˗ˏˋ tony ˎˊ˗

In the words of Amber Torres of the Walker River Paiute Tribe, "If you are of Native descent, you are Native. It doesn't matter if you are light, dark or in between. We are all one nation, and we should be empowering each other to grow in numbers and be strong."

...many have advocated that they instead be thought of based on their tribal affiliation and cultural ties. You CANNOT claim indigenous heritage by being 1/32 Cherokee and bringing it up when it is convenient for you. You CANNOT deny someone's heritage because of their bloodline.

The government classifies Native people in order to preserve the "integrity" of the culture but forget that the culture itself is bound together by the people that upkeep it. That is, instead of thinking of indigenous people in terms of their "ethnic purity" in genetic terms...

... meaning that by being classified as "white" they wouldn't face the same discrimination as if they were "native american." this was actually a strategy of "killing Indians on paper" by dwindling the number of registered indigenous people, but thats for another thread

Thinking only through blood ties overlooks the fact that countless indigenous women were assaulted and gave birth to white colonizers who had sexually abused them. It overlooks that indigenous parents were coerced to put "white" on their children's birth certificates for safety

It classified indigenous people as only those with a certain percent of indigenous blood/ancestry. The problem is that it overlooks countless colonial histories that make blood an impossible and imprecise measure of one's history

"Being indigenous" does NOT mean SOLELY mean you had Native American DNA according to your http://ancestry.com  results. DNA has historically been used to deny indigenous people access to their cultural heritage through the "blood quantum" laws

This is a great time to remember why most indigenous groups today rarely use DNA to determine heritage: A Threadhttps://twitter.com/BostonGlobe/status/1051789554854838272 …

Which episode of American Horror Story is this?!https://twitter.com/coyotoy/status/1051300182183137280 …

y’all bay area traffic is so bad i just saw a man reading sheet music and playing a hand flute while also driving his prius down the highway

correction: this is absolutely a laughing matterhttps://twitter.com/foxnews/status/1050919357784690688 …

frat bros when their brothers escape sexual assault convictionshttps://twitter.com/greaterhalf/status/1047169597881946112 …

me carrying all of my past emotional baggage into present relationshipshttps://twitter.com/uberfacts/status/1003694624668610567 …

“why aren’t you texting me back faster” “bitch i was eating wings!”

Police: *banging on door* police!! Open up! Chick-fil-a: I'm sorry sir we’re closed on Sundays