Creek Archives - The Race Card Project

Hesci, hello, I am Poarch Creek.

June 8, 2023June 8, 2023 2013 Tribal Princess Competition, AL, Creek, Elizabeth McGhee, hello, Hesci, Native American, Poarch Creek, Poarch Creek Indian, struggle, thanksgiving, tribe, Tuscaloosa

Elizabeth McGhee,
Tuscaloosa, AL.

A couple years ago I got to be a part of one of the best experiences of my life. I was part of the 2013 Tribal Princess Competition. Every Thanksgiving in Poarch, AL three girls are chosen to represent their tribe throughout the next year at different events. When I made the decision to run I never thought that I would have as much fun as I did, or that I would learn so much about the people that I come from.

I chose these six words because not only did I get to show you an example of Creek language, but I am proud to say that I am a Poarch Creek Indian. That culture lives inside of me and even though I may not know nearly as much as I would like to one day, I know enough to say that being an Indian is nothing to be ashamed about. The racism between blacks and whites in the past is always heard about, but most people do not realize that Native Americans faced those same struggles. My own grandfather walked to school most days because Indians were not allowed to ride the school bus. Being Poarch Creek makes me who I am today… strong, confident, and always kind.

I look white & I’m not racist.

October 14, 2020October 16, 2020 African, Black, British, check the box, Cherokee, Creek, European, German, Great Falls, human, Indian, Iranian, irish, look white, Lynn, Melaneasian, Middle-Eastern, mix, Muskogee, Native American, Racist, Sahara, SC, Seminole, Sexuality, stereotype, Syrian, Turkish, white

Lynn,
Great Falls, SC.

I tend to look white; especially when not in the sun. I’m actually a mix of: European (German, Irish, & British), Native American (Seminole, Cherokee, & Muskogee Creek), Black (African -sub-sahara regions- and Melanesian), and Middle Eastern (Syrian, Turkish, Indian (India) & Iranian)…….Somehow I ended up looking more European instead……I hate being called racist, bigot, and white supremacist…I’m not. Just because my genetics chose to appear more of European than my other ethnicity doesn’t mean I’m against anyone of any race, creed, sexuality, or religion. I’m a human being. I would love if we could have HUMAN to choose as a box for race instead of all the other stuff…..It’s hard to check one box because I’m so mixed…..But I have to go with what I physically look like.

“Generic Brown” is my passport everywhere.

July 30, 2019July 30, 2019 brown, check the box, Cherokee, Creek, cultural heritage, everywhere, Generic, Gil L. Pettigrew, ID, identify, mestizo, MS, multi, Native, passport, The Federated States of Micronesia, tribal

Gil L. Pettigrew, MS,
The Federated States of Micronesia.

I have a very strong, very proud cultural heritage; I’m a North American Mestizo, 50% Native American (Creek and Cherokee; my tribal enrollment/citizenship is with the Echota Band of the Eastern Cherokee Nation) & 50% a mashup of Scots-Latin-AfricanAmerican-Welsh-french.

I self ID as Native American, because I am, culturally, legal, socially, that’s the most marginalized part of my heritage…& at 2% of the America population we need the numbers &/or multiethnic-mixed race.

Appearance-wise, I’m taken for everything from Native Hawiian to Middle-Eastern, though usually I’m seen as puro Latino.
Rather than getting annoyed by that, as some multiethnics are, I embrace being, in Hollywood speak “generic brown”; it means I have a global-face, a phenotypic in with folks from lots of different backgrounds. Its been especially useful living in my diverse, polyglot home-city of Miami, FL, & traveling in Latin America, the Caribbean (I, for example don’t often pay “Gringo Prices”), & I’ve found it an advantage since taking a position as the natural science instructor at The College of Micronesia’s Kosrae Campus, on the island of Kosrae, in The Federated States of Micronesia…I find folks a bit more open, a bit more upfront with me than I’ve observed they are with many more obvious Westerners, since they frequently tell me they initially assumed I was from one of the neighboring islands.

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