bradt4evrs cultural heritage thread, share ur heritage :)

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I love studying different cultures and i started this thread so all the members of WP could share stuff about their heritage, maybe an interesting fact, talk a little about it, interesting stories of your heritage, youtube videos, anything that you would like to share . im part cherokee and when i was 10 yrs old i was adopted into a lenape(delaware) intetribal villiage. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life , When you go to powwows its almost as if you went through a time machine and stepped back into time, its such a strange feeling at 10 yrs old, you trade jeans and an aeropostale T shirt for leather,breechcloth, and glass beads that adorn your neck, and the ground shakes with the beat of the drums as the drummers chanting gets louder and louder while the hawks soar overhead , I loved drumming and dancing and i always will . The best lesson the Native Americans taught me was to appreciate mother earth for what she is, they always told me "she gives you the breath for your lungs, the water for you to drink, and her heart beats with yours, the animals are your brothers, and we are all her children, all one on her ground" I also found it strange they would walk around the woods and beat trees with sticks to wake them up during the equinox So what is everyone elses heritage?

heres a couple native American vids that i guess i might as well post up

I loved watvching the women do this dance at powwows, its just incredible that they dont get dizzy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCjiyiqU7pI
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCjiyiqU7pI[/youtube]

I loved singing this as a kid, In English the lyrics of the words mean, I am of the great spirit(god), this is true or so, something like that
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C52yqpQ ... re=related
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C52yqpQV2I&feature=related[/youtube]

I'm English, Italian, Irish, and German. The most that I show is Italian though, except for my eyes. (did I mention my last name is one of those complicated Italian names? )

On my mom's side, her family goes all the way back to the early American colonies. There's a good chance some of my ancestors were actually on the Mayflower. Tracing the family tree back any farther than that is nearly impossible, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that I'm of British (and before that, most likely Roman) decent.

I have no idea about my dad. His parents are absolutely insane. He's probably black Irish, but he claims to be alien. No joke. He thinks he's too good to be a human, and he swears that he's adopted.

At least 70% Irish, maybe 50% famine-emigrant Galway Irish. The rest is older Irish-American, Ulster Scots, and English. So far as I know, my heritage isn't too interesting - lots of hobos, poor people, horse/car thieves, etc. - though my Grandpa Moore started a toy company and my Granddad Furey was in the navy, we're all proper nowadays

My relatives have pictures of saints tacked to their wall, and rosaries hanging in their cars and such, and my dad always takes us out to eat on his saint's day. They eat what's probably best described as "soul food" and sing ALL THE TIME. Surnames include Moore, Sullivan, and Furey. But we've never been stereotypical "Irish-Americans" in the popular sense. I've never worn a stupid hat on St. Patrick's Day, or eaten corned beef. I just know a lot of songs, and music, and history and fairy tales - like the selkie story, which I assumed when I was little was as well-known as Cinderella

I like that in the Irish worldview, the sacred and the mundane are often intertwined. A seal can be a woman, and a woman can be a saint - the world is a wondrous place.

White, European American.

I should add that I look very Irish as well. As in, I went to Ireland, and most people looked like they could be my family, compared to the people - even those of Western European ancestry - here in the States

My family seems pretty certain that we are of English, Irish, and French descent. Also, my maternal grandmother claims to have Black Dutch in her family line.

There's also a possibility that one of my maternal great-grandparents was Jewish. My maternal great-grandfather was orphaned as a child and, because of his dark complexion, he theorized that he was either Jewish or Mexican. I recently found out that one of my aunts had done some genealogical research and confirmed that, somewhere down the line, one of my great-grandfathers on my mother's side emigrated from Germany, and his last name was Wise. If he wasn't Jewish, then we can at least be sure that we have some German in our heritage as well.

I had a great great great great great grandma who was a pioneer...don't have too much heritage.

I am a regular Canadian mutt:

Acadian, French, German, Swiss, Irish, Scottish, English mostly, plus one known line each of Dutch, Mi'kmaq, and African-Canadian

Irony:
my Mom is largely descended from the Acadians of Nova Scotia
my Dad is largely descended from the German "Foreign Protestants" who were sent to Nova Scotia to take over the land from the Acadians

Apparently that plan backfired a little!

My ancestors have all been here for hundreds of years, so I generally just refer to myself as "Canadian".

@Bradt4evr - That's cool your into your heritage. Do you dance too?

I'm half Shoshone and half a mix of English, Irish, German, French, Welsh and Dutch on my mom's side but probably more Irish. Since I know Sullivan is the relatives in Ireland. As for heritage I'll keep it brief. I know some things my dad talks about from growing up and some words. Apart from pow wows, I do remember doing the bear dance one summer, collecting pine nuts with a special basket and my brother playing handgames.

I'm 3/4 German and 1/4 Arapaho.

1/2 Greek, 1/4 Norwegian, and 1/4 British.