December 05, 2011

Debating Alesandra Nicole's background

I posted the Alesandra Nicole article--noted in Inked Model Is Pamunkey?--to Facebook's NativeCelebs page with the tagline "Native or wannabe? Celeb or not?"

Someone named Theo questioned this, writing, "How is she a wannabe? She says she's Pamunkey."

I responded by posting the Newspaper Rock link above, and Theo replied:Re: your "Comment: Nicole's "family" is from a tribe that's not federally recognized. What does that mean, exactly?" It means she and her family are Pamunkeys, a federally unacknowledged tribe. You say, "She has a small amount of Indian "blood" but likes to think of herself as Native." But she never mentions "blood," or how much she has, only you do (the Saxon sanguinary fascination never ceases to amaze). You also say "Googling "Alesandra Nicole" produces 15,700 hits. Adding "Pamunkey" reduces it to four hits--all references to this article. Apparently she's never mentioned her Native heritage until now." Has anyone ever asked her? Is she in the business of being Native? It sure doesn't seem that way. If there are 15,700 references to her on google that don't mention it, then I'm pretty sure that being Pamunkey is not her main job. I don't know this woman, but if I met her and she told me that she was Pamunkey, then I'd have to take her word for it, unless I felt like calling up the tribe and asking them, you know, like I do whenever someone tells me they're Irish. "Excuse me, Prime Minister Kenny, hate to be a bother, but Mr. O'Boyle mentioned in a photo shoot that he's Irish. Can you go ahead and confirm that? I'll hold."For starters, she said her family is from Pamunkey. Not that the family is Pamunkey or that she is Pamunkey. For all we know, she could be referring to a single distant ancestor.

No one needs to ask her about being an Indian. If you're Native, it's reflected in everything you say and do. Google most Indians and you'll see their tribal heritage stated prominently and proudly a thousand times.

When I wrote, "She has a small amount of Indian 'blood' but likes to think of herself as Native," I preceded it with "I'm guessing." I didn't need to refer to her words because that whole paragraph was speculation. FYI, I speculate about people all the time, especially celebrities like Taylor Lautner who suddenly discover they're "Native."

You're mistaken if you think white men are concerned about blood and Indians aren't. Most tribes have established blood quantum standards for membership. Sure, these standards originated with the US government, but the tribes themselves have kept them.

Would you also take the word of Miley Cyrus, Khloe Kardashian, Ward Churchill, Kiesha Crowther, "Jumping Rainbow Eagle Dreamer," and other New Age frauds and wannabes who claim to be Indians? I wouldn't. Most Indians cast a skeptical eye on those who claim to be Indian without evidence.

Round 2You quoted her as saying, "“My family is from the Pamunkey Indian Tribe" - that's where I got it from - now you're saying "she said her family is FROM Pamunkey. Not that the family IS Pamunkey or that SHE is Pamunkey." Well, I just looked at it again, and you quote her as saying, “My family is from the Pamunkey Indian Tribe," by which I "infer" that she means to say "“My family is from the Pamunkey Indian Tribe," and nothing else. Nowhere, either, did I say that Native people aren't concerned with blood, so I'm not mistaken about that at all. I only quoted your actual writing in my reply. So, for starters, let's try to stick to the quotes. And perhaps dispense with the condescending attitude/language. As to your speculative section on her blood quantum, did you research how the Pamunkeys qualify their citizens? And why would you speculate that she has a "small amount of Indian 'blood'?" What does that have to do with her status as a Pamunkey?Yeah, you noted her saying something about her family, not herself. When I interpreted her comment about her family, not herself, you took umbrage at it.

Apparently you can't handle people questioning the authenticity of Natives. Indeed, you didn't touch my comment about Miley Cyrus and the rest of the wannabe Indian nation.

When Nicole actually says she's Pamunkey--using the words "I'm Pamunkey," not, "My family is from the Pamunkey Indian Tribe"--then you may have a case. Until then, you're the only one inferring things here.

You implied that only white men are concerned with blood quantum when you wrote "only you do." Now you're backing away from the implication after I noted how mistaken it is.

Why would I speculate that Nicole has a "small amount of Indian 'blood'"? Because that's the usual excuse hundreds of thousands of Americans give when they claim to be Indian. Are you really unaware of the huge number of Indian wannabes in this country? Or are you aware of them but trying to protect them from scrutiny for some reason? Now that you've dodged the issue, why don't you try addressing it?

The Pamunkey website says, "We will not respond to unsolicited requests for ancestry, genealogical, or membership information." So no, I'm not going to research the Pamunkey membership rules to prove or disprove my speculation. If you think I'm wrong, you research it. Otherwise, quit wasting our time trying to disprove something that's merely a guess, not a fact.

Finally, you're worried about my "condescending" language when you cast racial aspersions such as "the Saxon sanguinary fascination never ceases to amaze"? Police your own bias first; then worry about mine.

Comment:  For more on the subject of Native identity, see "Multi-Ethnic Jones on Twilight and "Navajo" in Happy Endings.


Anonymous said...

How does this square with this?

I'm not trying to necessarily paint a dichotomy between the two, but I am curious what the continuum is here.

Anonymous said...

I hope this doesn't seem like trolling, by the way, it just seems like sometimes blood quantum is of greater or lesser importance in what you write about it, as in:

Rob said...

I'd say my position boils down to this: Indians should have the "blood" or the culture or both. Enough of it, anyway, to pass some ill-defined standard.

As I've said many times, the amount of Indian "blood" (or DNA) doesn't matter by itself. A pure white or black can be adopted into a tribe and become an Indian.

"Blood" is really a proxy for culture. I suspect many tribes have set a limit of one-quarter blood because it means the person is connected to a full-blooded grandparent. That means the person has learned the culture, or can learn it, from an experienced member.

"Culture" means knowing the tribe's history, language, ceremonies, and other cultural lore. You can learn this by growing up in the culture, or by studying it extensively as an adult. You can't learn it by hearing an old story or two over the dinner table.

We don't know what Alesandra Nicole meant when she said her family is from Pamunkey. That's why I'm just guessing. My guess is that she has neither the blood nor the culture to qualify as an Indian. At least in many Indians' minds.

By the same token, I'm ruling out Johnny Depp, Taylor Lautner, and the other people I've criticized. But it's not just because of their "thin" blood. If they were enrolled in a tribe, or knew a tribal culture well enough to satisfy their peers, they could be Indians. And I'd accept them as such.

Anonymous said...

So, engaging "Indianness" as a social construct basically? How does this apply to those who can claim "Blood" (perhaps even fully) or enrollment, but don't meaningfully engage in tribal life in anyway? Does their genetic heritage trump their lack social involvement?

This is something I'm wrestling with, as fairly thin-blooded, but accepted locally as native by my native friends, though I don't participate in tribal life locally (it's not the tribe that my ancestry hails from), while I make efforts at being informed on the history of my tribe (which I was involved with somewhat as a child, though I don't know if that counts?) and plan on being involved if I return home.

I also don't feel comfortable/accepted with/by white culture, so I'm not really sure I have an ethnic identity at all.

On the other hand, I have other peers who are tribally enrolled, but whose knowledge of "Indianness" seems to be based off of cultural stereotypes.

Maybe I'm not much of an native, but native philosophies (largely from writing, such as Deloria and LaDuke) have helped shape my thinking/worldview, so is it at least fair to claim that it is part of my heritage and life?

Anonymous said...

Also, I want to thank you for your patient and thoughtful responses, especially since I perhaps have been a bit off-topic. I appreciate your writing ever since finding it while trying to explain to people what is offensive about celebrating Columbus.

Rob said...

What about Indians who don't engage meaningfully in tribal life, you ask? I'd say the tribe's decision, more than the people's genetic heritage, trumps their lack of social involvement. If the tribe wants them as members even if they don't participate, it's the tribe's right.

It wouldn't bother me if tribes devised cultural and language tests for membership. And kicked out people, even those with enough "blood," who didn't qualify. Then some who were Indians would become non-Indians.

A good case of what you're talking about is Sam Bradford, the Cherokee quarterback. He's only 1/16 Cherokee and has little knowledge of his heritage. But he counts because he's enrolled. If he were disenrolled for some reason, though, I'd be happy to say he was no longer an Indian.

Anonymous said...

That's a good point. To some degree having numbers is important, considering the ongoing genocide against natives. Preserving, maintaining, and growing Native culture is fundamental, too.

I think the idea of having a "tribal citizenship test" might be a useful idea to balance out blood quantum rules - it would hopefully encourage more cultural engagement and interest. And perhaps to some degree it might allow "immigration" (as opposed to cultural invasion/appropriation) of people with lesser blood or even no blood. I realize that this idea might be unpopular with some, because I've read people that will claim blood is the only standard, even to the point of saying that less than 100% is nothing at all.

Anonymous said...

I know this girl. She is NOT native at all. Just trying to be cool. She likes to act black too. She is just a full of herself loser trying to be relevant