Personal Narrative: My Native American Culture

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From the moment of my birth, I was labeled a minority and my very existence has been rooted in staunch defiance of this notion because I refuse to be considered another statistic. Being a Native American female living on a reservation, I am immediately labeled as a caricature and statistically put into a monolithically conformed image of the 5.2 million Indigenous people throughout the United States, which is 2% of the overall population. Tribes all over the U.S. are stereotypically known for it’s issues pertaining to low-level education, alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence, gang violence, and thievery. Though I am born into a group labeled as incompetent, I ,like many others ,thrive to defy the odds of being another statistic. …show more content…
I am the descendant of chiefs , the daughter of graduates, the granddaughter of undergraduates and the sister of a graduate, and I've grown up with the desire to follow in their footsteps. Although my family branched out of the “traditional” native regime of living in loghouses and Wigwams, my parents , especially my mother ,has dedicated her time to teaching us our culture. From the moment I stepped my feet into baby moccasins to the time when I danced in my jingle dress at the powwows ,my culture has and will always define who I am.
Last year my mother dragged my brother and me about five hours west to Syracuse, New York to a Native conference named “ Good Minds”. She then handed us a descriptive pamphlet that stated that it increases knowledge and shares perspectives on the well being of Native people in a ‘for us, by us’approach. At first I was highly skeptical because of my unfamiliarity with such an event , however I soon realized my naiveté and how impactful my experience was going to be …show more content…
Day by day I learned of our spirituality , our stories , and the general problems and struggles in tribes around the world . Each class I took intrigued me ,however one significantly stood out. My brother and I walked into the conference room and sat down ,Nonetheless , once the speaker and the handful of youth entered the room we were bombarded with questions from the speaker.What's your name ?What tribe are you from? Where is that located? And Politely , we all answered each question one by one until he asked how do you like living on a reservation? However , instead of light heartedly answering the question similar to before ,many became hostile and explained the horrid problems going on in their communities and schools . Personally , it hurt me to hear the native youth describing the ignorant acts of the community . This later leads me , with the help of other teens ,to start a youth workshop . We wrote up ideas to discuss and games to play for various ages ;in addition to teaching kids the importance of embracing their culture despite what others might say . While doing this workshop I created a video that allowed me to showcase the youth’s thoughts and opinions in front of hundreds of people.This video explained the struggles and hardships the Native American youth residing on reservations have had to endure ,and how they truly believe they've found
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