An Invisible Minority: The Need for More Native Jewish Voices

Up until this point, I have had three articles published here with TribeHerald. And–while it has been a privilege and an honor to be one of the first Native Jewish voices on this platform, let alone period–I cannot be the only one, or one of just a handful.

For one, all of the tribes I descend from, come from the Eastern United States (and possibly one from the Hudson Bay in Canada). While I find more of that heritage all of the time, I cannot, alone, be a voice. I grew up so disconnected from the culture due to the forces of history and government policies on my ancestors that I am not enough. While I spend all the time I can reconnecting with my heritage, and connecting with other Indigenous peoples worldwide, I only descend from a small portion of American tribes. Simply 12 (and possibly a small number of First Nations tribes). I don’t know any of my ancestral languages.

While I have connected with several people from my Native tribes, I in no way reflect the full spectrum of the Native experience. There is so much more, and so many facets to Native life. I have never lived on a reservation (though I have first cousins whose father did). I have never been to Oklahoma. My tribes’ cultures are in no way related to Midwestern, Northwestern, or Southwestern cultures. And I have even less concept of the cultures of Alaskan Natives, or Greenland Inuit, or most First Nations. Heck, even most Southeastern Native cultures outside of a small handful are not ones I am a part of.

That’s not even getting into the myriad of different peoples who are Native American. I know Asian-Natives, White-Natives, Black-Natives, Latino-Natives, and Polynesian Natives, and even people who are all of the above, or just some of the above. I have even dated a woman who is Aboriginal Austrian, Maori, White, and Native American.

And anyone who belongs to any of these tribes, to any of these admixtures, can also be Jewish.

And any kind of Jewish. Ashkenazi. Sephardic. Mizrahi. Hasidic. Litvak. Modern Orthodox. Haredi. Reform. Conservative. Renewal. American. Canadian. Bolivian. Brazilian. Mexican. Israeli. Straight. Lesbian. Gay. Bi. Trans. Queer. Polyamorous. Monogamous. We belong to all of these groups, and more.

And it isn’t as if we are a small handful of people. There are thousands of us whose voices have yet to be heard. And that isn’t even counting the sheer number of black Jews who are also Native (especially in Canada).

My greatest hope is that, maybe, just maybe, by talking about my life as a Native Jew, one of the invisible minority within a minority, I can inspire others to speak.

If you are Native and Jewish, or Native and pursuing Judaism, or any kind of Jewish person who is also a member of Indigenous peoples (Pacific Islanders, Aboriginal Australians, and African peoples, too!) please consider writing for TribeHerald. We need your voices. You aren’t just a face in the crowd, but you are part of, perhaps, one of the most diverse subgroups of Jews. You are a mixed multitude within The Mixed Multitude. You are each unique, different, and with a voice that needs to be heard, and, yet, you are not alone. There are many others like you, who have felt invisible. We need to be seen. We need to be heard. Together, we are stronger. Together, we are Indigenous Jews of Color. Mishpacha.