I am not white. I am not your "black sistah"  turned "oreo". I am not simply "Indian". I am what I am.

I am brown girl....smirk. I like that answer :)

On a more serious note, like most, I am a complex human being and my heritage is a good example.

I was born of four different cultural, religious, and linguistic heritages, one for each grandparent. That also means I was born of four somewhat different mental mindsets and value systems. I am not a copy of any one set, but rather, a new being arisen out of a complex set of experiences. My paternal grandfather was a Sikh from Amritsar, Punjab, India. Amritsar is the ancient Holy city of Sikhism, the site of the Golden Temple, a place of religious pilgrimage. He was a thoughtful man and one of integrity and courage in a strange place in strange times. How the cultural "natives" of America must have received him at the turn of the century with his long hair, odd turban, strange heathen "gibberish", and peculiar ways of being. He passed on wisdoms and ways of thinking and being to my strange father, to further pass on to me, that I doubt my father ever consciously intended or realized. My paternal grandmother was a Cherokee woman of a Native American spirit faith, a naturalist. She was a quiet woman of much wisdom and calm strength, but kind of heart. On the other side of the family, my maternal grandmother was a very forward, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, short and hardy firecracker kind of pioneer, a Dutch woman of strong and outspoken Christian faith. An opinionated and independent woman of a rebellious nature, I imagine Christianity gave her a way to keep herself in line as well as her thirteen adventurous and rambunctious children. My maternal grandfather, a Native American Wy-am, was a hard-working, kind-hearted, silent sort of man known well in his community for his integrity and generosity, although he rarely had much to give other than his help and kindness. He passed away quite young from pneumonia, leaving his wife and thirteen children to make their way as they would. My maternal great-grandfather was Chief Tommy Kuni Thompson, chief of the Wy-am of Celilo Falls on the Columbia River. Our people lived at Celilo for twelve thousand years or more, their home on the falls a meeting, fishing, trading, and ceremonial spot for thousands of peoples of the native tribes throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond. He fought many battles in his lifetime, but his biggest was against the Dalles Dam project that threatened the home of his people and other natives up and down the Columbia river. But in 1957 the battle of The People was lost and Celilo disappeared in a matter of hours under the flooding waters of the white man's dam as her villagers and their sympathizers watched in great sadness. Grandfather never accepted the money the government offered for the destruction and confiscation of that which was priceless. He was a man of integrity and deeply rooted soul, a man of honor as were many before us. It has always been my aim to live my life in that same spirit of passion, honor, and integrity.

Spirit of Wy-am, Celilo forever echo our soul. Wind and Water whisper what soul already knows.

It is not neccesary to retain, integrate, and perpetuate all of the trappings of our heritage. Heritage is many-faceted in of itself. What is valuable and reasonable is for each of us to learn, employ, and perpetuate as much of the important lessons and gifts our unique heritage has to teach us as we can.

http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm?doc_ID=0006D289-A955-1EE8-827980B05272FE9F

http://www.critfc.org/text/celilo.html

http://www.salmonnation.com/place/recalling_celilo.html

http://cherokeehistory.com/index.html

http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/nam/cherok.html

http://www.cherokeebyblood.com/religion.htm

http://www.amritsar.com/

http://www.khalsa.com/goldentemple

http://www.religioustolerance.org/sikhism.htm

http://www.sikhs.org/philos.htm

Chief Tommy Thompson, my mother, and aunts                             

Chief Tommy Thompson (1855-1959) at end of Long House, Feast of The First Salmon. Celilo Village. April 1939.