Real Indians Don’t Care About Tonto

In activist fatigue, Culture Cops, identity, Johnny Depp, Lone Ranger, Native identity, Scott Richard Lyons, stereotypes, Tonto by Adrienne K.155 Comments

You know what I’ve learned in the last few months? Apparently I’m not a real Indian. Apparently, going to grad school and questioning how Native people are portrayed in pop culture makes me less “real.” I knew, in starting this blog, that being a white-looking Cherokee from SoCal trying to talk about Native issues would cause some problems, and my …

Complicating the 2010 US Census Native Data

In 2010 US Census, multi-racial, Native identity, racial categories, US census data by Adrienne K.26 Comments

Back in 2010 when the census came in the mail, I remember sitting with my roommate at the kitchen table filling out our forms together, laughing and joking about our “household.” When we got to the race category listed above, my roommate quickly checked the “Black, African Am, or Negro” box, with a snide comment about how it still says …