By Cynthia Lee

By Lee Longhorn

Howdy. I think it’s time that I explore some language issues and how being multi-tribal can have its ups and downs.

I have spent most of my life growing up in suburban America. It had its own perks at times. There were times when I realized that my own accent was more “white,” proper and not filled with slang. But, just because you’re “Indian” doesn’t mean that you sound and act like someone else who is American Indian.

“Why don’t you sound Indian?”

By Cynthia Lee, Navajo

Growing up knowing nothing but the Navajo tradition above any other I thought it would be difficult to tell my parents, “I’m gay.” But it was everything that was passed down to me from my parents and grandparents that gave me the strength to finally confront the situation and be honest with myself and my parents. It was something that I knew I wouldn’t be able to run away from. It was also something that would help me move forward in my own life.

By Lee Longhorn

BIXBY, Okla. — Growing up in Oklahoma has its ups and downs. If you head in either direction from one of the largest cities in the state, you’ll find yourself in the country. The state is very beautiful. My fondest memories are walking the woods around my grandparent’s house in the small community of Little Axe, Okla. The one thing that always sticks in my mind when I do visit is “How many creatures are really out there in the woods?”

By Lee Longhorn

“If you’re that concerned about gay people getting married, then don’t marry one.” -Whoopi Goldberg, Back to Broadway Stand-up

My parents celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary this summer. Both my parents are multi-tribal. My mother is of course Sac & Fox, Seneca-Cayuga, Wyandotte, Onondoga, Creek and Seminole. My father (well, actually step-father) is Creek, Yuchi and Cherokee.

By Lee Longhorn

“Up in the sky, grandmother sits and weaves a basket. Beside her is her small dog. Whenever grandmother gets close to finishing the basket, the dog jumps in her lap and tears the basket apart. Grandmother has to start all over again weaving the basket. It is said that when grandmother completely finished the basket, she will swoop down from the sky and collect all the Shawnee up in her basket. She will take them up into the sky and she will then destroy the Earth.” -Shawnee story, told to me by Darrell E. Longhorn

By Lee Longhorn

Bixby, Okla.— You’re probably wondering how you explain to someone their ancestry and the complexities of blood quantum and tribal membership. Well, if you came from my family, it’s easy to explain but hard to digest.

Until the tenth grade, I firmly believed that I was one-half Muscogee (Creek) and one-half Absentee Shawnee. When I was a junior, I decided to inquire my aunt, a former executive officer, who pretty much knew our whole family history. The response I got was a little surprising.

By Lee Longhorn

Hensci, Estonko? Lee Longhorn cvhocefket os. Mvto.

I don’t normally start off by saying that phrase, a formal greeting in the Muscogee (Creek)/Seminole language, but for the purpose of this blog, it’s a good starting point. I learned that phrase as an undergraduate student at the University of Oklahoma. That’s where I’m from, Oklahoma. If you don’t know much about Oklahoma, I should enlighten you about my great state.

By Kyle Litson, Mesa (Ariz.) Community College

When I was a junior at Window Rock High School in Arizona, I interned at the Navajo Times as a reporter. I didn’t know much about journalism. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. That was in 2005 and it turned out having the courage go inside and try was the best thing I could have ever done.