Did you know that I am Native American? That's right, I'm part Seneca Indian!
My Grandmother's Grandfather, whose name was Habminton Kelley Klingensmith (according to my Grandmother), was full-blooded Seneca Indian.
His Daughter, Marie Viola Klingensmith Faith, was 1/2 Seneca.
Her Daughter, Caroline LaRue Faith K*****, is my Grandmother, and is 1/4 Seneca.
Her Son, Stephen, is my Dad and he is 1/8 Seneca.
Which means that I am 1/16 Seneca, and that my children (Connor and Lex) are 1/32 Seneca.
Their children (my grandchildren) will be 1/64 Seneca, which will be the last generation that will be eligible to register with the Seneca tribe, as I understand things. Not that I am registered with the tribe or anything, though.
I never registered with the tribe, mostly because my Dad never did. I believe that he never registered because my Grandma never did. And, as I understand it, she never registered because her original birth certificate is "missing." I don't think she will ever "find" her "lost" birth certificate, because I'm pretty sure that she destroyed the darn thing, seeing as how it would probably serve as evidence that she is about 2 months older than my Pap Pap, instead of about 10 months younger, which is what she prefers to claim.
Anyways...
Remember the cross-stitch project that my Grandma sent me to work on?
My Grandmother's Grandfather, whose name was Habminton Kelley Klingensmith (according to my Grandmother), was full-blooded Seneca Indian.
His Daughter, Marie Viola Klingensmith Faith, was 1/2 Seneca.
Her Daughter, Caroline LaRue Faith K*****, is my Grandmother, and is 1/4 Seneca.
Her Son, Stephen, is my Dad and he is 1/8 Seneca.
Which means that I am 1/16 Seneca, and that my children (Connor and Lex) are 1/32 Seneca.
Their children (my grandchildren) will be 1/64 Seneca, which will be the last generation that will be eligible to register with the Seneca tribe, as I understand things. Not that I am registered with the tribe or anything, though.
I never registered with the tribe, mostly because my Dad never did. I believe that he never registered because my Grandma never did. And, as I understand it, she never registered because her original birth certificate is "missing." I don't think she will ever "find" her "lost" birth certificate, because I'm pretty sure that she destroyed the darn thing, seeing as how it would probably serve as evidence that she is about 2 months older than my Pap Pap, instead of about 10 months younger, which is what she prefers to claim.
Anyways...
Remember the cross-stitch project that my Grandma sent me to work on?
This is what the Spirit of the Cougar looks like. (So far, anyway.)
I decided to look up some information about the Spirit of the Cougar, just for the sake of entertainment.
I was kind of hoping that the Cougar was the Native American Spirit related to pregnancy and childbirth. Even though it isn't, I wasn't entirely disappointed. Here is a summary of what I discovered:
Animal Totem: The Cougar
The cougar is swift, graceful, spontaneous, and determined. Cougar people make great leaders and are courageous, ambitious and determined to succeed. They want to find purpose in life and to dominate what they do best.
Key words that describe the Cougar: Leadership, loyalty, courage, taking responsibility, foresight
Interestingly, this description reminds me of the meaning of the name Alexander.
Alexander (Greek): defender of the people; leader
Which is almost as good as being the Spirit related to pregnancy and childbirth in this case.
And, since we are talking about Animal Totems, I thought I'd look up mine. Mine is the Snake.
Animal Totem: The Snake: The snake is mysterious, intuitive and is the epitome of transformation. Snake people aim for satisfaction and thrive on praise. They require great self-discipline and will power to control their harsh natures.
Key words that describe the Snake: Impulsive, shrewdness, rebirth, transformation, initiation, and wisdom
Memo to Kevin: There is a Pandora Snake charm. Hint!
Connor's Animal Totem is the Woodpecker. I think this is highly interesting, because, at the age of two, the woodpecker is his favorite bird. I don't really know why, or how he was exposed to woodpeckers, but sometimes he will ask me, out of the blue, "What woodpeckers doing, Mommy?" In fact, when I was putting him to bed tonight, he informed me that Big Bird was a woodpecker, and he showed me how his Big Bird stuffed doll would peck at his pillow. Super cute!Animal Totem: The Woodpecker
Woodpecker people are home-loving, giving and sensitive. They are also very imaginative and sometimes moody. Their goal in life is to live in harmony with the environment.
Key words that describe the Woodpecker: Sensitive, protective, and devotion
4 comments:
neat---you have the Native American cheekbones!
What a wonderful post Julie!! I've been really interested in animal totems since we lost Buddy--a little bit before--but very much now. Four Geese flew overhead on our last walk together--and immediately after we got back to the car after he died--I'm not kidding--four geese flew overhead.
Then (yes I'll be more open here, and J has yet to tell his family)--when I lost my baby four weeks ago--a dragonfly kept landing on my shoulder--and then it would land on a table next to me and stare at me--I knew it was a gift and a sign---and once again--when I looked it up very appropriate significance.
Finally--my older child kept having wolf dreams when she was about two--that is her totem--they scared her--but it was actually sort of a "visit" of sorts. I don't know the totem for the rest of us or myself---I've been waiting for the answer to come to us.
How did you find the totem for you guys--is it related to birthdate, etc? (and I love the totems for you and the kids--right on!)
and great job on the cross stitch!
Aunt S: I've heard of another mother who lost a pregnancy having dragonfly experiences, as well. Interesting!
Figuring out animal totems is a complex mystical thing that requires consulting someone highly qualified, such as myself. In fact, my qualifications are two fold: I am the daughter of a healing shaman (a Seminole once told a Chinese man who told my Dad that he was a healing shaman), and I am also the red-haired granddaughter of a red-haired granddaughter of a full-blooded Seneca Indian. So there you have it. :)
Hey, that's really neat about your friend having the dragonfly experience as well--wow! I can't tell you what it meant to me that day (J's birthday)--and then I noticed my younger girl was wearing a t shirt with a dragonfly on it that day as well!
Ok, so the answers came to you--like my older daughter and the wolf:) I'll keep searching intuitively then:) (as it should be!) Or I'll hit you or my Reiki practitioner up:)--and it sounds like you have a spiritually powerful family:)
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