Re-Membering Through Adoption

Historically, Native nations were bounded but inclusive socio-cultural communities that prided themselves on maintaining distinctive religious-cultural identities while also incorporating--whether through force or invitation--individuals from other indigenous, racial, and ethnic groups. Our peoples have always managed to creatively and successfully augment their numbers and incorporate new blood and ideas. Outsiders, be they Natives, Europeans, Africans, or others, were frequently welcomed into tribal communities through ceremonies or via tribal council action. This openness is evidence of an inherent cultural confidence and generosity that are hallmarks of Native nations—qualities that, for millennia, were bolstered, not threatened, by inclusion.

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