Lanterna Rally

Author: Carole M. Ware

Publisher: ProQuest

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 9780549491064

In more recent years, only limited literature has come forward regarding the historical and complex relationships, alliances, interdependence, and unions that emerged between African Americans and indigenous Native Americans during oppressed times. Many of these intricate relationships and traditional unions produced descendants of mixed ancestry. Yet past history has recorded little about the emergence of African/Native Americans and the complex nature of their identity formation, cultural continuity and patterns of assimilation for a variety of reasons, some valid, most shameful. Consequently, there is a prevailing concern about the need for building and preserving African/Native American identity in culture and community. Through an exploratory case study of targeted populations, qualitative research was used to measure the contributing factors of racial, ethnic, and socio-cultural identity formations of African/Native Americans, from the 1800s forward. Using semi-structured interviews, with over 60 self-identified African/Native Americans, themes revealed different stages of evolving identity formations, including denial, self awareness, and emerging cultural consciousness. While dominant America continues to heal itself in a changing environment, the understanding of racial, ethnic and cultural identity issues of the African/Native American becomes critical to the greater and holistic understanding of how cultural diversity can be achieved in contemporary society. Specific issues and conclusions are discussed, with recommendations for facilitating diversity case studies from an African/Native American perspective. Results of this exploratory study show evidence of persistent, critical factors that make up the African/Native American identity.