Why the Preservation of Indigenous Cultures is Still Important Today

We’ve made immense progress as a country since those days of extreme cruelty about 200 years ago. People of every race and gender are allowed to vote, there’s no segregation, and there’s much less outright racism and cruelty. So what’s with the people who still have an issue with America? Why can’t they just let it go? What’s so bad about assimilation, anyway?

To understand the answers, we have to understand that the American dream was a nightmare for Natives. Because more settlers were pouring into America and making an effort to expand westward (remember Manifest Destiny?), Natives were forced from their homes, so one settler’s fulfilled ambition meant one Native’s life was destroyed. The president of the US at the time, Andrew Jackson, ordered the removal, so the Natives must have felt as though no one wanted them to exist anywhere at all.

Assimilation was forced on the Natives, too. Children were forbidden from speaking their Native tongues as they attended boarding schools. The government burned Native crops and killed Native game so that they would become more easily controlled and dependent upon the government for food.

Though my tribe, the Poarch Band in Atmore, didn’t have to leave Alabama, this time period still took quite an emotional toll. Many people from my tribe either were able to escape being expelled or resorted to a loyalty to the US government for fear of being killed. Though my people were able to stay, the government still wanted them gone and deemed my tribe the only federally recognized tribe in Alabama. This means they would get government support financially, but only if my people were to go by the system of blood quantum. Ever heard someone say, “I’m a quarter,” when referring to how much Native blood they have? That’s because every drop of our Native blood counts when you must be a quarter to receive tribal membership. The system of blood quantum was developed so that our very identities would be called into question and, eventually, there would technically be no more of us left (at least by governmental, “at least a quarter” standards).

So Manifest Destiny and the influx of settlers led to not only extreme cruelty, but also the stripping of identity. With children no longer learning the Native tongues, no more crops and game for traditional hunting and farming methods, and no longer having security in one’s own identity, our cultural practices were nearly wiped out. This is so important because our traditions are so intricately interwoven with our identities that they can no longer be separated. Even though my heart breaks when I think about what they went through, I'm not vengeful about what happened 200 years ago, but if we lose our traditions, we lose ourselves and all memory of who we once were as a people. Though it wouldn’t be a physical death, not learning about cultural practices would still mean the loss of the Mvskoke people. Individualism as a culture is critical for the survival of my people and every other Native nation.

Nonnatives can make a huge impact by learning a little about your neighboring tribes and attending events they host (like powwows!) Honoring the practices we keep closed and supporting the Native people that you know in their efforts to educate and share their culture can go a long way and seriously benefit us in the long run. For my fellow Natives, remember that every breath you take is a testament to how strong we are and how much we are capable of. Though I’m “not enough” to meet blood quantum’s standards, and though I’m not an official member of my tribe, I learn the language as well as teach it. This is just a small facet of the remembrance of my culture. I am Mvskoke because the Mvskoke people must continue to exist.

Mvt ci. (Thank you.)