Opinion

Clara Caufield: Celebrating my 'fierce' Cheyenne and Irish tribes

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Clara Caufield. Photo from Native News Project / University of Montana School of Journalism

Celebrating the Irish Tribe
A Cheyenne Voice
By Clara Caufield
www.nsweekly.com

Last week, we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day, honoring the Irish. It’s always been a favorite holiday for me, influenced by my large hearted, kind, strong, red-headed, pale skinned and freckled father, Jim McMakin, Irish to the bone. He ever celebrated this occasion in his tribal tradition – drinking plenty of whiskey, green beers, insisting on cabbage and corned beef while singing little Irish ditties in a decidedly off-key, though enthusiastic manner while also indulging in “blarney” (funny stories) and then winding up the day with some sort of physical challenge such as arm wrestling or an honest fist fight.

My mother, on the other hand, is a conservative non-imbibing Northern Cheyenne, ever frowning upon such excessive celebration. “You better go watch Dad,” she would say on such days. “Try to keep him out of too much trouble.”

I did so, making me a true “half-breed.” Though that term is no longer socially acceptable, it is a real word in our every-day lives on the Reservation and I am now proud claim myself a member of two historic fierce Tribes.

That wasn’t always so. As a younger person, it was confusing. I had long very dark and somewhat curly hair, very safely contained by Grandma in braids, which in the summer yielded auburn highlights. I also inherited the fair Irish coloring, complete with freckles greatly exaggerated by summer sun, putting me at great odds with my darker Cheyenne kin. That made me “different” and I often longed to be “browner,” in order to fit in. Then, I didn’t know much about the Irish Tribe (indeed it is one) or history, only that being part white or “fair” was not favored by many Indian people. But, as Dad often suggested: “We, the Irish, and the Indians ain’t that far apart.”