I learned the significance of my blood before I could ride a bike. The culture was to foster an understanding of what I am and where I come from that encourages me to take care, establish a sense of responsibility/accountability and enjoy my life with people who reciprocate appreciation/reverence for the limits of our planet. I posit that this would have been done (this was done) before I was accounted as an American Indian. Government does not foster identity to prosper, it encourages identity to profit off of you.