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During my sojourn in The South I learned quickly that every Southern Belle fancies herself a descendant of Pocahontas when Id charm them by asking: "Are you pa

During my sojourn in The South I learned quickly that every Southern Belle fancies herself a descendant of Pocahontas when Id charm them by asking: "Are you part native American?" (In fairness to them though, native blood in the South is not unlikely after several centuries)

melagonster 4y ago
but did they support native American community? if they are, sounds like good.
eesmith 4y ago
You're playing with fire, as Elizabeth Warren learned the hard way. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Warren#Ancestry_and_Native_American_issues https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Warren#Ancestry_and_... A lot of people believe they have native American ancestry. Something like a million Americans claim they have a Cherokee ancestor, and quite a few claim it was a "Cherokee princess", even though the Cherokee never had that sort of social system. DNA testing, which is NOT the same as tribal citizenship nor cultural affiliation, often shows these people have no Native American DNA. While you say "not unlikely", thing is, early 19th century ethnic cleansing meant there weren't that many Native Americans left, and there were strict miscegenation laws, making it, yes, rather unlikely. This belief appears to be the continuing legacy of pre-Civil War Southern culture, when southern whites romanticized their underdog position in supporting slavery with the expelled Cherokee, while also wanting the status of being descended from royalty. See https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2015/10/cherokee-blood-why-do-so-many-americans-believe-they-have-cherokee-ancestry.html https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2015/10/cherokee-blood-w... , which further points out: "Shifting one’s identity to claim ownership of an imagined Cherokee past is at once a way to authenticate your American-ness and absolve yourself of complicity in the crimes Americans committed against the tribe across history."
- sbaiddn 4y ago
  "You're playing with fire, as Elizabeth Warren learned the hard way." Lol. Years later, when the whole Sen. Warren thing happened, I chuckled and thought to myself "these Southern girls.. it never fails!" (Warren's from OK)

melagonster 4y ago

but did they support native American community? if they are, sounds like good.

eesmith 4y ago

You're playing with fire, as Elizabeth Warren learned the hard way. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Warren#Ancestry_and_Native_American_issues https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Warren#Ancestry_and_... A lot of people believe they have native American ancestry. Something like a million Americans claim they have a Cherokee ancestor, and quite a few claim it was a "Cherokee princess", even though the Cherokee never had that sort of social system. DNA testing, which is NOT the same as tribal citizenship nor cultural affiliation, often shows these people have no Native American DNA. While you say "not unlikely", thing is, early 19th century ethnic cleansing meant there weren't that many Native Americans left, and there were strict miscegenation laws, making it, yes, rather unlikely. This belief appears to be the continuing legacy of pre-Civil War Southern culture, when southern whites romanticized their underdog position in supporting slavery with the expelled Cherokee, while also wanting the status of being descended from royalty. See https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2015/10/cherokee-blood-why-do-so-many-americans-believe-they-have-cherokee-ancestry.html https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2015/10/cherokee-blood-w... , which further points out: "Shifting one’s identity to claim ownership of an imagined Cherokee past is at once a way to authenticate your American-ness and absolve yourself of complicity in the crimes Americans committed against the tribe across history."

sbaiddn 4y ago
"You're playing with fire, as Elizabeth Warren learned the hard way." Lol. Years later, when the whole Sen. Warren thing happened, I chuckled and thought to myself "these Southern girls.. it never fails!" (Warren's from OK)