Q3: Could you identify African traits in the different native cultures? Answer: If modern tribes hadn’t whitewashed Black Indians from the various tribal nations your question might have been easier to answer. There is little doubt that we would have also seen greater retention of Ethiopian, African, Pacific Island or even Australian Culture and Practices, perhaps as much as presently seen in Brazil, Haiti and Jamaica for that matter. Maybe,just maybe more cultural similarities, practices and traits were more apparent in our ancestral populations. Or, we haven’t even scratched the surface on studying our peoples, due to the monumental effort put into hiding our existence altogether. But serious consideration must also be given to the fact that Australian Aborigines developed their own unique culture and so did the various nations in Melanesia and the Pacific Islands in general, even though they may have Indian and African ancestry. Given that perspective, it is not surprising that American Aboriginals developed their own unique cultures-influenced by parental and cultural affiliation, but with local difference. Therefore, nly a few “traits” deemed as stemming from a parental influence viewed as African in origin. I can tell you that by efforts of forensic archaeology, one such study revealed that remains of Mississippi Mound-builders carried the Sickle Cell Trait, which was consistent with anti-Malaria traits among the earliest of U.S. Plantation Slaves of the Indian-African variety. However, the main African “trait” carried by many American Indian tribes, including historically or traditionally found throughout the Black Tribes was use of “Labretifery” or nose piercing, which early ethnologists remarked as having only been seen in Africa and the Amazon at that point in history. They were surprised to find its use in North America and Australia. Two things related to Language that I found particularly interesting was origin of the words “Aborigine” (original word, “Aboranine” or “Aborinine.” The word fell into disuse purposefully upon the suggestion of Noah Webster in the development of his 1828 American English dictionary. Webster opted to use the more easily pronounced “Aborigine”. Yet, he did explain that the word was not English in origin, ergo-a true “aboriginal” word adapted to English.), “Bora” and “Orinoco,” were also words that appeared in Ethiopia, Africa, the Amazon and throughout the Americas Descendants of aboriginals and indigenous peoples (of African and other ancestry) are only now beginning to tell their own story (that is, the descendants of aboriginals proscribed by Euro-America as authentic via a very narrow set of parameters determining who is an “Indian” by a 20th century process deemed “certified degrees of Indian Blood” based upon conquering European standards used in animal-breeding systems). For the most part, the “certified” process has been largely highly biased, unscientific and selective bisected by wide swaths of omissions and controversial policies, to say the least. This is essentially what confounded ethnologists so, the swarthy Black Natives conducted themselves precisely as Native Americans save for parental similarities shared with external nations. What was also found were parental similarities in traditional uses of items, icons, beliefs, etc. Of course, I think that it is clear that despite telling falsehoods about Africans being forbidden and disallowed to speak their Native language during the trans-Atlantic slavery era, it sure is evident that Black Indians adhered to African naming patterns in the establishment of their settlements and carrying on names they called themselves. In consulting documentation of early ethnologists, it seemed they were particularly concerned with the widespread practice of labretifery or nose piercing, which at the time was seen only seen in Africa, Australia, New Guinea and the Amazon, but was also found in use throughout the aboriginal American mainland. Perhaps, I will append an example to the present communiqué. It has been difficult and tiring work (without any funding at all) trying to get our people to understand what has happened to our tribal nations. Yet, I believe the word “genocide” adequately conveys how deadly serious it has been to survive the terrible onslaught of extinction-level policies. Imagine that there were once hundreds of millions of Black Aboriginals and now the only ones counted with any degree of certainty are Australian Aborigines. We have a legitimate right to a full accounting (on the American mainland) of our peoples descended from the tribes of the Americas, whether they possess Australo-African DNA (as used by Spanish Scientists) or not. The term “Australo-African” has been assigned essentially because the DNA findings indicate that the most ancient Black Aboriginals were a bit of both! But, many more questions than answers remain. Where are the Indigenous American descendants of Black Tasmanians, New Guineans, Solomon Islands, New Zealanders, Fijians and Americas Black Indians and Freedmen, including Olmec, Mixtec and others of Mexico, Central America and South America? I believe that they comprise the majority of Indigenous Afro and African Americans and make no mistake, they can be easily differentiated from other waves of immigrants. Yet, it is only in answering these questions that we can be begin to discern the magnitude of the disaster befallen our people and easiest understood reason for not seeing descendants of Black Indians en masse. Of course, as we have seen, America has chosen (without our consent) to hide the descendants of America’s Black Aboriginals and Indigenous People in plain sight by reclassifying them ethnically as something else entirely, oh say…Zambos, Negroes, Blacks, Colored, Mulattos, Afro-Americans, African Americans, etc., etc., etc. A burning question for surviving descendants of America’s Black Aboriginal and Indigenous Population has been why these stories and other valuable information regarding our ancestors, including Freedmen People has ever entered mainstream education curriculum in U.S. schools for our children? What was the reason for withholding such valuable information on more than one type of aboriginal American inhabitant? In coming to some kind of consensus on the obliteration of our history, I would hope that America might adopt the Australian model for addressing past wrongs committed upon the Australian Aboriginal Population. Understand that it is imperative that there is a great need for our own learning centers (starting with support for those that already exist). After much advocating, Black Aboriginals of Australia had a great deal of their lands returned to them, programs put in place for their betterment, and they were given an apology (for what it was worth). The information imparted today represents what I think are not too complex answers to your questions. Again, Arther James III, thanks for your questions. Sincerely, Angela Molette (Tuscaloosa Ohoyo) Black Warrior Woman
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 16:23:56 +0000
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