# Going Native: Any Real, Documented cases? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 10, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230 "2009-02-10T16:09:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230/1 "2009-02-10T16:09:56Z")
I was listening to the score from “Dances With Wolves” (awesome), and got to wondering: have there been any real cases of wetern people adopting an aboriginal lifestyle? In DWW, the army officer gets into the indian lifestyle, marries a woman, and eventually severs all his ties to his previous life. Has this ever been done? I cannot imagine a literate person being satisfied by the nomadic lifestyle of the native Lakota Souix people-plus, life gets pretty tough when you get older. Anyone know about a good case to read up on? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230/2 "2009-02-10T16:18:52Z")
Well, the mutineers on the Bounty went to Pitcairn Island and their descendants are still there. Does that count? It wasn’t just one guy, so I guess it’s more like a conquering community. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230/3 "2009-02-10T16:21:53Z")
Oh yeah, it happened. Happened both ways, really. I can’t give a specific instance, because in many cases nobody really bothered to do anything more than mention “A couple peope went off and hung out with the Indians for a while. Maybe they’ll be back. Or not.” Not so much the plains Indians, but the Pilgrims complained about some of their people wandering off with the locals. it definitely happene din South America now and then. Part of the reason was that, presumably due in large part to disease, fish and game and forage were much greater than the population of native Americans required at the time. Life was pretty darn easy - if you weren’t catching pneumonia and keeling over dead. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230/4 "2009-02-10T17:33:02Z")
You’d be surprised what you can get used to. Life consists mostly of family, work, and religion. Things like running water and good books are surprisingly secondary when it comes down to it. And these societies may even have advantages. There are a million pleasures I miss from Africa- falling asleep on my outdoor bed, the simple joy of a bucket bath in the sun with the mountains all around me, my friends, getting dolled up for market day… An interesting book with a “gone native” theme is **Sky Burial**. In this book a young Chinese woman ventures into Tibet to find out what happened to her husband during WWII. She ends up basically stranded, and is taken in by a nomadic Tibetan family. She spends a good amount of time (a decade?) with them. When she finally does return to civilization she finds that China had changed beyond recognition. There is another interesting book, whose name escapes me, where a Western woman falls in love with an Indian opium addict. She follows him to his village and ended up with no money. She spent a good amount of time living in very undeveloped village conditions. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230/5 "2009-02-10T17:43:20Z")
Another example- I knew a Cameroonian man who went to live with the pygmies for several years. He left a recognizably modern life to live with nomads in the forest. He learned their herbal healing techniques and returned to civilization to become a traditional healer (and one of my language teachers.) So “going native” doesn’t always involve white people. Out in distant corners of the globe there are countless westerners who have ended up in some strange situation and end up living permanently on the level of the villagers they live with. Usually this involves love. Sometimes it also involves some crazy. Sometimes it’s a mixed lifestyle- their family will split their time between the two cultures. Or it’s a missionary situation, where they have some- often minimal- outside support. Back in the day, of course, missionaries in remote places did have to grow their own crops, etc. and were pretty much in the same boat as everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230/6 "2009-02-10T17:49:00Z")
[Cynthia Ann Parker](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Ann_Parker), Quanah Parker’s mother. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230/7 "2009-02-10T17:57:35Z")
Well, this may not be the type of example the OP wants but… Some have speculated that John Wayne’s classic “The Searchers” was based on the real life case of Cynthia Ann Parker: > **[Cynthia Ann Parker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Ann_Parker)** > > Cynthia Ann Parker, Naduah, Narua, or Preloch (Comanche: Na'ura, .mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}IPA \[naʔura\], lit. 'Was found'; October 28, 1827\[nb 1\] – March 1871), was a woman who was captured by a Comanche band during the Fort Parker massacre in 1836, where several of her relatives were killed. She was taken with her you Thorough... Like Wayne’s niece, Cynthia was captured by Commanche warriors as a young girl, and was raised as an Indian. She learned to love her new “family,” and by the time she reached adulthood, she regarded herself as a Commance, and most definitely did NOT want to be “rescued.” But “rescued” she was, as an adult, and she fought all attempts to reintegrate her into white society. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230/8 "2009-02-10T18:04:21Z")
[Grey Owl](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_Owl) - born Archibald Belaney in England; emigrated to Canada and assumed an Indian identity; lived in the north country and wrote extensively on conservation; not found to be an Englishman until after his death. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230/9 "2009-02-10T18:04:45Z")
Similar to Cynthia Ann Parker is [Simon Girty](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Girty). He and his brothers were captured by Senecas as kids and figured in the American Revolution and had dealings with Daniel Boone. They didn’t really “go native” in the OPs sense of choosing the native life. But they resisted becoming white and stayed native even though they had complete freeedom to go back to the white life. Daniel Boone was often accused of going native by his critics. He was captured and then adopted by a chief called Blackfish. Boone was quite cheerful and accepting of his situation. But he made sure to excape when he could and later defended white forts against his adopted father. So he could be said to love the Native life even though he was loyal to the whites. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230/10 "2009-02-11T04:51:16Z")
This was common in the Pacific Islands. In particular there were the [Pakeha-Maori](http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/M/Maori-pakehaPakeha-maori/Pakeha-maori/en) in New Zealand (“Pakeha” being the word for white person in Maori: > [@](#): > > A Pakeha-Maori was a European, often a deserter, shipwrecked seaman, or runaway convict, who fell into Maori hands and escaped death or slavery by becoming a tribal member. He married one or more Maori wives, often became tattooed, and frequently reached a prominent position in the tribe acting as an agent between Maori and Pakeha in their trading activities, thereby raising the status of the tribe. ---
**Author:** ![Jormungandr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jormungandr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jormungandr)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230/11 "2009-02-11T08:19:36Z")
Gerónimo de Aguilar and Gonzalo Guerrero, who Hernan Cortes encountered when he came to Mexico at Cozumel, an island off the coast of the Yucatan. They were survivors of a shipwreck. Guerrero supposedly was well-established with the Mayas, having a wife and children. Aguilar joined Cortes on his expedition. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230/12 "2009-02-11T08:20:25Z")
Herman Lehmann comes to mind, although he was initially captured as a teenager, not going native wilfully. A friend of mine, a scholar who’s studied Native Americans since the early '70’s, told me once there have been whites living as Indians from the 15th century on. Some 17th century settlers on the East Coast quickly went native, causing friction in the Puritan circles. Even one of Geronimo’s father-in-laws was white, according to my source. Can’t give you references, though. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230/13 "2009-02-11T10:31:15Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Well, the mutineers on the Bounty went to Pitcairn Island and their descendants are still there. Does that count? It wasn’t just one guy, so I guess it’s more like a conquering community. That was my first thought but considering the life on a ship versus what looks like paradise I don’t think that’s a backward move. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230/14 "2009-02-11T10:59:09Z")
> [@Jormungandr](#): > > Gerónimo de Aguilar and Gonzalo Guerrero, who Hernan Cortes encountered when he came to Mexico at Cozumel, an island off the coast of the Yucatan. They were survivors of a shipwreck. Guerrero supposedly was well-established with the Mayas, having a wife and children. Aguilar joined Cortes on his expedition. In1527 a Spanish expedition was wrecked near the coast of Florida and [Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca](http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/cabezadevaca.htm) and another three men lived for eight years among several different native tribes. They were prisoners, traders, healers, etc. They started out near what is now Galveston and treveled through Texas and northern Mexico until they met with more Spaniards. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230/15 "2009-02-11T11:06:58Z")
American [Sidney Rittenberg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Rittenberg), author of the utterly fascinating _The Man Who Stayed Behind_, lived in China for more than thirty years and became one of the few western fully-fledged Chinese citizens under Mao, with whom he worked for a time, and essentially was a Chinese Communist apparatchik. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230/16 "2009-02-11T15:14:35Z")
[Oliver and Lisa Douglas](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058808/)?? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230/17 "2009-02-11T15:27:49Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > That was my first thought but considering the life on a ship versus what looks like paradise I don’t think that’s a backward move. Did they actually “go native” or just adopt native customs when they had to, keeping English customs (language, for instance) when they could? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230/18 "2009-02-11T15:30:49Z")
What about the Métis? An entire nation based on intermarriage between the French and native Americans. And I was just reading in _1423_ the theory that the Chinese attempted to plant colonies in America, and they didn’t survive as separate entities until the Europeans arrived en masse, so essentially, if that is true, they went native. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-native-any-real-documented-cases/485230/19 "2009-02-11T15:45:30Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > What about the Métis? An entire nation based on intermarriage between the French and native Americans. Was that group living as “natives”? > [@](#): > > And I was just reading in _1423_ the theory that the Chinese attempted to plant colonies in America, and they didn’t survive as separate entities until the Europeans arrived en masse, so essentially, if that is true, they went native. Very few historians would say this is true. I’ve never seen any concrete evidence that the Chinese reached the Americas-- it’s all speculation. Nothing at all like the clear evidence that Vikings landed in North America.