Butbutbut...
Will I still be able to buy a square foot of Scotland and declare myself a Laird? Or will I have to learn Gaelic first?
Does Irish Gaelic count, or Manx? Or does it have to be Scottish Gaelic?
I have a nephew that speaks Scots Gaelic. he's an American citizen, served in the US Army, but would this give him an "in", despite those disabilities?
Inquiring minds want to know!
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@"NightSkyeB4Dawn" - I speak a little Shawnee, but wouldn't class myself as fluent in it. At last count, there were only 260 or 270 people left who are fluent, and as far as I know, all of them are in Oklahoma, where one of the subdivisions have started a school in Shawnee, with apparently little success. The number of fluent speakers has stayed constant now for 20 or 30 years or so, instead of increasing.
I understand what you are saying about trying to stand with a foot in both worlds - it seems that when you do that, both worlds tend towards a total rejection of you, leaving you standing with nothing but your own two feet. And yes, it's heartbreaking.
Having the blood or speaking the language or observing the culture tends to cut no ice with most Oklahoma tribes. Instead, they point to the Federal Government approved Dawes Roll, and if you can't point to a name on it and prove a connection, then you're out. So you can't be "one of them" unless the Federal government says you can, and there is damned little chance of that ever happening, given the Federal habit of chipping away at the tribes. I got state recognition in NC, but not Federal, so everywhere outside NC I'm as white as rice. Funny how crossing an invisible state line can change you entire makeup, isn't it?
But maybe if I learn Gaelic I can be a Scotsman?
.
Will I still be able to buy a square foot of Scotland and declare myself a Laird? Or will I have to learn Gaelic first?
Does Irish Gaelic count, or Manx? Or does it have to be Scottish Gaelic?
I have a nephew that speaks Scots Gaelic. he's an American citizen, served in the US Army, but would this give him an "in", despite those disabilities?
Inquiring minds want to know!
==============================================
@"NightSkyeB4Dawn" - I speak a little Shawnee, but wouldn't class myself as fluent in it. At last count, there were only 260 or 270 people left who are fluent, and as far as I know, all of them are in Oklahoma, where one of the subdivisions have started a school in Shawnee, with apparently little success. The number of fluent speakers has stayed constant now for 20 or 30 years or so, instead of increasing.
I understand what you are saying about trying to stand with a foot in both worlds - it seems that when you do that, both worlds tend towards a total rejection of you, leaving you standing with nothing but your own two feet. And yes, it's heartbreaking.
Having the blood or speaking the language or observing the culture tends to cut no ice with most Oklahoma tribes. Instead, they point to the Federal Government approved Dawes Roll, and if you can't point to a name on it and prove a connection, then you're out. So you can't be "one of them" unless the Federal government says you can, and there is damned little chance of that ever happening, given the Federal habit of chipping away at the tribes. I got state recognition in NC, but not Federal, so everywhere outside NC I'm as white as rice. Funny how crossing an invisible state line can change you entire makeup, isn't it?
But maybe if I learn Gaelic I can be a Scotsman?
.
Diogenes was eating bread and lentils for supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king.
Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’
Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’