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Well most Scots-Irish consider themselves Americans or often Cherokee (there was so much mixed blood), although there is an awakening of ethnic identity in Scots-Irish communities (they did consider themselves Scots or Scots-Irish through the Civil War, and the Great Depression finally ended the notion of them as a separate community). However, having lived in Scotland and visited Ulster...A LOT of the mountain communities in the U.S. Appalachia region maintain a separate culture apart of most of America that is VERY much like what you see in those areas in Scotland and Ulster today. Plus there is a bit of a cultural awakening in that area with people and the links between the mountain Scots-Irish reaching back to link their lives and their history through music (which was already there, along with the religion, the whisky running, the fighting, the closed off clannish family communities)
Well most Scots-Irish consider themselves Americans or often Cherokee (there was so much mixed blood), although there is an awakening of ethnic identity in Scots-Irish communities (they did consider themselves Scots or Scots-Irish through the Civil War, and the Great Depression finally ended the notion of them as a separate community). However, having lived in Scotland and visited Ulster...A LOT of the mountain communities in the U.S. Appalachia region maintain a separate culture apart of most of America that is VERY much like what you see in those areas in Scotland and Ulster today. Plus there is a bit of a cultural awakening in that area with people and the links between the mountain Scots-Irish reaching back to link their lives and their history through music (which was already there, along with the religion, the whisky running, the fighting, the closed off clannish family communities)
A LOT of white Americans who "claim" Cherokee (or other native) ancestry actually have Sub-Saharan African ancestry. The sad and pathetic woman in the video actually CRIED when she learned that her "Cherokee" ancestor was actually black.
Well as I stated in another thread, I am part Cherokee by blood quantum but I more or less disavow it because I don't live near Cherokee, NC; I don't participate in tribal anything and I look and feel quite white. However, as many in western NC can attest, I have a family member on the 1924 Baker Roll. My Dad's grandmother.
I haven't ever understood why people want to be something so bad.
And actually I've had my DNA tested, and I think it would be 'cool' as hell to find out that I had relatively recent African ancestry. Sadly, no.
Just Anglo-Saxon and Celtic/Briton (north German) makes up most of my ancestry. Perhaps boring but I'll take it because those are my ancestors!
When people ask me what I am, I just say I am Canadian American because I literally am (duel citizen of both countries). Despite being able to trace my family roots to County Kerry, Ireland, I don't claim to be Irish because I, nor my father, nor my grandparents, were born in Ireland. At what point do we just accept that our bloodlines are so mixed that we are mutts at this point, or simply, just American?
When people ask "what" you are, they aren't curious about your nationality so much as your ethnic background. And for people to ask you that, you likely either show something in your looks or in your speech (as some Canadians do). Nothing wrong in saying that you are a Canadian 'mutt', or name out the dominant makeup - mostly Irish background.
When people ask me that question I have no desire to say American. American is not an ethnicity - it's a nationality. But it's an easy question for me to answer since both my parents came from Europe. Lots of people just say "I don't really know." I'll admit, it puzzles me that generations can get passed down not having a clue, but it's more common than people think.
A LOT of white Americans who "claim" Cherokee (or other native) ancestry actually have Sub-Saharan African ancestry. The sad and pathetic woman in the video actually CRIED when she learned that her "Cherokee" ancestor was actually black.
That ancestor could very well have been a black Cherokee or had married into the tribe. Happened a lot more often than history reveals. A black man at my job got his DNA done and did some research, and was shocked to learn that he has relatives on the reservation.
That's pretty much the reaction you'll get from many whites of British/Scots-Irish descent after 200-300 years here. Any conscious ties to the "Old Country" are long gone and they just consider themselves "American"... or as your mother described it.
Remember that these are people who severed ties to their mother country in order to form a new nation. It was a deliberate act requiring an incredible amount of courage. Referring to themselves as British-Americans would be an affront to their accomplishment.
A LOT of white Americans who "claim" Cherokee (or other native) ancestry actually have Sub-Saharan African ancestry. The sad and pathetic woman in the video actually CRIED when she learned that her "Cherokee" ancestor was actually black.
LOL I saw the video and I was laughing. She is more African than me. And I am more Native American than her.
As per Ancestry dot com I am:
58% European
29% Native American
13% African
On my mother's side we are German and Irish and we have no cultural ties back to it. However, on my father's side, we are Polish, Swedish, and Italian. The only background that sticks there is the Polish part because my grandfather is 100% Polish and had 2 Polish speaking parents. We eat tons of polish people, and we're all ugly just like your normal pole.
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