Cowboys or Indians (Native-Americans)

Tonight at dinner, C asked me if our familly in the past were cowboys or Indians?

In the middle of correcting her, she stopped me and corrected herself...."I mean Native-Americans...were our family Cowboys or Native-Americans?"

As a parent, I was intrigued. As a closet history buff and sub-amateur genealogist, I were prepared.

I immediately launched into a long diatribe about my family history going back to the stone age. Well, sorta.

I discussed the theory about the Bering Strait land bridge between the Asian and North American continents which some scholars use to explain how the America's came to be populated with people who bore anthropological, genetic, and linguistic characteristics in common with populations across the strait.

I talked about our family crest and our role as merchant marines and arrow makers back when such things were used as articles of war.

I told her how I was totally surprised the first time I heard Lakota Souix spoken and was amazed at how similar it sounded to an oriental language I had studied.

Wrapping up my lecture were a few words about how the Native-American's were mistakenly labeled as "Indians" by Christopher Columbus during his historic journey to find a faster route to "the Indies."

C must have drifted off sometime during my Bering Strait land bridge chapter since she got up after I was done, turned to S and said, "Mommy, was your side of family cowboys or Indians?"

S (like many native-Okies) has a trickle of Native blood running through her veins. 1/8th Cherokee from her Father's side and near as we can figure, about 1/32nd "Native of some type" on her Mother's side.

C thought that was "really cool." Truth be told, I do too.