For some white people (including those of possible distant ancestry), the idea of being a member of a tribe is very appealing. For some one who has experienced a lot of bullying, being told that efforts to get a mixed blood tribe recognized is misguided, probably feels like more bullying.
Richard might not be able to hear us, he may assume that we are bullies, and that we are trying to prevent him from fulfilling a dream. Family and friends may be reluctant to correct him, because they don't want to him to feel more attacked.
But even people who are bullied sometimes get things wrong. He's got this wrong, and he can fix it.
If I was his advisor, I'd suggest that he close down this endeavor and find other more appropriate projects. His mission statement of "Love each other, Know our heritage, Give hope and love" is laudable, this just isn't the way to do it.
Creating fake tribes, trying to get state and federal recognition, harms actual NDNs. It muddies the waters and diverts resources. If anyone can create a tribe, then tribes are ultimately meaningless, then why don't we break even more treaties with them, since the whole thing is nothing but a game - just as milehighsalute already said - the end result of that train is genocide. Tribal integrity matters, treaties matter, truth matters.
