Many of the Indians who now strongly assert their identities are the children or grandchildren of Indians who “passed” as white. |
Many of the Indians who now strongly assert their identities are the children or grandchildren of Indians who “passed” as white. Others were adopted into white families, and later sought to reclaim their heritage. John Homer, for example, was born 44 years ago to Indian parents in Hugo, Okla., but was adopted by a white couple. As a child growing up in Arkansas, he knew that he was Indian and was bothered that he could walk comfortably in whites-only neighborhoods because of his adopted parents but that other Indian boys could not.
Dirk Johnson, “Census Finds Many Claiming New Identity: Indian,” The New York Times, March 5, 1991. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/05/us/census-finds-many-claiming-new-identity-indian.html
Tags: Dirk Johnson, John Homer, New York Times, The New York Times