BLOOD POISONING
When one speaks of "indigeneity", the first comment/idea/meme will always be of
"blood purity". There's just no way around it when coming from a eugenic, imperial
root. Insane claims of "100% Pureblood" are frequently and made at powwows, and
any non-Native immediately goes into a derogatory "well how Native are you- it can't
be more than a little bit" (implying you're not Native if you aren't 100%) spiel.
Somehow, the imperial pathology has gone deep into Native consciousness and
identity.
When one looks at the "treaties" with Native nations and the US imperial government,
it becomes obvious why the obsession with "blood-purity" has been so prevalent. The
contract between the Paumunki band of Powhatans and the Commonwealth of Virginia
nullifies the agreement for the protected status of the reservation and it's land when the
pure-blood percentage dips below 25%. The clan was never that big to begin with, and
unless they engaged in Ancient Egyptian- or Satmar-style inbreeding, the contract was
built to be null within eight or nine generations. The scenario has come true, as the
current crop of Paumunki eligible to live on the reservation are now well into their 80's
is dwindling, and their children and grandchildren don't have enough "racial purity" to
inherit the land. The casino builders and elite real estate agents are drooling over the
prospect of regaining the forested, waterfront property on the Chesapeake.
Blood percentages and allele ratios are nothing new to empire. Besides the
aforementioned Akenaten and Cohen genome knots, we had slavery defined by them as
well. In the Americas, one could be Black, but not so Black, depending on the
prevailing overlord's definitions. Arbitrary insane terms such as Octagaroon, Quadroon,
Mulatto, High-Yellow and such determined whether or not you would be in a field
toiling all day in the Sun, or you would be in the Master's house (or even bed). Blood
percentages were a quick way to establish dominance and privilege.
The Native experience under empire has been no different. Where once a high bloodpurity-percentage was a sign of being a "savage" needing to be "civilized" (and
probably beaten and enslaved), now a higher blood-purity-percentage renders one more
desirable, more esoteric and magical. The Trail of Tears and Napoleon Chagnon's
search for the missing link among South American Native populations have now been
replaced by disenfranchised monotheist "new-age seekers" rushing to find some
meaning and connection not provided by their Eurasian empire.
The blood-purity-percentage argument has also been used for statistical genocide- the
work of Cohen, Dixon, et al have destroyed several Native populations legally, most
famously the Ramapo on the New York and New Jersey border area. The "experts"
come in, allegedly helping to locate a genome proving Native status, so that the group
can get state or federal recognition. Instead of finding acceptable Native genetics, the
researchers always conveniently find "Black" genomes, and the Native community is
labeled as descended from escaped slaves or the like, and they are officially NOT
"Native". The empire then uses this status to statistically and culturally destroy the
community. In the case of the Ramapos, higher taxation rates on the land were
suddenly enforced, and many Ramapos lost their homes. Developers rushed in to claim
and "improve" once useless land. When one reads the contracts with Native nations,
one sees this pattern repeated since the first Euro settlers stepped foot on Turtle Island.
In the case of the Ramapos, I know several personally, and regardless of imperial genesoup-proofing, they have their language and faith and culture pretty much intact. This
brings us to the loudest unspoken question: Is culture carried on a genome, or is it
learned by having an immersed experience in a specific environment? The answer is by
experience and learning.
Oswald Spengler correctly states in Der Untergang des Abendlandes that "people are
shaped by their environment, this is the interface from which culture originates. When
people live in a land long enough, they will return to the indigenous state culturally and
even in physical looks. The outcome is determined by the way one must live in a
specific environment, the land will demand who the people who can reside there are,
and how they will live."
To return for a moment to the Paumunkis- according to their contract, the offspring of
the current generation living on reservation are ineligible because their blood-purity is
too "diluted," and yet if one of the old-timers was to adopt a homogenously Korean
child in the Commonwealth, they would then be considered 100% Paumunki legally.
The insanity makes my head spin.
We can use a similar model to prove that Indigenaity and culture are learned, not
genetic- a Sami infant from Norway is taken to live among the Korubo in the Western
Amazon. The child is not genetically Korubo (whatever that means), but will speak
only Korubo, eat only Korubo food, and know only of the rainforest and cloud-forests
of the Tepuis. Is the child then a Korubo or a Sami? It depends on which lens you are
looking at them through- that of engagement of reality, or that of eugenics.
Hadenousaunee adoption of captives and newly-arrived foreigners, as well as the
NiTaino Guatiao systems are proof that the Natives themselves looked upon culture as
by experience, initiation, understanding, and learning, and not by some folded
chromosomes.
Any modern discussion of what it is to be Native must include these ideas in full, or the
discussion is stuck using imperial words and terms that will bring the conversants back
into the core of what they hate.
I would like to close by sharing a section from the story of Kibeiaga, part of the Amatl
Turey:
Since then, he had seen only one other canoa, at a great distance. He had not hailed
them, as he was more enchanted by the carey's behavior. This village on the shore was
new, and ripe for adventure. Also, the moon he had spent by himself in the canoa with
only the turtles for company had changed his heart towards other men.
Song of the Cortchogue:
Nobody here knows
where the Terrapin goes
or how the Cachalot roams
when it starts to snow.
We Matouac, handsome young men,
strong in body and in mind,
wade these shallow rivers
that run both ways,
looking for Shad.
Shad roe and acorns feed our bodies,
while the Red Road of the Sun
feeds our spirits.
We beg of you, Brothertell us a tale of
the land where you are from.
Share with us,
feed our dreams,
and we shall feed you our Roe.
Are there Terrapins where you come from?
Do the Cachalot rumble as they swim,
searching for the icy Giant Squid?
You are as handsome and strong
as we Matouac are.
We pray that you come in Love,
not in Anger or Hatred.
Come, and join us in our celebrations!
The Terrapins, the Shad,
and the Cachalot are returning!
Stay, eat, and dance with us!
Tonight, we shall retreat for sleep,
back to the grotto of the Sun Bear.
Beneath His arms,
protected by His medicine,
we shall become Brothers
in Love.
Share a Story,
and leave our Cousin,
Brother, Lover, and Friend!
Kibeiaga's Response:
Itza! 'Tiao!
Finer Xi'paal'e have never been seen
under Tonatiuh!
I am from Boriken,
a land a Moonbeam away.
I, too, have wondered
where the Carey go,
and where the Cachalot journey off too.
They leave Boriken,
a great migration whose
destination was, until now
a mystery for my people.
I arrived here by following
the Carey and Cachalot
up the coast in my canoa.
We have not only solved our questions
as to where our Turtles and Whales travel to,
We have also found Each Other,
and have entered into Each Other's
Arms and Hearts.
With that, Kibeiaga stayed with the Cortchogue on Paumanok. They traded stories and
information, and their lineages became quite familiar.
- Joaquin Raymundo, Sewaornock, Manahatouac