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I think the problem here is that some people want to use the presence of Native American ancestry in a typical Mexican as an excuse to deny that they are in fact a mixed people or to deny that they also have significant amounts of European genes.
From a handful of genetic studies I have seen about the Mexican population, it appears that the European contribution very rare is less than 40% or more than 60% of the DNA of a typical Mexican. At 40%, that is still an amount to large to be ignored or "swept under the rug" by claiming that the typical Mexican is Native American instead of what they really are, which is mixed.
The fact is that most of Mexico's population has distant cousins not just in Mexico itself, but also in Spain and in other parts of Latin America where Spaniards migrated.
NOBODY is denying that Mexicans have Spaniard blood. But why would people claim blood from invaders who raped their indigenous ancestors? Those people were raped and forced to speak Spanish so why should Mexicans have to claim that history? People in Central and South America were literally initiated into the "Spanish language" group by rape, enslavement, and conquest. What is so glorious about that? It is ignored because of HOW they got it, they got European blood in a cruel and ugly way. Very few ethnic groups that have been raped into a culture ever claim that culture, there are Indians in the US who claim to be pure Indian yet have clear white blood but who will never claim that either because female ancestors being raped and forced to speak English or Spanish is not something MOST people are proud of or would want to celebrate.
NOBODY is denying that Mexicans have Spaniard blood. But why would people claim blood from invaders who raped their indigenous ancestors? Those people were raped and forced to speak Spanish so why should Mexicans have to claim that history? People in Central and South America were literally initiated into the "Spanish language" group by rape, enslavement, and conquest. What is so glorious about that? It is ignored because of HOW they got it, they got European blood in a cruel and ugly way. Very few ethnic groups that have been raped into a culture ever claim that culture, there are Indians in the US who claim to be pure Indian yet have clear white blood but who will never claim that either because female ancestors being raped and forced to speak English or Spanish is not something MOST people are proud of or would want to celebrate.
I have Caucasian features, brown hair, light brown eyes, light skin, and my height is above that of the average American(male). Almost all of my family shares very similar traits as me. A lot of Mexicans do. Should we go around and say we are full blooded Indigenous?
In almost every corner of the earth, including Mexico, "Whiteness" is considered "better". That is just how it is in this western dominated world. What makes Mexico unique is the fusion of indigenous and Spanish culture. When "Whiteness" was considered superior in the 20th century and other Latin American countries were trying to bring in European migrants in the believe that this was going to improve their country. Mexico went the other direction and pride itself as a country of two cultures, indigenous and European, not rejecting either of the two.
That is why the people of Mexico are very nationalistic.
Last edited by Almeida93; 10-19-2013 at 10:06 PM..
No, Mexicans cannot be native Americans, because Mexico is a different country from America.
It's so funny when someone calls the US as ''America''. América is the continent. The country official name is United States of América, just in case. But we in America usually refer to it as United States...only
It's so funny when someone calls the US as ''America''. América is the continent. The country official name is United States of América, just in case. But we in America usually refer to it as United States...only
With regards to the specific notion of citizenry then American generally refers to citizens of The United States. In a broader sense American can refer to anyone from the Americas.
Looking at this thread it's funny to see the convoluted and self conscious terms some people are using to avoid using "Indian" or "American Indian", such as "pre Columbian indigenous native inhabitant" and such. I think that in The United States American Indians are being "rebranded" in order to shove them aside to make room for the many people from India now here, people the establishment considers far more valuable than American Indians. Which means avoiding the terms "Indian" or "American Indian" might be a sign of a subtle or unconscious contempt.
With regards to the specific notion of citizenry then American generally refers to citizens of The United States. In a broader sense American can refer to anyone from the Americas.
Looking at this thread it's funny to see the convoluted and self conscious terms some people are using to avoid using "Indian" or "American Indian", such as "pre Columbian indigenous native inhabitant" and such. I think that in The United States American Indians are being "rebranded" in order to shove them aside to make room for the many people from India now here, people the establishment considers far more valuable than American Indians. Which means avoiding the terms "Indian" or "American Indian" might be a sign of a subtle or unconscious contempt.
Which makes me wonder about all the Casinos, Museums, Schools, tribal buildings that still say 'Indian'. Both the word 'Indian' and 'Native' were never part of any Native American language anyway. For that matter the British gave the name 'India' to that continant in the first place.
AT school I was taught different and nothing to do with English, but even this I have my doubts and would rather go with the Spanish word for God..
apparently Columbus set out to find a better trade route to India. The route used at that time was to sail east which meant sailing around Africa. By looking at the charts and maps he theorized would possible to sail west, avoid Africa and reach India directly. and initially thought he’d landed somewhere in India. The maps and charts did not take account of the Americas and when he landed, although he wasn't the first European to have discovered the continent, he initially thought he had reached India. The Vikings are known to have reached here and even attempted settlements and I've read theories regarding much more ancient visitation's by Greeks and possibly Egyptians..........and some other explanations How did Native Americans get the name of Indians? - Yahoo! Answers
Looking at this thread it's funny to see the convoluted and self conscious terms some people are using to avoid using "Indian" or "American Indian", such as "pre Columbian indigenous native inhabitant" and such. I think that in The United States American Indians are being "rebranded" in order to shove them aside to make room for the many people from India now here, people the establishment considers far more valuable than American Indians. Which means avoiding the terms "Indian" or "American Indian" might be a sign of a subtle or unconscious contempt.
I think you might be reading too much into it. Because a lot of us know the origin of the term "Indian" to refer to Native Americans, somehow most people in the US seem to think now that they prefer to be called Native Americans. It is true that many do. But many of them have embraced "Indian" or "American Indian." Often they will spell it out as "NDN" to distinguish themselves from Indians in India.
However, a lot of Americans (from the US) still say Native Americans to be PC. Maybe for some people it has to do with Indians from India but I don't think that's intent in common usage.
Mexicans tend to be of mixed European, Native American, and African descent.
^
This, but probably not that much of the African part.
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