Let me be clear in saying, I’m talking Louisiana Creole descent. Sorry if you clicked and were looking for one of the many other kinds. But where was I?

Frenchcreole.com identifies Creole people as a broad cultural group of people of all races who share a French or Spanish background. No matter how you come to the conclusion that one is Creole (and please, let’s not get into the colorstruck aspects of it all), there are many people who identify as such, and they speak a wide variety of languages. In our random travels through the Internet (or da Intanetz as we like to call it), we were surprised to find a number of celebrities who are of the Louisiana Creole heritage. If you’re nosey like us, you probably want to know who. Check it out.

Source: drumlessons.com

Sheila E.

Sheila Escovedo is hands down one of the coolest people to ever pick up a set of drumsticks and go to town on the drums, and if you didn’t know, she’s also of Mexican and Louisiana Creole heritage. Her father, famous drummer Pete Escovedo, is Mexican-American, while her mother, Juanita Escovedo (formerly Gardere), is French and black. I’ve been a fan since homegirl showed up in Krush Groove and dropped The Glamorous Life, but I can say that I didn’t know she was Creole…

By Alexis Garrett Stodghill

The Bureau of Indian Affairs issued a letter to the Cherokee Nation on Monday demanding that the tribe reinstate the black “Cherokee Freedmen” that had been members of their group since 1866. These blacks became legal members of the Cherokee Nation through a curious process. Their ancestors were slaves of wealthy tribesman who were brought to Oklahoma as part of a forced relocation in the 1830s. After the Civil War (during which their masters fought to defend the South), the freed slaves were promised that they would be counted as members of the tribe as part of a treaty between the Cherokee Nation and the U.S. government.

Now Cherokee leaders want to go back on that promise — and the U.S. isn’t having it. Last month the Cherokee Supreme Court voted to change their constitution to limit membership to those who could prove that they have Cherokee blood. This effectively ousted the black Cherokee Freedmen, stripping them of their right to vote and receive benefits like health care.

The United States has informed the Cherokee Nation that if they don’t reinstate the black Cherokee Freedmen and allow them to vote, America will not recognize the new chief slated to be elected on September 24. Interim chief Joe Crittenden had this to say in response, according to Reuters: “The Cherokee Nation will not be governed by the [Bureau of Indian Affairs].” Oh really?

The U.S. has responded by withholding a $33 million disbursement from the tribe until it gets its act together. Which is a smart move, because this is clearly about money. The Guardian describes the financial savings the tribe is clearly seeking to greedily garner by kicking the blacks out in more detail:

By Charlotte Young

Geronimo was an Apache warrior who fought against the U.S. and Mexican forces for his tribal lands. Osama Bin Laden was the al Qaeda leader who is believed to have masterminded the Sept. 11 attacks against the U.S., and was earlier this week, shot in the head at his compound in Pakistan by U.S. forces.

What do the two have in common? Good question.

According to Reuters, U.S. forces used the codename “Geronimo” to confirm the death of Bin Laden, which has angered some Native Americans. Although the Pentagon has not confirmed that “Geronimo” was the codeword for the Bin Laden operation, Native Americans are demanding an apology from the Obama administration.

“To equate Geronimo or any other Native American figure with Osama bin Laden, a mass murderer and cowardly terrorist, is painful and offensive to our Tribe and to all native Americans,” wrote Jeff Houser, chairman of the Fort Still Apache Tribe, in a letter to the President Obama.

The Onondaga Nation Council of Chiefs in New York called the code name “reprehensible” and the comparison “illogical and insulting.”

This isn’t the first time the U.S. has insulted the population and misused Native American symbols and names. The most apparent problem has been with the naming of sports teams, such as the Washington Redskins.

Geronimo became a “motivational catchcry” in 1940 after a U.S. Army paratrooper yelled “Geronimo” as he jumped from a plane. He had been inspired after recently watching the 1939 movie about the Apache hero.

But the comparison of the famous Native American war leader to Bin Laden may have taken the misuse too far.

“Unlike the coward Osama bin Laden, Geronimo faced his enemy in numerous battles and engagements,” Houser wrote.”What this action has done is forever link the name and memory of Geronimo to one of the most despicable enemies this country has ever had.”