The following is this writers attempt to focus on the larger picture of Native Issues as an overall problem confronting Native People who seek to find their own identity. Blood Quantum, and Role Lineage, seem to be issues around which various factors enter into Native Life. Let’s back away for a while, and see if we can gain a larger perspective of the basic problems, no matter what our Tribal background, or the differences in our customs. This discussion is largely Haudenosaunee in nature, and Ska-roh-reh in particular.

Where does one find His/Her Roots? For an "Imported Culture," I suppose it has to do with "The Old Sod." That is, a pilgrimage to where one came from in an attempt to understand the culture, and perhaps the customs of "olden days." when cultural values and principles wee formed. And where philosophy of life was cultivated and formulated. It is a place where the language is (ore was) pure; and where music, art, and poetry were expressed in a certain way. To visit the "Old Sod," is to renew and become acquainted with a, now foreign, way of life.

But for a indigenous culture which has been invaded by numerous other cultures, and overwhelmed by them, such a trip to "The Old Sod," is not nearly so rewarding, nor simple to achieve. Even for those who are still located in the general area where their ancestors roamed the hills and valleys; fished in the streams and lakes; hunted in the woods; and enjoyed the presence of all creation around them, it is no longer easy to trace their ancestry, nor understand the culture and language of their forefathers.

The dominant culture of the "white man," has polluted the land, and raped the culture and minds of indigenous people everywhere. Indeed, attempts to learn from the past are almost completely frustrated by the lack, except for rare instances, of written records and genealogical evidence. Those records which do exist are often white man’s miss-interpretation of history, or, in some cases what appears to be deliberate fabrication of the facts.

In their search for the truth, well-meaning people sometimes point to erroneous writings saying, "it says here." Just because it is in black and white does not make it gospel truth.