How did the U.S. government become involved in “adjudicating Indianness”? In a new book, a former Obama Administration official writes about the personal and political meaning of tribal membership.
The Complex Politics of Tribal Enrollment
How did the U.S. government become involved in “adjudicating Indianness”?
www.newyorker.com
November 23, 2024 at 12:09 AM
How did the U.S. government become involved in “adjudicating Indianness”? In a new book, a former Obama Administration official writes about the personal and political meaning of tribal membership.
To be accepted, racialised people need to accept an inherently contradictory inferior identity. For example: English people of Indian descent need to deny their Englishness but Indian people in England need to abandon their Indianness and assimilate to English values.
March 29, 2025 at 10:55 PM
To be accepted, racialised people need to accept an inherently contradictory inferior identity. For example: English people of Indian descent need to deny their Englishness but Indian people in England need to abandon their Indianness and assimilate to English values.
In the sanghi mindset, an Indian has to be a Hindu not because Hinduism is theologically or spiritually superior, but because if they are not a Hindu, they are a traitor to Indianness. It is seen as a civilisational, not spiritual crime.
June 27, 2025 at 9:23 PM
In the sanghi mindset, an Indian has to be a Hindu not because Hinduism is theologically or spiritually superior, but because if they are not a Hindu, they are a traitor to Indianness. It is seen as a civilisational, not spiritual crime.
My real complaint is that we all have to be categorised. I feel some englishness, some britishness, (along with danishness, indianness) and how much I feel changes from day to day. And that's for me to decide, not some other rando.
September 21, 2026 at 7:46 AM
My real complaint is that we all have to be categorised. I feel some englishness, some britishness, (along with danishness, indianness) and how much I feel changes from day to day. And that's for me to decide, not some other rando.
I will caveat this by saying that these days there are more commonalities and a much stronger sense of pan-Indianness; but this is a product of having lived under a shared nation state for eight decades. In other words, it's an entirely modern creation.
December 7, 2025 at 4:21 AM
I will caveat this by saying that these days there are more commonalities and a much stronger sense of pan-Indianness; but this is a product of having lived under a shared nation state for eight decades. In other words, it's an entirely modern creation.
ms Kamala Harris ran into the same thing. I remember the media challenging her blackness or her Indianness
October 14, 2025 at 2:54 PM
ms Kamala Harris ran into the same thing. I remember the media challenging her blackness or her Indianness
Missing from the public discourse about Frida Kahlo are discussions about how the “nationalism” she promoted in her art and personal style perpetuated the construction of a mythologized Indianness at the expense of Indigenous people.
An Indigenous Perspective on Frida Kahlo
Kahlo’s aesthetic reflects the vogue of her time: the mythologizing of a homogenized Indigenous past afforded by her proximity to whiteness and wealth.
hyperallergic.com
April 14, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Missing from the public discourse about Frida Kahlo are discussions about how the “nationalism” she promoted in her art and personal style perpetuated the construction of a mythologized Indianness at the expense of Indigenous people.
I've realised lately how distant I feel from 'Indianness' due to not having grown up in India. Not so much to being Malayali as I still speak the language and feel close to the culture, but being 'Indian' imo really is formed by the institutions of that nation-state.
December 7, 2025 at 12:39 AM
I've realised lately how distant I feel from 'Indianness' due to not having grown up in India. Not so much to being Malayali as I still speak the language and feel close to the culture, but being 'Indian' imo really is formed by the institutions of that nation-state.
She thought Varanasi was peak India.
July 23, 2025 at 1:36 PM
She thought Varanasi was peak India.
my sister trying to tell me niagara peaches are comparable to alphonso mangoes?!!! I might be canadian now, but that part of my indianness will have to be pried out of my cold dead ashes
July 8, 2024 at 4:25 PM
my sister trying to tell me niagara peaches are comparable to alphonso mangoes?!!! I might be canadian now, but that part of my indianness will have to be pried out of my cold dead ashes
Today we have "Identity, Place, and Soft Rains" by Raymond Sewell
In this 6th piece in our Historicizing Adaptation series, edited by @stundenbower.bsky.social, Sewell explores the commodification of Indianness.
niche-canada.org/2025/04/10/i...
#cdnhist #envhist #indigenous
In this 6th piece in our Historicizing Adaptation series, edited by @stundenbower.bsky.social, Sewell explores the commodification of Indianness.
niche-canada.org/2025/04/10/i...
#cdnhist #envhist #indigenous
Identity, Place, and Soft Rains
My piece includes references to Indigenous identity and deals with current issues related to interlopers and the commodification of Indianness.
niche-canada.org
April 10, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Today we have "Identity, Place, and Soft Rains" by Raymond Sewell
In this 6th piece in our Historicizing Adaptation series, edited by @stundenbower.bsky.social, Sewell explores the commodification of Indianness.
niche-canada.org/2025/04/10/i...
#cdnhist #envhist #indigenous
In this 6th piece in our Historicizing Adaptation series, edited by @stundenbower.bsky.social, Sewell explores the commodification of Indianness.
niche-canada.org/2025/04/10/i...
#cdnhist #envhist #indigenous
Check out the latest post in the @nichecanada.bsky.social Historicizing Adaptation blog series, which is authored by L'nu scholar Raymond Sewell.
Identity, Place, and Soft Rains
My piece includes references to Indigenous identity and deals with current issues related to interlopers and the commodification of Indianness.
niche-canada.org
April 10, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Check out the latest post in the @nichecanada.bsky.social Historicizing Adaptation blog series, which is authored by L'nu scholar Raymond Sewell.
Zohran Mamdani walking on stage to "Dhoom Machale" was incredible - it's a certified bollywood banger.
Right-wing Indian-origin politicians like Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley, Priti Patel, and Rishi Sunak would NEVER do this. The only Indianness they embrace are the white-approved parts.
Right-wing Indian-origin politicians like Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley, Priti Patel, and Rishi Sunak would NEVER do this. The only Indianness they embrace are the white-approved parts.
November 5, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Zohran Mamdani walking on stage to "Dhoom Machale" was incredible - it's a certified bollywood banger.
Right-wing Indian-origin politicians like Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley, Priti Patel, and Rishi Sunak would NEVER do this. The only Indianness they embrace are the white-approved parts.
Right-wing Indian-origin politicians like Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley, Priti Patel, and Rishi Sunak would NEVER do this. The only Indianness they embrace are the white-approved parts.
Most people I know didn’t like Sunak because he is really right wing. His Indianness was neither here nor there, which is as it should be. (Tho of course it was great to see stuff like this photo.)
March 18, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Most people I know didn’t like Sunak because he is really right wing. His Indianness was neither here nor there, which is as it should be. (Tho of course it was great to see stuff like this photo.)
Our editor @niiyokamigaabaw.bsky.social chose "Identity, Place, and Soft Rains" by Raymond Sewell as our most recent Editor's Pick!
niche-canada.org/2025/04/10/i...
#indigenous #envhist
niche-canada.org/2025/04/10/i...
#indigenous #envhist
Identity, Place, and Soft Rains
My piece includes references to Indigenous identity and deals with current issues related to interlopers and the commodification of Indianness.
niche-canada.org
June 21, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Our editor @niiyokamigaabaw.bsky.social chose "Identity, Place, and Soft Rains" by Raymond Sewell as our most recent Editor's Pick!
niche-canada.org/2025/04/10/i...
#indigenous #envhist
niche-canada.org/2025/04/10/i...
#indigenous #envhist
ok there are plenty of other people giving us updates, she just went straight for times of india. seriously @ india. if you won't recognise our marriage, at least recognise her indianness
June 14, 2024 at 4:41 PM
ok there are plenty of other people giving us updates, she just went straight for times of india. seriously @ india. if you won't recognise our marriage, at least recognise her indianness
In a rare testament to the inherent Indianness of my English skills, I read this as “sosa jis” for the longest time and wondered what bizarre food this was. (Eventually the comments helped clear this up!)
On National Poetry Day, the greatest poem I have ever read
October 2, 2025 at 11:44 AM
In a rare testament to the inherent Indianness of my English skills, I read this as “sosa jis” for the longest time and wondered what bizarre food this was. (Eventually the comments helped clear this up!)
"Indianness in anything survives precisely because it is unfaithful to itself, constantly retranslated, mispronounced, misidentified, reimagined."
October 12, 2025 at 6:03 AM
"Indianness in anything survives precisely because it is unfaithful to itself, constantly retranslated, mispronounced, misidentified, reimagined."
Instigated it, The Moron. The bill clarified the H1B visa process so it would be not be misused The Moron bases do not want this, asians had many many opportunities to see through the MAGA base demeaning and insulting JD Vance’s wife and family for their indianness.. how stupid could you be..
January 2, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Instigated it, The Moron. The bill clarified the H1B visa process so it would be not be misused The Moron bases do not want this, asians had many many opportunities to see through the MAGA base demeaning and insulting JD Vance’s wife and family for their indianness.. how stupid could you be..
The Haleys, Sunaks, Patels, and Ramaswamys often come across like they're trying to hide or downplay their Indianness, even though it hasn't saved any of them from being targeted by their own side, while Mamdani is quite up front about who he is and doesn't downplay it
November 11, 2025 at 8:18 AM
The Haleys, Sunaks, Patels, and Ramaswamys often come across like they're trying to hide or downplay their Indianness, even though it hasn't saved any of them from being targeted by their own side, while Mamdani is quite up front about who he is and doesn't downplay it
ICYMI:
"The settler states assume that since we are embedded in a post-colonial enterprise
That I wish to hold up that story
They assume me happy to be the base ingredient for their shining project"
- Raymond Sewell
niche-canada.org/2025/04/10/i...
#indigenous #cdnhist #envhist #canada
"The settler states assume that since we are embedded in a post-colonial enterprise
That I wish to hold up that story
They assume me happy to be the base ingredient for their shining project"
- Raymond Sewell
niche-canada.org/2025/04/10/i...
#indigenous #cdnhist #envhist #canada
Identity, Place, and Soft Rains
My piece includes references to Indigenous identity and deals with current issues related to interlopers and the commodification of Indianness.
niche-canada.org
April 14, 2025 at 2:29 PM
ICYMI:
"The settler states assume that since we are embedded in a post-colonial enterprise
That I wish to hold up that story
They assume me happy to be the base ingredient for their shining project"
- Raymond Sewell
niche-canada.org/2025/04/10/i...
#indigenous #cdnhist #envhist #canada
"The settler states assume that since we are embedded in a post-colonial enterprise
That I wish to hold up that story
They assume me happy to be the base ingredient for their shining project"
- Raymond Sewell
niche-canada.org/2025/04/10/i...
#indigenous #cdnhist #envhist #canada
#NationalPoetryMonth
"They believed in money
Chlorinated fountains and shopping malls
We were just playing Indian in a foreign place atop our graves"
- Raymond Sewell
niche-canada.org/2025/04/10/i...
#indigenous #envhist #canada
"They believed in money
Chlorinated fountains and shopping malls
We were just playing Indian in a foreign place atop our graves"
- Raymond Sewell
niche-canada.org/2025/04/10/i...
#indigenous #envhist #canada
Identity, Place, and Soft Rains
My piece includes references to Indigenous identity and deals with current issues related to interlopers and the commodification of Indianness.
niche-canada.org
April 19, 2025 at 4:33 PM
#NationalPoetryMonth
"They believed in money
Chlorinated fountains and shopping malls
We were just playing Indian in a foreign place atop our graves"
- Raymond Sewell
niche-canada.org/2025/04/10/i...
#indigenous #envhist #canada
"They believed in money
Chlorinated fountains and shopping malls
We were just playing Indian in a foreign place atop our graves"
- Raymond Sewell
niche-canada.org/2025/04/10/i...
#indigenous #envhist #canada