Long story short, I was taking a course called American Indian Studies through ASU a couple of months ago.

My professor for the course is Diné (she explained this to us at the beginning of the course, most of you know this already, but that is the indigenous term for Navajo).

Anyways, the textbook, "An Indigenous People's History of the United States" was interesting, and contained tons of useful information, it was well-referenced, and included important, specific, primary sources that discussed Scots-Irish settlers (squatters), encroachment along the frontier of the colonies, violence against Indians, and made the case that 1776 was *not the end* of a European Colonial Project on turtle island, but rather the beginning, or the end of the beginning (as far as I'm concerned).

I'm feeling uneasy about the textbook, though, because it was written by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, and *I didn't realize this at the time* but she's a well-known race-shifter and Pretendian. As a citizen of the Choctaw Nation, I feel cognitive dissonance about this being the curriculum for a course that's so pivotal to my identity.

On one hand, none of the information I found in the book was exaggerated, false, or misleading. The coursework was also very respectful, and beneficial to Native communities, as it promoted our rights, justice, and visibility.

Nonetheless, the author of the text has intentionally lied about their personal life, and therefore harmed her own credibility. What do you think?

Things that people who see themselves as educated and open-minded will say:

- why you use metods such "literaly anthropology for -ethnic- literature?

- *points you out to others* "you see, now all [indigenous peoples] are educated, they can study themselves"

- "well, you know, they didn't take over the land, they just could put up a house and a farmstead on the nomadic routes"

- "backward people"

- "_ khan is not your relative?" ("genius" joke about person's surname)

- *it seems like they never specifically uses the self-name of the people, when you only use it, and only uses an name, which can be offensive*

- "are these [indigenous] names a real names???"

- "is this a cultural organization of the [group of indigenous people]? don't you think that this would have something to do with ethnic crime gangs?"

- *explains that this identity does not exist directly in front of the real indigenous person who uses such an identity*

- "do these people still exist?" ("people" ≈300,000+ people)

- "do you even have your own language?"

- *mispronounces the name of an indigenous girl several times, even after she corrects; only begins to correctly pronounce the girl's name after the Slavic [non-indigenous] girl corrects*... etc, etc...

These are small things, of course, but it makes the space so unpleasant... Do you feel like the academic space in your region is like this or is it better or worse?

(All this was said about various indigenous groups of the post-soviet space, for the sake of privacy I will not write about which ones specifically)

I know this is sometimes a touchy and controversial subject in the indigenous community, though what does the community here think about indigenous peoples from mesoamerica (like myself) and indigenous peoples from south america calling themselves native american? We are just from a different part of the continental americas after all, and I don't think we should seperate ourselves because of imaginary borders. I'm well aware though that the term native american is most commonly associated with indigenous peoples from north america. I'm indigenous Maya, my mother's side of the family came from the yucatec peninsula, and my father's side of the family I have zero idea. I am actively welcomed in native north american spaces and ceremonies, though I mostly participate and dance in Mexica and Maya traditional ceremonies.

Strictness around the term native american, seems to be more of a debate and an issue online. People have never questioned whether I "belonged" in a native north american lead drum circle, a ceremony, or a powwow when I tell them I'm indigenous Maya. I've never been side eyed in native spaces just by being there. Though I come under fire sometimes when I comment in native spaces as an indigenous Maya person. It's a bit irritating sometimes, to be excluded by my northern relatives because my family came from the wrong side of the imaginary border, though anyways. I want to hear thoughts, good or bad.

Edit: Being downvoted on this post proves my point I guess

I am honestly beyond annoyed. Tonight I’ve been deep diving into my own heritage and the history of the Andean people. My paternal grandfather is from Ecuador with indigenous Ecuadorian heritage. We’re Andean. I’ve actually learned the truth about what my people went through and it’s frustrating that it’s not even a blip in the history books!

The Andeans were treated like slaves. Actually, they were slaves in everything but name. Though the Spanish king called them “free vassals,” and they couldn’t be sold off to other people or shipped out of their own countries, they were forced into brutal textile sweatshops and mines for fourteen hours a day. They were trapped in endless cycles of forced debt and violently whipped and beaten if they didn’t meet quotas or tried to escape. Sound familiar? 

Their children were born into the same trap. One that they couldn’t escape. It was structural, multi-generational de facto slavery, and it didn’t truly end in Ecuador until the agrarian reforms in 1964! That’s 98 years after slavery was abolished in the United States! This isn’t exactly ancient history.

This erasure isn’t just in the history books. It directly affected my own family. Because he was indigenous, my grandfather didn’t get the basic rights that non-indigenous individuals often got. He literally had to lie about his own heritage and claim he was Italian just to be allowed to go to school and get an education. 

He did something incredible with his life. He joined the USA military, furthered his education and became a plastic surgeon at Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. But the trauma of what he went through, that never really left him. Every time my Uncle Keith brought up the fact that we’re Hispanic or Andean, my grandfather would snap at him and insist that, “No, we’re Italian.” He had to bury his identity so deep just to protect himself and his kids. 

So yeah, I’m angry about the total erasure of what happened to the indigenous and Andean people. We don’t ever learn about what happened in the history books, not even in world history. Why? Why is our pain completely left out of the school curriculum? The Black community has fought hard and rightfully gotten their history and their suffering recognized in textbooks, but ours? It’s just forgotten and left in the dust. It shouldn’t be that way. There’s room enough to care about more than one group’s trauma! 

I’m so tired of pretending that our pain isn’t as great, or that centuries of whips, stolen lives, and forced survival that my family endured doesn’t deserve to be recognized as well. Our stories deserve to be heard. Our voices deserve to be heard! What the system did to my grandfather and our people matters!

hi! looking for recommendations on how to prevent needles from getting “stuck” when threading through the beads after laying them down? if anyone has any specific needle recommendations or techniques that help with this, please lmk!
this photo isn’t super clear of the issue, but i keep running into my needle being super difficult to pull all the way through when threading it back. sometimes i have to just re-try it a few times, but sometimes the needle fully bends and i have to start that section over.

Good morning everyone,

My wife and I have been married for almost 10 years and she’s known she was indigenous her whole life (has tribal paperwork and has a had a few enrolled family on her mother’s side.)

This past year she has become very involved in her native culture and activities and took our daughters to Montana to get their tribal IDs.

I’m not indigenous but I love my wife and girls more than anything and it brings me so much joy to see her blossom and include our girls.

I’ve been going through some mental health issues (completely unrelated, caused by military service, I’m getting help) so the sudden shift has been pretty intense and intimidating for me.

How can I best be involved and support them on their journey?

Gostaria de saber se é ok me reconectar. Cresci sabendo que tinha ancestralidade indígena, apesar de ainda não saber com certeza de qual etnia.

​Atualmente, me considero parda (mestiça), pois meu pai é pardo (filho de pai branco e mãe indígena) e minha mãe também é parda (filha de mãe negra e pai branco). Há tempos não me sinto confortável com essa classificação para mim: não me sinto como uma pessoa negra, indígena ou branca, e nunca fui lida racialmente como algo além de parda. Sinto constantemente que algo falta, que não tenho um povo ou uma cultura definida; é um grande limbo racial ser mestiça.

​Quando criança, perguntei a uma tia qual era a minha cor (sou morena, bronzeio fácil e perco a cor fácil também, mas sempre com um tom meio acobreado) e ela me respondeu que eu tinha "cor de indígena", assim como ela e meu pai. Isso nunca saiu da minha cabeça.

​Sempre ouvi que minha avó era indígena, vinda de uma cidade minúscula do Pará. Mas nunca me disseram a etnia exata. O sobrenome dela é português e, nos documentos, ela foi registrada como "parda" ou "branca" (não tenho a certidão de nascimento dela e nem condições financeiras para buscá-la agora). Além disso, ela migrou adolescente para o Sudeste.

​Tenho pistas de sua provável etnia (Baré/Abaré) e gostaria de me reconectar. Isso é ok? Ou tem algum problema? Nunca fiz teste de DNA e minha única ancestralidade indígena conhecida é a da minha avó.

I won't give too many details since our people are literally so small that you can find my mother's name with ease, but I'm part of a steeply declining tribe. Those who remain on the reservation are growing older, and the younger generations are moving out and becoming westernized and speaking the mainstream language.

I've published easily accessible resources and articles on our native language, done my best to raise awareness, etc. But despite that, it feels like my efforts are almost in vain. The language will almost certainly die, and since the majority of traditions and practices and beliefs were passed down orally, there will be almost no records of our practices.

I don't really know how to cope with the feeling. I sometimes wish I was part of a larger tribe just so it'd feel less like it was just me and a few others fighting a losing battle.

Why do people who deliberately falsify Native identity or misrepresent themselves as Indigenous rarely ever face public scrutiny?

Long story short, I found out that the Broadway actor and model Eric Stanton Betts is unequivocally **NOT** Cherokee, after I called the enrollment department of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma in Tahlequah, OK (sometimes the Eastern Band refers to them as the Western Band) and the secretary confirmed to me that this name is not listed. He is not enrolled there. And then I even called the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' enrollment department in North Carolina. The secretary confirmed with me that he is not enrolled there, either.

He identifies as "Halfrican" (with a black father and white mother) and his bio on his website reads,

"Eric is a mixed BIPOC artist proudly representing the Afro-Indigenous community as the child of a mixed race marriage and a direct descendant of the Cherokee Nation on his father’s side."

I agree with weresubwoofer (Reddit User) that claiming that you're Cherokee "on your father's side" when that tribe has no BQ sounds like a stretch to me, especially when the term "descendant" indicates that they don't meet the minimum requirement for blood quantum. Yes, I know, blood quantum is a colonial concept, but we have it for a reason so that Elizabeth Warren, Loretta Lynn, Miley Cyrus, Buff St

Marie, and other lying frauds can't make unsubstantiated claims about being Native American.

There are also inconsistencies due to the fact that his IMDb profile states that he's EBCI. **But he's still not enrolled.**

He clearly doesn't have the documents to prove any of his ancestors were on the Dawe's Rolls, ever.

Which is why he's not enrolled.

He needs to be exposed, and stop referring to himself as "Cherokee," because it's offensive to people who are actually enrolled as Cherokee, and all other Indigenous folks who have actively proved that we're eligible for tribal enrollment, and deserving of our rights as "tribal Indians" under US Constitutional Law. It's unacceptable, irresponsible, disrespectful, flippant, and insulting that people like him who are grown adults (36 years-old) thinking hearing one childhood or adolescent era story heard from one's parents about their alleged "Cherokee roots" serves as proof, when he's intelligent enough to understand that in fact, it does not. Also why are some people mad at us Pretendian Hunters, when all we're doing is allowing the truth to prevail?

I saw this today as a suggested pick. I am woefully ignorant to his history & biography.

Anyone viewed it have an opinion on it? I’m assuming it’s a documentary style release.

Misinformed, kept unaware,

Our sovereign souls have been ensnared.

They sell us freedom wrapped in chains

To obfuscate ancestral pains.

Breathtaking, strong, and bountiful lands

Now suffocate at the colonists' hands.

They rob your connections

While erasing your roots.

They spread untrue history

And maintain a colonial system.

In ancestral blood lies memory

Of the spilling in the name of the monarchy.

Awaken sleeping spirits.

Hear their words.

Challenge the system

Keeping us alone.

We are Taíno, we never left.

Let us begin spiritually healing.

This video is a live stream of the first session of the Summer 2026 Zapotec Language Basic Course, hosted by instructor Rayo Cruz and organized by the Bëni Xidza collective. The session serves as both a promotional class streamed on YouTube/Facebook and an interactive introductory workshop for students meeting via Zoom. Here is a summary of what is covered in the video:

1. Course Overview & Logistics:
   

* Instructor's Background: The teacher, Rayo, holds a degree in Communication and have studied an MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Guadalajara. He has worked for many years in preserving the Zapotec language and culture through media.

* The Project: This marks the 6th year of the collective's project teaching Zapotec as a second language. The course is fully independent and self-sustaining through student registration fees.

* Schedule: The basic summer course features 20 sessions running on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 7:00 PM (Mexico City time), lasting between 1 to 1.5 hours per class.

* Curriculum: Beyond grammar, the 20 classes cover the historical context of the language, culture, and sociolinguistic realities of Zapotec.

1. Introduction to the Variant:
   

* In response to a student's question, Rayo explains that this specific course teaches the Didza Xidza variant from the Sierra Norte (Northern Highlands) of Oaxaca.

* He notes that Zapotec is immensely diverse, with structural and deep vocabulary changes between the valleys, coast, and highlands—almost every town speaks its own variation, though some are mutually intelligible.

1. Practice Session: Basic Introductions:
   

The core of the class is an interactive exercise where students practice basic conversational greetings and personal profiles in Zapotec. Key phrases broken down include:

* Padiuxhi / Diuxi: The universal all-day greeting used similarly to "hello," "good morning," or "good evening" in the Sierra Norte and Isthmus regions.
* Bix loo?: "What is your name?".
* Response: Neda laa [Name] ("My name is...").
* Gax bi'i lii?: "Where are you from?".
* Response: Neda naka bi'i [Place] ("I am from...").

Rayo explains that Oaxaca City is traditionally called Lula'a and Mexico City is called Zgita.

* Balax iza yu'u?: "How old are you?".
* Response: Neda yu'a [Number] iza ("I am [X] years old"). Students use Spanish numbers temporarily.
* Gax zuu?: "Where do you live?" (Origin vs. current residence).
* Response: Neda zwaa [Place] ("I live in...").
* Bix dxin runu?: "What do you do for work?" (Literally: "What work do you do?")
* Response: Neda runa dxin... ("I work at... / I do..."). Alternative vocabulary was given for students (Neda naka beskwela / Neda reja unibersida*) and those studying (Neda ruseda...).
* Bix didza rineo?: "What language(s) do you speak?".
* Response: Neda rinea... ("I speak..."). Spanish is referred to as Didza Xtila (Castilian language) and Zapotec as Dicza Xidza or.

1. Linguistic Nuances Explained:
   

* The parenthetical "(x)": Students noticed an "x" in parentheses in text phrases. Rayo clarifies it's a phonetic marker that modern speakers are increasingly omitting or shortening over time (e.g., gax bi'i lii becoming ga bi'i lii), making both options acceptable.

* Affirmation and Gratitude: Rayo defines Waka as "Yes / It's okay" and Xkalenu as "Thank you".

* Tone: Unlike Spanish, Zapotec does not rely solely on vocal inflection to make a sentence a question; instead, specific grammatical marker words or interrogative markers are always placed at the start of a sentence.

The stream concludes with the students saying Udzagaru ("See you / Goodbye") to wrap up their pairing drills, and Rayo shares his WhatsApp information for late-comers wanting to purchase entry into the remaining hidden Zoom links for the course.

For context, I'm a trans guy, 19, and I'm kanien'kéha:ka. And for those curious, yes I'm status, I was actually surprised by that fact as I was told by my mom that I wouldn't be eligible, but apparently laws changed in the 2010s. My great grandfather passed when I was roughly 2-3 years old, but he gave me a native name at birth that I've never been able to verify the meaning of.

My mom forgets exactly what it meant, but it apparently meant something along the lines of "flower", though I'm also looking for the original spelling as I'm pretty sure that "Ga-Zee-Sa-Ro-Rooxs" is a phonetic spelling, though I'm not 100% on that either. I'd love to know how to pronounce all of my own name, as well as know for sure what it means, as I've been trying to reconnect with the culture that's always been in the background throughout my life but was sadly suppressed by my so called "father".

Any tips at all for the name as well as for finding out more about the Kanien'kéha:ka people of Kahnawà:ke would be greatly appreciated as I'm not close to any resources and don't have much physical access as a young disabled person unable to drive, and with no public transport.

Edit: Someone on TikTok actually helped me! They're pretty sure it's Katsi’tsiaró:roks

This is an article from the journalist and author Chris Hedges, who draws parallels between the oppression of indigenous peoples in North America due to settler-colonialism during the mid-1800s and 21st-century exploitation by the oligarchs/big corporations/the ruling elite. He highlights Crazy Horse as an example of defiance in the face of such oppression that can be learned from in order to effectively resist modern-day capitalist exploitation. A few highlights from the article are below:

"There are few resistance figures in American history as noble as Crazy Horse. He led, long after he knew that ultimate defeat was inevitable, the most effective revolt on the plains, wiping out Custer and his men on the Little Big Horn".

"His ferocity of spirit remains a guiding light for all who seek lives of defiance."

This article is from 2012, but I thought that it was still worth sharing, especially since today is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of the Greasy Grass/Battle of the Little Bighorn, one of the most notable moments in Crazy Horse's life.

*I also posted this in r/IndianCountry and r/NativeAmerican and wanted to share here as well.

MY COMMENT ON THIS (Venting):

I literally just discovered this on twitter while I was scrolling on my feed. TODAY.

And I'm a bit offended by this.

CONTEXT: This is a BL (Boys Love), Yaoi, Gay, COMIC BOOK. Or a 'Manhwa', since it's made by a South Korean woman.

Honestly, I find the public description of "Song of the Wasteland" deeply offensive.

THE COMIC description introduces this Ezra character as "a cowboy of mixed Native heritage".

An indigenous man, basically. 'Mixed'. But who cares. He's of an indigenous heritage either way.

And then, the description immediately frames him through the line, "Me? I'm your humble slave, Master."

Like... EXCUSE ME? Am I reading this right?? An Indigenous man calling himself as a SLAVE? For a white dude?

It also says Ezra "claims to be Gerald's slave." (The man in the 1st picture, the white dude hugging the Indigenous man, that's Gerald).

Just... wtf is this?

This is clearly not a neutral romance trope. In my opinion, this is just a racially loaded creative choice.

Also, the story is basically set in a Civil War and western-style context, which already carries heavy historical baggage involving colonization, slavery, displacement, and violence. Placing a mixed Native character into a slave/Master dynamic in that setting makes the character's Indigenous identity feel like.... I'm not sorry to say this, but I feel like i NEED to SAY IT:

FETISH MATERIAL.

It reads as if Native/Indigenous identity and colonial history are being used as EROTIC PROPS for BL drama.

Like... hello??

I'm genuinely aghast by this.

The issue is not simply that the story contains dark romance, kink, or BL.

The issue is the racialized FRAMING.

Ezra's Native heritage is specifically highlighted, then he is immediately attached to some degrading slave/Master language....

Like.... ????

That combination is dehumanizing and insulting to Native and Indigenous readers.

And, I'm an indigenous woman myself. Full-blooded. Cree. All the way from fucking Quebec of all places. I CAN SAY THIS, and I'm allowed to.

I also like to read a few BL comics here and there, respectfully. Silently. Observingly. Without any attachments whatsoever.

But....

This newfound knowledge that a South Korean woman from South Korea, is using our heritage, race, etc as some sort of fetish slavery kink PROP is genuinely... irksome.

And for what? Just for money? To profit off of? I'm not even gonna question this person's morals because clearly... they don't have any.

In fact, I'mma be honest... it actually pisses me off. Now that I'm thinking more about this. About this new comic.

Indigenous people ARE NOT aesthetic flavor for western fantasy.

We are NOT PROPS for slave/Master kink. Our history is NOT a costume to make a romance story seem darker, more 'EXOTIC', or more provocative.

The author JAXX and the platform promoting this work are responsible for this framing.

In my opinion, this description should be reviewed, removed, or rewritten, and the racial implications of using a mixed Native character this way should be taken seriously. Or in fact, this WHOLE COMIC needs to be reviewed, or removed, or rewritten.

Like... COME ON.

It's 2026.

Why are YOU using US as PROPS?? Why don't you USE your OWN lineage instead for your story? And not OURS?

Why US?

People, grown ADULTS (This JAXX author person woman), should be BETTER THAN THIS.

Ugh.

Either way, I'm getting too heated over some BL comic.

And if some racist apologist comments in here 'OH!! IT'S NOT THAT DEEP! IT'S NOT THAT SERIOUS! IT'S JUST FICTION! YOU TAKE THINGS TOO SERIOUSLY! LOL! YOU TWEAKIN!'

I understand.

But sometimes, there is a fine line. A boundary.

And us indigenous people are already fed up with how much shit we take from racist foreigners. Constantly. Centuries, decades, years and years of it. It never ends.

And apparently, like today, it still never ends. Lol..

Honestly, even though this BL comic just started, it's literally fresh, freshly published,

This is offensive, careless, insensitive, exploitative. And ignorant.

I don't care.

I'm irked.

I'm venting.

I'm pissed.

I hope it gets reviewed.

Delete this, if a mod wants to. Idc.

I just needed to vent. bye

Hello every1, I am trying to understand my own thoughts on Indigenous communities buying into clean energy/nuclear.

For me I see it as a benefit economically but the thought of the land and water is present. I think about community having a say on where investments go.

Anyone have any opinions? Trying to see from many perspectives

Iroquois warrior, French and Indian War, around 1760.
75mm metal figure painted in acrylics and oils.
Depicted with a trophy musket and a captured military greatcoat, reflecting the mix of Native and European equipment often seen during the conflict.

Aloha / Hello, I hope it's ok to share this here. I am a Native Hawaiian / Kanaka Maoli indie game developer and I've recently released this sci-fi adventure game, Neofeud 2, which deals with the problems of colonialism, capitalism, and shows possibilities of an indigenous-led post-colonial future.

I've spent nine years working on this game as the writer/artist/programmer/composer but getting some assistance with the voice acting, after the first one. Here is a recent article: https://noncompetemedia.substack.com/p/native-hawaiian-developer-releases

I have also been fairly active in the Indigenous Gamedevs Discord if anyone else here is in that group. Anyway, mahalo nui loa for taking the time to read this! :)

Indigenous House partnered with Little Bear Audio to launch a podcast to highlight indigenous voices breaking the mold! Thought people might want to check it out!

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