Title: 8 of the Biggest Misconceptions People Have About Native Americans
Headings: 8 of the biggest misconceptions people have about Native Americans
8 of the biggest misconceptions people have about Native Americans
Joey Clift
People participating in the Lakota Language Weekend, a crash course on Lakota language and culture, at the University of Denver in 2018.
We weren't all born In teepees.
We don't all look like a caricature from the 1700s.
People participating in the Lakota Language Weekend, a crash course on Lakota language and culture, at the University of Denver in 2018.
We're not all the same tribe.
There's no such thing as being 18% Cherokee.
Some Natives love the term 'Native American,' while others hate it, and that's OK.
Non-Natives shouldn't call things their 'spirit animal.'
No one can speak for all Natives — myself included.
We're still here and we're doing a lot of really awesome stuff.
US Representatives Sharice Davids (L) and Deb Haaland became the first Native American women elected to Congress in 2018.
SEE ALSO: The most common ancestry in every US state

Content: Natives are often forced into a small cultural box by non-Natives, which severely limits how we're allowed to present ourselves to claim our Nativeness. Women have to look like Disney's Pocahontas, who, if you aren't already aware, is a literal cartoon character. Men have to look like the crying Indian from those old anti-littering PSAs, who, by the way, was played by an Italian guy. Native film and television actors often lose acting roles for not fitting into this stereotype, and many are literally painted on set to make their skin appear more "red" for the camera. Are there Natives out there who have long hair and wear traditional buckskin? Sure. But there are Natives with hair of all lengths and colors and skin in any tone imaginable. Just because someone doesn't look like an extra from an old John Wayne movie, with flute music playing every time they talk, a stoic expression always stuck to their face, and a best friend who is a literal eagle, that doesn't make them more or less Native. Note: I reserve the right to change my answer to this question if and when I become best friends with an eagle.