So many people want to learn about Indigenous peoples of North America. This is a good thing. Some people, however, don't understand that some questions are offensive to us. This is a bad thing. So, I have provided a list of examples of what NOT to ask Native Americans, my explanation of why they are hurtful.

Ex 1. “So, do you live in a teepee? “

No, I do not. Not all tribes did that, anyway. Many Native people live in these really cool things called houses and apartments. Maybe you even live in one too!

Ex 2: “Columbus Day” or “Columbus was overall good”

He was not. Full stop. If you think otherwise, please, for the sake of all things good, google it. He was a genocidal murderer of innocent people. He was the start of much pain and trauma for native people. Columbus did not discover anything, for you cannot discover inhabited land. In fact, in 1492, Native Americans discovered Columbus!

Ex 3: “Indian“

We are not Indians. We are Native Americans. We are Aleut, Navajo, Hopi, Pueblo, Sioux, Crow, Cree, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, , Lenape, Lumbee, Iroquois, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Delaware, and so many more. Columbus (see Ex 2) gave Native people that name, and he was evil. Please don't call us that, you see, there are about a billion Indians worldwide. Most of them live in India. There are about four million Native Americans. If you would like to meet an Indian, my advice would be to book the next flight to India.

Ex 4 “Redskin”

This is a racial slur. Do not call native people this. The history behind this word is very disturbing. Just don't call us this. It's hurtful.

Ex 5: “How much native are you?”

Many Native people are mixed. I am. You wouldn't ask a white person how white they are, so why would you ask this? The two responses I usually get when I say I'm native are either this or “But you don't look native “. I'm not sure what they think we look like, anyway. I guess they expected my skin to be darker, or my hair to be longer. I don't meet the idea that they have in their head. I could pass for white. I'm mixed-race. I don't live on a reservation. I guess they think we are some mysterious and barbaric people, that used to be. They don't realize that most of us live off reservations. They don't know that some of us are mixed. They don't know. But why would they? They saw us in their history books, but not in their comic books. They see us in the past, not the present. They don't understand that we're still alive and here.

Ex 6: “But are you enrolled?”

I'm not. My family didn't enroll me due to lack of knowledge and the situation, when I was little, so I'm not. I guess I'd like to be, but I'm not.  My parents moved when I was a baby, I had many medical issues as a baby. I was being raised by my mother and grandmother; my father was away in the army. In light of all that, any plans they had of enrolling me never quite happened. This is going to be a controversial subject, and some native people would disagree with me. And that's okay. Someone once told me, “The same government that spilled so much native blood, is not going to be the one to tell you if you are native or not”. And I agree. The way I see it, being native is two things: having some or full Native “blood” and practicing the culture. I have some Native blood and am trying to practice the culture. Specifically, my mother is Métis. Mixed Irish, German, mostly French and Haudenasaunee. Confederacy, specifically Mohawk. My father is mixed Scottish, Irish and French and Spanish, as well as Native, specifically Cherokee and Chickasaw. So, my native heritage is Iroquois / Chickasaw/ Cherokee. There, does that answer your question?

Ex 7: “I think there's some story that I'm native too!”

Well, a fellow native person! Welcome! Please don't pretend to be Native if you aren't. It really isn't my place to be the “quantum police” (especially because I'm mixed-blood) , so the thing that really matters to me is if people are learning about / practicing native history and culture .“Pretendians”, sadly, just make life harder for ~actual~ mixed natives . I'm not here to be the authority on ethnic identity, at the same time.

I hope this informed you on microaggressions to the Native Community. It may seem micro to you, but its macro for me, so STOP asking those questions.

“Every human longs for peace and love”- Hiawatha