Indian Lore MB... can you do your own tribe?...

[eolesen]

My first year Scout is leaving for summer camp and taking the Indian Lore MB. The camp requires that item #1 be done prior to arrival, which is to "learn about a tribe that lives/lived near you."

 

My son is part Cherokee thru my wife's family, and really knows nothing significant about the culture yet.

 

If you as a MBC were presented with the option, would you consider allowing the latitude on researching that side of his own heritage for the requirement?

[Lisabob]

Totally - why wouldn't you?

 

Make sure he's learning real information from a multitude of perspectives, not just what he finds on (say) wikipedia or in his American history textbook. Might also be good to be certain of his ancestry (there are lots of historical claims that don't check out.). Weirdly enough, the story going back several generations in some families is that they're "part indian" when in fact, they're actually part black, which was sometimes less socially acceptable back then. Current generations may have NO IDEA and assume family lore to be true because, after all, who could doubt great-great-grandma Sophie?

 

 

[Eaglemom2b]

I would say no. The req. says 'study a tribe that lived/lives near you'. If you are in AZ then you may not use the Cherokee because they were/are not in your area. If you use the Cherokee you are changing the req. The req. doesn't say 'study any native american tribe or trace your native american ancersty'. If your son wants to do that he can work on the Geneology merit badge; that would be cool. There are many other tribes you may use: Navajo, Apache, Hopi, to name a few.

 

1. Give the history of one American Indian tribe, group or nation that lives or has lived near you. Visit it, if possible. Tell about traditional dwellings, way of life, tribal government, religious beliefs, family and clan relationships, language, clothing styles, arts and crafts, food preparation, means of getting around, games, customs in warfare, where members of the group now live, and how they live.

[boomerscout]

Absolutely. AZ is not that far from OK, and "near" is not defined. Everyone should learn a little of their own history. Perfect

[SeattlePioneer]

>

 

 

Interesting objection.

 

 

Were I the MB counselor, I'd permit and encourage a boy to learn something about the Indian tribe he is descended from.

 

Perhaps that would stretch the plain language of the requirement, but that's what a good Merit Badge Counselor would do, as far as I'm concerned.

 

 

[Eagle92]

have your son talk to the MBC on it. Don;t have the current requirements in front of me, so I cannot confirm or deny EagleMom's post. i know the last time I taught, that wasn't the case, but it was a few years ago.

[Callooh! Callay!1428010939]

Boys should follow the requirements and enjoy earning the MB.

 

The requirement is: "Give the history of one American Indian tribe, group or nation that lives or has lived near you."

 

From that, I'd happily allow a boy to choose the history of any Pre-Columbian North American culture he wants - even if his criteria for choosing is superstition that somehow that culture is in his genes.

 

If a boy wanted to choose the Incas on the grounds that South America is just as American as North America, I'd accept that if the boy insisted that the Andes are "near;" "Near" is the only term in the requirement that leaves room for reasonable disagreement.

 

But regarding this "heritage" issue: Jumbo, please meet Mumbo. Mumbo, Jumbo.

 

If he's already scout age and he knows little about it, it's not his culture. And "heritage...." what does that mean in this context? What did he inherit? And how much was the estate tax on that inheritance? Ideas, knowledge, and culture belong to those who hold them and practice them; not to any particular blood line. Nor does blood-line exclude someone from ideas, knowledge, or cultural practices.

 

Go back far enough, and all of our ancestors were stone age people with fanciful animist beliefs and colorful dances and songs with "authentic regalia." We could, at random, pick some colorful period of our ancestral past and emulate it and imbue reverence for it with a lot of hokey gravitas. But that might be silly. Being descendent from some particular blood line does not obligate one to admire, preserve, or promulgate the erroneous ideas or primitive culture of ancestors.

 

People often speak of blood when they conflate "heritage" with mumbo jumbo. If "Cherokee blood" is what gives someone "Cherokee heritage" Would a person gain Cherokee heritage if they received a transfusion of this Cherokee blood? Would the heritage wear off as those blood cells died and were replaced by the person's own system? If a Cherokee loses blood in an accident and gets a transfusion of non-Cherokee blood to save his life, must he worry that for a while his claim to Cherokee heritage will be diminished by the non-Cherokee blood in him?

 

And how much of this magical blood must one have in order to claim Cherokee heritage?

 

Does a "3/4 Cherokee" blood man who knows little of Cherokee culture have a greater claim to Cherokee heritage than a 1/8 Cherokee man who knows a good bit about Cherokee culture? Or how about a non-Cherokee who was raised in a Cherokee family? Or a non-Cherokee who has studied Cherokee culture extensively? Or a Cherokee who was raised in China by Chinese and then emigrated to Russia and subsequently to the United States where he took up with an Arab woman who had been raised in the UK by Portuguese? What level of claim to Cherokee heritage would their children's grandchildrens' cousins' uncles have?

 

[Lisabob]

eolesen, your son might want to check out this site's info on cherokee language. Some cool stuff there, including audio samples and info on writing Cherokee. The site is maintained as part of a vanishing languages program via a couple of Universities in the US.

 

http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/1684

[qwazse]

Because this is a camp counselor we're talking about, there's no way of telling how literally he'll take the requirement. Your son may get some minimally supervised 16 year old who couldn't tell NA tribes from Klingon. Or, he may get a detail oriented anthropology major on summer break. Sometimes a dad who is who is a MBC will volunteer to counsel so the staff can be free to emphasize other classes.

 

I suggest you do put it to your son. Read him the req. and ask him if his family tribe would qualify. He might have to go to the library just to learn that one fact. Let him decide if he would rather touch base with a tribe in his vicinity. Support him as best you can.

 

In the process, you will start him on his his own journey propelled by his own ethical fortitude.

 

P.S. a hand-written report in a composition book is fine for a boy this age. The goal is to grasp content. There are no extra points for style.

[eolesen]

We took this approach.... Cherokee is local. To him.

 

It just doesn't get any more local than your own DNA.

 

SM and MBC both bought the argument, and signed off on his work.(This message has been edited by Eolesen)