The Importance of Knowing Who You Are Parts I & II with Dan Jerome

We have I mean in the community you have a spectrum of identity here in other words some of them are quarter some of them are full-blood they’re very beautiful right now and they’re and the community probably a 3/4 but they’re from that from those that they came contained of their Indian descent from a quarter to three quarters but you’ll find a lot of people on the reservation yet and that they don’t want to claim any at all you know they’re probably half and they go somewhere and they don’t want to be associated with Indian descent that I know a lot of times I’ve heard different stories about some of the people here going out some types and they don’t want to admit they’re of Indian descent of course when I went out I couldn’t deny it because my features are all a lot of Indian features in there so I always saw but I’ve never wanted to deny it anyway so but you’ve you’ve you feel you could you know that they’re people from both so well I can’t even think of the word that I’m running fire and the continuum from those two points yeah but anyway but he when I grew up you know you go to Rolla and I’d be with my dad sometimes walked in the street no but it would greet him no and unless the business man you know because he wanted business of course or you go over there over to John seat then it was a little bit different than you weren’t considered of you were you know they were looking more they were more people would Indian be sent over there more Indian blood in them so they didn’t they didn’t claim you were somewhat in the middle is he so you were you were somewhat of two worlds he anyway you go to what was I gonna say go into the stores over at Rolla by for example my mom was so was used to go shopping and you always find somebody following you one of the clerks fall in Europe those stores because they were afraid she was going to take something and I know she was accused of it one one time and of taking something and my mom wouldn’t steal a dime from anybody but anyway that’s the way it was you were always watched where you went into someplace it was it was different and now there’s better relationship within the two communities no then there were a long time ago

I think over every person and should definitely know who they are they know that they should know and they should know the culture they should know the history behind the many cultures we have I mean there was a matey and there’s that’s what I’ve been trying to do for the last 50 years is trying to bring the parity the communities closer together by a better relationship yeah but always looks at it from the standpoint that it’s not my problem it’s your problem if you if you have any different feelings about me it’s your problem it’s not mine that’s how I would tell the kids that it’s it’s you just know who you are and you’ll be I think any time this is a beautiful culture here if they beget to know it and anything you get to know you get to enjoy what the what the Indian people is all about and if they do that they can really know who they are I think they’re in they’re in good shape and just tell them it’s not Europe I always tell people and it is it’s their problem it’s not mine because I’m not the one being prejudiced so to speak that’s what it is and that’s not my sayin that’s your sin [Music]