Hello. My name is George Stonefish. I am a Delaware, on my mother's side, from the Moravian Indian Reserve-on-the-Thames in southern Ontario, and on my father's side, a Chippewa from the St. Isabella/St. Rosa reservation in Michigan. However, while I am a full blood, I am not a reservation Indian in any manner of speaking. In fact, I was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised on the Upper Eastside of Manhattan (my emphasis). Nevertheless, I spent my summer vacations with my Grandparents in Michigan and Canada learning traditional singing and dancing. We traveled the pow wow circuit throughout that region, but come September, it was back to school and the experiences that came from living in New York City with parents who were involved in the bohemian "Artsy Fartsy" scene in the early 60's. As a consequence of this lifestyle: poetry readings, gallery openings and the Cedar Bar scene were typical. The finest education was expected, ranging from P.S. 6; Wagner Junior High School; Bronx High School of Science; Syracuse University; to the New York State Department of Correctional Services. In other words, all of the advantages and influences of a rich white boy given to this little full blood Indian boy, couldn't save me from getting busted for drug trafficking in large amounts of cocaine and going to prison for 16 years to life for it.

Out of all my educational experiences, I have to admit that I learned the most in prison. Some would argue that it is because of the amount of time I spent incarcerated (16 years), but I personally know of inmates who have spent 20 and 30 years in prison and are if anything, more nuts, more crazy, and if it can be believed, even more stupid! So longevity of incarceration wasn't responsible for my educational experiences- it was the solitude of a 6 by 8-foot cell for a minimum of 14 hours day and at times 23 hours a day. This solitude allowed me to strip away all of the duality that was inherent to my upbringing, such as the false values I had learned: by pow wow dancing; living in Indian country; going to galleries; poetry readings; and the right schools. If anything, the combination of my life experiences resulted in my becoming a person who believed that I could do anything and be anything 'I' wanted.

When the STATE stripped me of my freedom for a minimum of 16 years and possibly LIFE, it sent a message to me that said "slow down and reconsider your life, your choices and your perceptions." In doing this I became faced with the burning question that I had to answer first before I could tackle anything else, and that was: "What Makes A Person An Indian?"

The only way I could answer this was by attacking it in reverse and identifying what does not make someone an Indian. Consequently:

- Blood quantum does not an Indian make. I know full bloods that are not Indian under any definition of my understanding of the word. For example, the Mormons have had and still have a constructive policy of adopting the brightest children from the Navajos and raising/educating them in Mormon households in Utah. As a result they usually end up being adults who are Mormon first in thought and belief while Indian second as a consequence of their bloodlines. On the other hand, I know quarter bloods who are more Indian in their heart and actions then I, because they go to ceremonies; they believe in the way; they live the way in their daily lives and as a result are willing to die for their beliefs.

- Being able to dance or sing does not an Indian make. I know many individuals who can sing and dance - and all they know are the steps and the sounds - not the meaning or power of what they do, nor do they care, so they miss the beauty of it. In fact, many of these "professionals" only possess these skills to make a buck; to snag white women; to self identify; or to belong to something. They are nothing but prostituting anthros.

- Wearing beads, feathers and Indian stuff does not an Indian make. I know many individuals who wear all types of Indian stuff to proclaim to the world that they are INDIAN. But the superficial does not make them Indian.

- Participation in ceremonies does not an Indian make. I know many individuals who go to the ceremonies and are really no more than tourists. They drink or drug beforehand and/or after. While they may know the words, songs, and moves - they fail to live the way in their day to day existence.

- Being spiritual does not an Indian make. I know many individuals who have a spiritual heart, but many blend Christian, Hindu, or other beliefs with Indian concepts in a new age hodgepodge religious belief. As long as the individual does not continue to follow the "original instructions as handed down by the Creator," he is not fulfilling his duties that are inherent to being an Indian.

- Having others think of you or look up to you as an Indian does not an Indian make. Sunbear is the best example of the falsely acknowledged "Indian." He was worshiped by many during his life and even into death, but why not? He "made" enough Indians. He charged enough money to those gullible enough to believe that he could make them what they weren't.

What's left? In my mind, it is a person who is willing to sacrifice his/her pleasures and freedoms like drinking and drugging and free lust-based sex. It is one who cares for himself, his siblings, his family, his wife, his children, his people and their inherent traditions. It is a person who judges his own actions based on two concepts: respect and the effect of one's actions for seven generations hence. It is a person who refuses to sexually involve or marry a non-Indian no matter the circumstances of their life, thereby, not burdening their child with a racial and cultural duality. It is the person I am striving to be!

(George Stonefish is currently serving lifetime parole and working in the Native community of New York City).

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