A Quickie.

Whenever I'm reminded of stereotypes, it gets me thinking.

No, South Dakota does not have a Norwegian accent. I know we have some sort of accent, but it's definitely not Norwegian. That's farther north/east. And in my family, I know we don't have Norwegian blood, so we can't have the accent logically. In fact, my family is German-Russian to be specific. Plus, my grandparents, great aunts/uncles, and farther back all continued to speak German even after settling in the US. Essentially, my family didn't settle here until after the Civil War. Short time in retrospect, huh?

Plus, just look at how many journalists come from South Dakota, let alone the Midwest. We have the least distinct accent, so it's most appealing for a neutral newsy voice. :)

It's funny, though. People still believe that we have to defend our homes from the Indians. Really? Really? Many of the Native Americans won't even leave the reservations because they don't have the motivation to, and when most of the aren't even sober...yeah. It takes a very special Native American to break from the hold of their history and make a name for themselves. It's happened, but when most would rather just live off of free money, then spend it on alcohol purchased in the gas stations juuuust on the other side of the reservation's border in Nebraska? It's a harsh reality. I'm just glad to have met those who have learned to make something of themselves.

I guess my problem is that while the alcoholic, no-good stereotypes aren't indicative of all Native Americans, it's hard to believe anything else when that's all you've had contact with. I've met plenty of them that are really nice and know how to make a living. Now in the case of my uncle, he was a cop in Pierre. Pierre is just a hop and a skip away from many of the reservations in SD. And as a cop, the job does not really allow for much contact with decent people. Therefore, my uncle has only had contact with the no-good Native Americans. So I really don't blame him for becoming disillusioned that there are good people out there. But there are, and I'm not a fan of generalizations.

And no, we don't live in teepees. Amg, they don't have air conditioning! :/