Do you consider me a Native?

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to gain insight on how the Native Americans in the city of San Diego, as well as the nearby reservations place themselves amidst a pluralism of diverse beliefs and behaviours, through negotiating notions of ethnic and cultural identity, and have it recognized by others. The Red Power movement, also known as the American Indian Movement (AIM), of the 1970s and 1980s enabled the Native Americans to establish themselves, to a certain extent, as a recognized and sovereign group within a national dimension, meaning the sociocultural dimension of North America s society. They achieved tribal and cultural sovereignty, yet how does it stand now? What does it mean to be Native American? Who can call themselves Native American and why? Which factors contribute to the formation of this identity? And how do the Natives maintain or revive traditions, and at the same time reconcile them with modern ways?