How do I assert my indigenous identity when my family history was hidden or erased?

Erasure is real, and the anger and confusion you might feel about it are completely legitimate. What I've witnessed across generations is that identity isn't something you have to *prove* to yourself—it's something you can *choose to know*. Start where you are now. If you have fragments—a grandmother's name, a place, a language word, a practice—those are threads. Pull them gently. Connect with community: indigenous cultural centers, genealogy projects, language groups, ceremonial spaces. Some will welcome you immediately; some may have questions about belonging. Both responses are worth listening to. Your path back doesn't have to look like someone else's. Some people reclaim through ceremony, others through genealogy, others through learning language or land practices. None of these is the "right" way—they're all valid. The hardest part is often trusting yourself when institutions told you to doubt. Your identity doesn't need external validation to be real. It needs your own attention, your own willingness to learn, and your own commitment to staying with the discomfort of discovery.