as much a part of us as the white part. We learned the Mohawk language from our grandmother and each have a Iroquois name, and every time I visit Akwesasne, our local reservation, the most nostalgic feeling wells up inside me and I’m a little kid all over again.
These experiences that I’ve had, however, don’t sound much like what you’ve experienced. And while I hate to be the bearer of bad news there’s much more to a race than blood; it’s also how you’ve been raised and what you’ve experienced. It sounds to me like you haven’t had much exposure at all to that tribe’s culture and just know the percentage of it in you. I’m 50% Mohawk, 25% Irish, and 25% German. I’ve never experienced Irish or German culture, so it would be wrong of me to claim that I was either of those races simply due to my heritage.
But that can’t stop you from learning about your culture! I can almost guarantee you that, whatever tribe you are, it’s going extinct and its culture is in jeopardy. There’s no harm in learning about different cultures, just be respectful and know that culture is a sensitive and complex thing! c:
lav3nderwolftumblr 