Indianz.Com > News > Ivan Star Comes Out: Respecting the rights of all people
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Respecting the rights of all people
Wednesday, October 7, 2020
Native Sun News Today Columnist
No matter where I go on the Pine Ridge Reservation these days, I am called “Grampa.”
Other times, Leksi (Uncle), other times I am Tanhansi (Cousin-male) and Sicesi (Cousin-female). A lot of these people are not my blood relatives but do so for good reason. Our cultural customs certainly and continually contribute to a positivism within our modern society that remains unprecedented anywhere in the world.
Off reservation, I am the immediate subject of suspicion. I am often treated like a criminal by individuals as well as their modern institutions. Also, I am looked upon with suspicion and often alienated by “tribal” card carrying members of the new federal Oglala Sioux Tribe.
Thankfully, the few I attended school with are genuinely amiable. However, most appear comfortable within their own peer group.
![](https://indianz.com/News/2019/10/23/ivanstarcomesout.jpg)
Ivan F. Star Comes Out can be reached at P.O. Box 147, Oglala, South Dakota, 57764; via phone at 605-867-2448 or via email at mato_nasula2@outlook.com.
Note: Copyright permission Native Sun News Today
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