Are you beginning to learn about your Indigenous Heritage if you're just starting to learn more
about your Indigenous Heritage there are some big misconceptions when exploring or digging
into your ancestry or cultural heritage that can lead you down the wrong path so if you're
on your journey to discovering your Indigenous Heritage then keep on watching hi there I'm
Mallory and in this video I'll be talking about the top seven big misconceptions when it comes
to learning about your native roots and your indigenous cultural background if you haven't
already make sure you subscribe and hit the bell for new videos every single week for
indigenous people connecting to your indigenous cultural heritage and for non-indigenous allies
aiming for Truth and Reconciliation these top misconceptions for learning about your
indigenous Heritage that I'll be covering today come from my own experiences of learning about
my anishinaabec ancestor from my grandparents as well as other friends and online community
members of the tribal tradeco community so here we go the misconceptions about learning about
your indigenous ancestry culture and background are the following the first misconception when
you're exploring your indigenous identity is when you underestimate the importance of defining your
intentions for Learning and being clear on what exactly Heritage and identity means to you what
I mean by defining your heritage and identity is that identity is so complex and it doesn't
have just one meaning identity is defined as the unique set of characteristics that can be
used to identify a person as themselves and no one else the word can be used in different ways
in different contexts but on a personal level identity often refers to a person's sense of
self meaning how they view themselves as compared to other other people now the caution for not
defining what Identity or indigenous Heritage means to you is that you can explore your
indigenous Heritage with someone else's definition of what it means which can lead you down a path
that isn't significant to you personally the way to fix having an undefined meaning of indigenous
Heritage is to take some time to self-reflect have an open mind on what your true values and
beliefs are and learn about multiple perspectives and cultures before committing to what you think
you should follow based on fitting into a specific cultural box so to speak alright now on to number
two the second misconception when exploring your indigenous Heritage is relying on the
results of your DNA test being 100 accurate what relying on DNA test results means is putting all
of your faith into these tests to decide who you are one reason you don't want to do this
is because sometimes the results from these tests are inaccurate yes they have a lot of
scientific research but the data is only as valid as the information used to gather those results
so take your ancestry tests with a grain of salt the way to avoid relying on the science too much
is to get Scrappy in your own research I know it's uncomfortable sometimes but call up your
relatives and see what they know maybe if you find a lead or two from one of the ancestral heritage
websites try to reach out to the individual or Community who might have more information on
the nation or Community or your ancestors were from that's just a suggestion so now on to the
third misconception when you're exploring your ancestry misconception is well thinking that
your bloodline and your ancestry what lives in your family tree is what makes up your identity
what I mean is limiting your identity to just who your blood related family members are
and then thinking that that is what makes you who you are yes identity is rooted from your
ancestors but it's so much more than that you don't want to limit your identity to just your
family members because identity is about who you are as an individual as well so your values your
beliefs that you choose for yourself for your current and future path in your life the way
to fix this misconception that we're limited by our family's identities is to use the following
analogy to remember the importance of building upon each generation think of it like our parents
ceiling is our floor meaning that our parents live their lives and did the best that they could
with the knowledge that they had and we start at their ceiling and we build up from there every
generation builds upon the previous generation ceiling which repeats with each generation does
this misconception of limiting yourself and your potential to your bloodline relate to you
please let me know in the comments below now on to the fourth misconception when exploring
your indigenous ancestry are you really gung-ho about asking your relatives or other connections
questions about your background what I mean is asking indigenous people about your history
culture without thinking of the significance of what it could mean to them you don't want to do
this misconception of being too ambitious when asking questions you want to be more
careful sometimes it can be a very big mistake to ask triggering or insensitive questions just
for the sake of learning about your identity as much as you want to learn about it sometimes you
can be putting an elder of yours or a Community member in a vulnerable position by putting them
on the spot and asking them a question that they are uncomfortable with a good solution to this
is to instead share your intentions share what your journey of learning about your indigenous
identity has been like and how you feel about not having some of these questions answered that can
help them put themselves in your shoes a little bit and understand where you're coming from you
lowering your guard and allowing them in to your circle and what you're feeling will help them
lower their guard as well and be more open to answering your questions all right now on to the
fifth misconception the fifth misconception when exploring your indigenous ancestry is believing
that Gatekeepers are protecting indigenous culture putting too much weight or belief in
what Gatekeepers of indigenous culture say is a misconception an example of the rules that
Gatekeepers say are things like you have to be a certain percentage of indigenous background
to participate in certain things you should look indigenous or speak the native language in order
to blank in order to do anything you need to fit some certain requirement these are just some
examples of rules that Gatekeepers communicate and it's easy to believe these rules it's easy to
allow yourself to get discouraged as a result this only happens as a negative effect of colonization
and fear that has been instilled in indigenous people and communities from intergenerational
trauma to learn more about gatekeeping watch this video right here the way to correctly deal
with the fear of Gatekeepers shutting you out is to understand that gatekeeping exists in all
backgrounds understanding why it happens can make you feel better equipped not to become discouraged
and to move forward on your Learning Journey have you had any experience with gatekeeping and do you
agree or disagree with this being a misconception I would love to know in the comments below now
the sixth misconception when learning about your indigenous ancestry is focusing on embracing only
one part of your ancestry what I mean by focusing on only one part of your ancestry is neglecting
the other part that you're not interested in when you're exploring your heritage another
major factor in having a positive experience is to keep in mind that you don't have to go all
in on one appreciate the diversity that makes you you if you're 100 of settler background you
likely come from mixed backgrounds whether it's European descent Asian descent wherever it is
that your family comes from explore each of those regions if you are 100 indigenous background you
likely come from a variety of different indigenous Nations across North America across Turtle Island
so it's really really valuable for you to look into the different Traditions from each nation
that your ancestors have come from right if you're a mixed settler and Indigenous background try not
to neglect or ignore your settler background try not to ignore or neglect your indigenous
background these things these backgrounds of your ancestors is what makes you you and it's really
really helpful and valuable to allow you to have an open mind and see all of the the areas and all
of the cultural significances that your ancestors have felt to be important and that they have
carried with them on their Journey throughout life so the way to fix the misconception of focusing on
only one part of your background is to explore all of what makes up your ancestry as there is value
depth and significance in each part do you ever find yourself embracing one side of your ancestry
more than another please share in the comments if you have now the seventh misconception when
learning about your indigenous ancestry is striving to accomplish your identity as a
point of destination what I mean is thinking that you will be happy once you achieve knowledge of
your indigenous ancestry this is a misconception because discovering your indigenous culture and
background is so much of a journey that will not be finished yes you can make strides and progress
in learning more but it is never complete in learning who you are in your personal identity
whether you're indigenous and you're learning about your ancestors or whether you're an ally
and you're learning about your ancestors or you're learning about your indigenous friends this is a
really really important piece of understanding that it is a journey not a destination now if you
are a non-indigenous person wanting to support indigenous people and communities in your life
check out the training becoming an indigenous Ally the link is in the description below we
also have other links in the description where you can learn more about reconnecting to your
heritage if you're indigenous and you're wanting to explore your cultural background more and
we have other videos on becoming an indigenous Ally and how you can be a good Ally and support
your indigenous friends and family and community members is in Truth and Reconciliation thank you
so so much for watching guys I hope you have an amazing day and we'll see you next time