My name is Jennifer and I currently live in the northwestern corner of Indiana. I'm originally from Iowa.
My interest in Native American culture was originally piqued when my father told me, around the time I was 8 or 9, that we had Cherokee blood in our background. As he was originally from North Carolina, this might have been true; however, it's not something I ever followed up on. I did a lot of reading of Native American authors and subjects in high school and after--Vine Deloria, Dee Brown, Lame Deer, and Black Elk, among others. When I went back to college at the late age of 32, one of the courses I took was on Native American Literature, taught by an ex-nun who makes regular visits to a reservation in one of the Dakotas (I forget which reservation, sorry) every year.
My original purpose for joining this forum was to learn more and to post some information about a local man who I suspect is a fraud, which I did. Now I'm looking forward to finding out more.