Perhaps it's mean, but I can't help rolling my eyes when I see or hear certain things. Mostly involving bizarre statements about what Aboriginal people are like, or about being 1/32 Cherokee etc.
No need to start up fraud threads on people who just speak out of ignorance, but I wouldn't mind having a bit of a rant thread and possible discussion on the issues the rants raise.
So here's something I came across on a Facebook page recently to illustrate what I mean.
"I lived 43 years on this Earth before I learned I was Native (1/8th Cherokee--I was adopted). The other 7/8ths is Dutch, Irish and German. So I look "white enough" and I was raised to believe I was Caucasian
But I've always had a strong affinity for Natives and Native culture. I finally know why. And if I have to spend hours in a tanning booth to "prove" I'm Native? Well... just because you can't see it on the outside doesn't mean it's not on the inside."
Huh? "Raised to believe I was Caucasian"?
Honey, get real. You aren't native just because you have 1/8th Cherokee blood. I mean, does someone who is 1/8th Han Chinese suddenly call themselves Han even if they were raised 'to believe [they were] Caucasian'? And this 'affinity for native culture' like 'blood calling out to blood'. You hear it a lot with the new agers too.
Anyway. It's a pet peeve. Up there with people claiming to be Metis because they're like, a quarter Ojibwe or something.
