First off, I'm not from India, so I can't be an Indian. When I look around at all the people groups in America, it seems that Native Americans are the only group without their own name. I am Native. Anyone born in America can claim the same title. In fact, I've heard people do it. Anyone who lives in Austrilia whose family has been there for thousands of years may call themselves native. Native is such a vague term that can be given to anyone. Everyone is native to somewhere.

I believe that some people get caught up in this lack of identity. America, as a whole, is caught up in lack of identity. Potential for a beautiful culture has been overshadowed by aspects of business and advertising. Most countries have two sides: traditional and commercial. America has no tradition. Everything is commercialized. America has prostituted her culture for a dollar sign.

Who should be called Native? It isn't something anyone can merit. Being native is simply being born knowing that your family is native and knowing who those people are and were. Native is not something anyone can become. It is who we are. It is who I am. I am Pvkpvkkuce (Little Flower). I am Mvskoke (Creek) and Yugeeha (Yuchi), born for the SagA (bear) people of the Duck Creek tribal town of the Yugeeha Nation. There are no "Indians" or "Natives." There is the Dine people, Mvskoke, Yugeeha, Lakota, Seneca, Osage, Crow, Comanche, Mohawk, Seminole, Menominee... we are not one group lumped together. We are many nations, many peoples, many languages, many cultures, many stories, many traditions, many origins...

We have not passed away. Indigenous people still dance. They still pray. They still exist. We are not an acient relic of the past. Most of us do not wear feathers, live in teepees, and ride horses. That is such a small fraction of who the First Nations of America really are. We're not all drunks. Honestly? I know more indigenous people committed to sobriety than white people. We don't all live on reservations. I've heard so much complaining about natives "mooching" off of the government, but when native people start their own businesses (such as casinos) to stand on their own sovereignty and provide for themselves, the public grumbles against it. I've heard many talk down on native casinos and smoke shops, but that doesn't seem to stop anyone from spending their money there (and no. Just because a tribe has casinos doesn't mean the tribe is rich).

Coming down from my soap box, I will conclude that I am only a person. I go to college to better myself and my family. My family is educated. My uncle is a pastor. My grandfather was a teacher. My grandmother dedicated her whole life to her family. My mother is an accounting clerk. My family doesn't drink, do drugs, or cause trouble. My best friend is native. She has a two year old daughter. She had her baby in high school. Other than maternity leave, she never missed a day of school. She is still going to vocational school. She'll be joining me in college next fall. I could make several over examples of perseverence just in my native community alone.

We're merely people. We live our lives, serve the Creator, raise children, work, and go to school. That is our identity.

Learn more about this author, Samantha Little Flower.
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