Should central Americans and Mexicans of indigenous blood mark them selves as Native American in the census?

Answer 1

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The US Census uses the term "American Indian" and it includes all the Indigenous people of North/Central and South America.

American Indian and Alaska Native -

"A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment. This category includes people who indicate their race as "American Indian or Alaska Native" or report entries such as Navajo, Blackfeet, Inupiat, Yup'ik, or Central American Indian groups or South American Indian groups. "

Source(s): http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_RHI1252...

Answer 2

There is no Native American category on the US census.

The category is "American Indian or Alaska Native" .

And the requirement of that category is . . . . "who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment."

So only those people who MAINTAIN a "tribal affiliation or community attachment." would check that category and indicate their TRIBAL AFFILIATION".

Regardless of who marks that category; ONLY the US "American Indian or Alaska Native" are counted.

The US does not provide any programs an services to the American Indians of other countries. So any information about them is simply ignored.

Answer 3

Only people with Native American blood of tribes that were located in the continental United States can make that claim. Otherwise, you have to mark yourself as of Latin descent.

The U.S. only extends privileges to Native American tribes that were located in the U.S. There are legal reasons for this.

Answer 4

They're called Amerindian. People just automatically link "Native American" with any indigenous in the Americas. It's a legal term in the US. I guess people think it's easier to just say Native American.

Answer 5

Nope..

Native American isn't some catch all for any and all indigenous...or those who have some sort of weird nazirsque idea that blood contains a man made notion of race or anything other than random gene sequences and mutations.

It's a legal term. One NOT used in any other country but the US as they created it to denote their legal treaty relationship with the citizens of 566 treaty Nations. None of those Nations are in central America or Mexico. They aren't in Canada either. Yet you don't hear us First Nations Indians from Canada (who can live/work/attend school in the US on the Jay treaty without having to go through the green card process ) constantly whining about being able to call ourselves Native Americans.....because we have our own terms and identifies. We don't need to steal those of others. We leave that ish to the colonizers whose entire existence is built on stealing and co-opting.

I guess Mexicans & central Americans who constantly whine are pretty colonized.

Source(s): Ojibwe Lived in the US. Still wasn't a Native American while there.

Answer 6

Given the choices offered (white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander or Native American), yes.

The census defines those choices as "races," not as "legal terms."

If that bothers U.S. Native Americans, maybe they should ask the Census Bureau why they don't offer their south-of-the-border cousins a better choice, such as "Amerindian" or whatever.

(In reality, that is what the "ethnicity" classification of "Hispanic" is for: to tell Mexicans apart from Cherokees, etc. Any non-Indian "Hispanics" who get bagged under this classification are statistically insignificant. Once someone marks "Hispanic" as their "ethnicity", what they mark as their race becomes irrelevant [we all know what Hispanic really means])

Answer 7

no or else the native mutts in the usa and canada will whine like babies.

Answer 8

Should they check white, if their ancestors were also white European Spanish?

Answer 9

no that would be insulting to those of meso-american descent.