We don’t need someone else’s culture to define ourselves.
Why are my fellow young Native Americans emulating African American culture so much? There’s something about it that doesn’t jive with me. I feel we have a great culture we’re not developing.
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t see Latinos and Asians emulating blacks to the extent we are. Even on the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) video, it’s all rap. I don’t like rap music, but I like supporting NARF. Are there alternative or rock Native bands? Or Native Americans inventing their own culture? I believe we have a lot to be proud of. I like what the Native comedian Don Burnstick said, “In all my travels around Canada and the U.S., I’ve never, ever seen a black person trying to act Indian, so why are we acting like them?” Nothing against black culture, I support their culture for what it is. I just think we need to start developing our own cultural identity.
– Matt Gilbert
Fairbanks, Alaska