What to do now??

 What do you do when you find something in your family memorabilia that you'd just as soon not have?  

I have been posting items to my Wiki Tree Free Space page: From the Gawdawful, and I'm now going through and writing about them. I want the provenance and meaning of the things to be carried forward. So, I've been researching and finding out some stuff that ... well ... isn't quite as open-minded as one might wish for one's ancestors to be. I know there was racism in my grandparents, some they'd admit to, some they wouldn't quite "see" as racist, but, y'know, the times they were what they were ... but that doesn't quite work anymore.  

This is a pin from the IORM. Improved Order of Red Men.  Yep. That's the name of the group. The TOTE at the top stands for Trust, Order, Truth, and Enthusiasm.  I'm fairly sure this comes from my paternal grandfather (or his side of the family) as he was also a Mason (similar fraternal group). 

The IORM was formed in 1834, tracing their "roots" back to the Sons of Liberty and the Boston Tea Party. They would dress in Native American regalia and perform rituals (or at least what they thought was Native). In 1866, membership was defined: Sec. 1. No person shall be entitled to adoption into the Order except a free white male of good moral character and standing, of the full age of twenty-one great suns, who believes in the existence of a Great Spirit, the Creator and Preserver of the Universe, and is possessed of some known reputable means of support.

They tried to imitate Iroquois and Algonquian culture, which had been nearly wiped out by the white colonists they claimed to draw from. The language used is creepy as well; Wigwams for meeting halls, Tribes for local groups. The Great Council consists of the "Great Incohonee" (president), and a "Board of Great Chiefs", which includes the "Great Senior Sagamore" (first vice-president), "Great Junior Sagamore", "Great Chief of Records" (secretary), "Great Keeper of the Wampum" (treasurer) "Prophet" (past president), and "sannap" (appointed functionary) groups. These titles are still in use, as seen on their website: https://improvedorderofredmen.com/

Of course, this was all during a time when indigenous peoples of the United States were still being persecuted, not allowed to practice their own religion, speak their own languages, etc. Racism against Native Americans

Family history is a fascinating topic to me. Understanding where we have come from and where we are now, with all of the challenges and changes in-between, is important to all people, I believe. I have ancestors who fought in the Revolution and others who went to Canada to stay Loyalists. I have ancestors who came over in the 1600s and others who came after the Irish Potato Famine. Yet, it still boils down to me doing my best to life the examples set to me by my parents and working to make the world less hate-filled each day. So, I don't like what this represents, but I don't really want to sell it to someone who would want to continue that mindset.  I'm going to look into donations to museums or societies that would work to counter-act the past.