I am a Native American

I am a Native American.

Oh, no, my ancestors didn't live here before Columbus. As far as I can tell, most of my great-great-...-great grandparents came from farms and towns in Ireland, Scotland, Germany, the Netherlands, even Russia. But I was born here. My parents were born here.

All four of my grandparents were born in this country. My father and his parents were all born in the city of Detroit, Michigan. Dad was the fifth generation to be born and live in the Detroit area. My mother and her parents were from the Kentucky-Ohio region, living at times on one side or the other of the Ohio River. Her father, my grandfather Charlie, lived in his later years, until his death, in the house in which he had been born. That is native, meaning, of course, "born here".

I am becoming disturbed by the fact that the descendants of pre-Columbian North Americans in the United States have come to be known as Native Americans. In Canada, they are, I believe, known as "First People". This is indisputable. The "First People" immigrated here probably from Asia unknown centuries ago. The European explorers who discovered the two American continents found them populated already, although probably somewhat more sparcely than Europe was populated at that time.

My ancestors did not come over with the Spanish and Portugese who claimed vast tracks of land for their distant Kings, despite the fact that these lands already were inhabited by earlier immigrant groups. A few of my ancestors may have fought with the then-called Indians, especially as I am supposed to be related to both Samuel Houston and a relative or friend of Daniel Boone. Those ancestors are long dead, as are the victims of those wars.

We cannot take back the wars. We cannot take back the territories gained and lost. We cannot restore life to those who lost it in the fighting.

We cannot unbuild the houses, dams, roads, hospitals, and churches which have been build. Or, I suppose we could but the consequences would be unacceptable. We also cannot uninvent the electric light, automatic washing machine, or safety pin. We can choose to live without these conveniences, but few do. We can only go on from where we are now.

We know we made mistakes in the past. We can study the past and not repeat these mistakes. We know we are still making mistakes with our land, our air, our water. Scientists have been studying these issues, and the evidence is not at all clear. We have cleaned up some of our great waterways. We can do better with the land, with the air. We MUST do better, if we are to pass along a clean and safe world to our descendants.

I wasn't going here with this topic. I meant to focus on who I am as a Native American. But I cannot help admiring the aboriginal Australians, who care for their land and protect their landmarks and beg visitors to be equally respectful. I appreciate the First People in the United States who also wish to protect the land and leave a lasting legacy for their decsendents, and ours. As a Native American, I too wish to take care of the environment, preserve our freedoms and traditions, and pass along a legacy of caring to my descendants. Our land is rich with resources, recourceful people, beauty, adventure, industry. We need to start now, here, with who we are and what we have, and create a land and legacy worth inheriting.

I think I am entitled to call myself a "Native American". I am not German. I am not Irish, or Russian, or Dutch, or Scottish. I am American and

I WAS BORN HERE.