Levangeline

First of all, proof please! But after that, thank you for doing this! I'm fascinated by native culture and I'm so glad someone finally did this :) So here we go:

I live out in Alberta, on what used to be Blackfoot land. We have a pretty big reserve west of the city, belonging to the T'su T'ina (spelling?), and it's a beautiful stretch of land. Unfortunately, the natives who live off the reserve and in the city tend to get a bad rep, as a fairly large portion of the homeless population is native, and frustratingly, people tend to generalize. How do you find the treatment of First Nations people out East? While they're not necessarily treated poorly where I live, there's definitely a prejudice that has developed, and I hate it.

On a happier note; how well are the past traditions of your culture preserved? Do most tribes have a story teller, pow-wows, and all the "typical" native practices, or is that mostly a generalization of native culture? If so, what are some traditions that have lasted that are specific to your background?

I have a lot of questions but I'll keep it at that for now :)

Don't be that guy; you know what he means!

I'm not trying to sugar coat; I've met a lot of people with terrible opinions about native people, and I agree that it sucks. Most people, even if not totally prejudiced against them, still have discomfort. I do, however, know of a lot of non-native people who support and are interested in the native communities. Mostly my friends in the younger generations, but I know several who are involved in organizations for helping to fight the negative stereotypes that Natives in Alberta face. All I'm saying is while there's a lot of people with negative opinions of them, I know a lot with positive opinions.

It's a sad and frustrating stereotype for sure, and one that has created hostility from some of the natives here against non-native people. And a lot of people in the city only know native people from what they see in the homeless population, and then pass that judgement on to any native people they see. I hope that change will be made, either within the native community or from external support, to keep preserving the traditions of your culture; they're very important in my mind, and really cool to witness as well. What is a fancy shawl dancer? Is there a photo that can also act as proof? Don't want to rag on you, but proven posts usually get the most positive responses :)

Thanks for the honesty, and the explanation. A lot of people see reservations as "hideaways" for Natives to keep to themselves, and avoid integrating into North American society. This provides a bit of background, and hopefully dispels a bit of the misconception