More Indian Than You

The impact of colonial genocide has wreaked havoc on Indigenous People the world over. In Canada and the US, we are still living with the aftermath of colonial actors trying to erase us from the Earth. One of the biggest remnants of attempted genocide is the damage on our Identity. We are still tending to and mending the damage. It has resulted in politics of who belongs and who doesn't belong. The fun of identity politics plays out daily and we can take part in the more Indian than you game on social media. The thing with Identity game it is played with the winner making you feel less of an Indian than you are. So the game is based on stepping on your neck, kicking your groin, pulling your hair, burning your car tires and who can insult the best, without it seeming disrespectful.

Black Dog 

"I grew up in the bush, fishing and hunting." The Bush Indian is more Indian than you are for sure. How can you argue with the Indian who knows how to gut and skin a Deer? Those Bush Indians can moose call, can goose call and they don't need a Dar-Rae Can to do it. Dar-Rae Moose call was an ingenious moose call made by a couple of Indians and it sold well. Geography is always a good slag on the grew-up-city-concrete Indian.
"My braids are long and black." The Braided Indian is as cool as the Black dog, the Cane Corso in Game of Thrones. Show me a cooler dog. This dog ate up the notorious monster, Ramsey. So this is not your average Rez Dog. Mind you the Rez Dog is hardy. Rez Dog is so hardy you can run it over and it will get up and still go lay around under your door steps. So the Long Black Braided Indian has you under their thumb. The Long Black Braided Indian can really up their game when they use leather wraps on their hair. Add some beaded earrings and holy brown gravy; "Whew, look at you all brown gravy looking."

"Grew up poor." The poor Indian makes their mark on the world by showing you they didn't have it easy. They are more Indian by way of their economic status. The poorer the more they suffered. The more they suffered, the more Indian than you they are. You can't argue with the suffering victim. The Indian who grew up with parents with money (not real big money but still compared to Bushy down the road) are seen to be less Indian. The went to private school Indians have to be in the bottom of the deck even if they rant and rave about being all Traditional. The colonial stench is still strong on these Indians. 

"I come from the Rez." You city Indians just don't have the real Indian experience. You never had to carry water up the bank, cut through the ice for water, poop in the bush because you were scared to use the outhouse. The outhouse, the scariest commode in the world, because a rat could run up your bum hole. City Indian, you never had to watch tv with only an antenna. You never had to have a barrel for the water, or wait for the waterman to bring water. Or you never had to use a slop-pail and get that pail ring on your arse. Especially when your slop-pail is one of those old metal 5 gallon buckets. You get the rust stain on your bum.

"I am brown." You won't get followed around in the store. You won't get turned down for an apartment because of your colour. You won't get called Savage. You won't be looked at accusingly by white people on the bus. The cops will not stop you for being brown.

Indian Woman 

You don't know what it is like being Indian. You are white compared to us Brownies.  The Brown Indian really can use their colour very well to be more Indian. The Brown Indian can use their look (as good as the cop who is skilled with the baton) on their fair skinned relatives. No cousin love for them.  You won't go missing or murdered. Brown Indian, kind of don't like you. The Brown Indian will get all the public speaking gigs at University, despite their knowledge. 

"I dance Powwow." The Indian Dancer and the Indian Singer are more Indian than you as they have connection to past practices. Everyone who dances and sings powwow is cooler than the Indian who just watches. You are nothing more than a tourist at the Indian Powwow. You have no clue to how Indians are in the Circle. Heck the Powwow Indian might even be a Traditional Indian. When you don't have the look, you are discounted. You will never win the Indian Princess over, or the Indian Warrior. You will never get to be Head Dancer or Flag-bearer. And if you are, everyone knows your Brown cousin got you in. Add the Hip Hop dancing at the Drum Circle if you are an Asian looking Indian or a Black skinned Indian to the lower Indian pile . The Brown skinned will turn their back on you. They don't see their cousin, their fellow Neechie. "How can you be Indian when you look all Jackie Chan or Lisa Bonnet." "You don't even have a flat bum like my cousin Betsy, the Southern Style Traditional Dancer (Women who dance in place and don't lift their feet}." 

And of course we have the "I am Traditional." Lot of Indian folk out there spreading good love for fellow Traditional Indians, but maybe, not so much for the light skinned Indian or Black skinned.  The other Indians are not "authentic" as the Traditional Indian. Even the fair skinned Indian who can speak Anishinaabemowin is not cool enough for the Traditional Indian. You can't be fair and taken seriously as a Traditional Indian. The Brown Skins will mock you to other Indians; "Oh just a whiteguy/whitegirl." The Traditional Indian will mock other Traditional folk who don't live up their standards. The Traditional Indian will throw out any pretense of respect if they are not adhered to right away. These Indians are really Traditional, in the sense that they will be meaner than a wolf who's paw is caught in a wire snare. 

More Indian than you has become a battle cry among Indigenous folk. Anywhere where the colonialist has step foot on Land not their own, the aftermath is felt. The need to be more than you, has caught on like a fire on the dry prairie grass. Contests go on endlessly on who should belong and who should call themselves an Indigenous person, in our country, an Indian.

More Indian than you could be a heck of Powwow song.
Ani-shaa.