You know the box I'm talking about. Whether you are filling out a job application, a college application, or any of them, the one that asks you two questions: What is your race? What is your ethnicity? All of my life, I have filled this out the same way. I always click the box saying not Hispanic or Latino for ethnicity, and then for race, I click the box for white. While my biological mother, Heather, liked to say that my biological father, Michael, had some Indigenous American and Mexican, I didn't know if this was legit. Thus, I always put those answers. I didn't know otherwise. Why would I put something else?
Growing up, Tristan and I looked the most alike. Dark hair and dark eyes, and we could tan. Out of all my siblings, Tristan and I look the most alike. According to Michael (our biological dad), Samantha and I look a lot alike. Samantha is our little sister. She's nineteen. We haven't seen her since she was a baby. Kody (19) is dark-haired and pale with some icy blue eyes. Chloe (24) is a ginger with freckles and big old hazel eyes. Camron (14) has sandy blonde/light brown hair and gray-blue eyes. Heather is pale with light eyes and typically has blonde hair, but she's a natural brunette. Light-haired brunette, mind you. Tristan and I's Aunt Marcy used to joke that everyone thought I was her kid when she'd babysat me. Since she and I looked more alike.
The photo above is from March 23rd, 2019, so four years old, but you can see that we don't look a lot alike. Starting from the left, we have Kody (in the gray and black shirt), then we have Camron (turquoise shirt), then Chloe, and then me in the blue shirt. Behind Chloe and me is Brian, my stepdad, and Chloe, Kody, and Camron's biological dad. Then you got Tristan off to the side.
No one ever believes that Chloe and I are related because we look nothing alike. I'm all dark-haired and dark-eyed, and there she is, all gorgeous with her big hazel eyes and freckles. Yes, I'm jealous of her freckles.
The point is, we don't look like.
I hung out with the Latinas and Hispanic girls in high school, especially at Memorial High School. When I first met these girls, they assumed I could speak Spanish. When I was in Washington D.C. in 2018, the Puerto Ricans, those from Spain, and basically anyone who came from a Spanish-speaking country all assumed that I could also speak Spanish. For most of my life, a lot of people have assumed that I am not white. I had a friend ask me once if I was mixed since she said I have facial features that are similar to Indigenous Americans and those from Spain. She didn't say it in a rude way, more like she was curious.
A few years ago, at the start of the pandemic, I decided to do 23&Me. I'll admit my results were surprising.
Here are my results. This is a general breakdown. We'll get to the significant breakdown in a few.
European - 86.5
Indigenous American - 7.1
East Asian - 4.3
Western Asian & North African - 1.5
Unassigned - 0.6
Interesting, right? Turns out I am an Indigenous American. Now, 23&Me doesn't tell you what tribe. However, it states that my ancestors come from the Sonoran Desert, including Baja California, Sonora, and Sinaloa in northwestern Mexico. I think that's really interesting. (I need a better word.) The Spanish wasn't a surprise. Though I'll admit, having some Asian ancestry was surprising.
Let's break this down further.
Are you ready for this?
European - 86.5
Northwestern European - 76.7
- British & Irish 50.9
- French & German - 21.6
- Broadly Northwestern European - 4.2 (no idea what this means)
Southern European - 8.8
- Spanish & Portuguese - 5.6
- Italian - 0.4
- Broadly Southern European - 2.8 (no idea what this means)
Broadly European - 1.0 (again, no idea what this means)
East Asian - 4.3
Filipino & Austronesian - 3.0
Chinese - 1.3
Western Asian & North African - 1.5
North African - 0.9
Broadly Western Asian & North African - 0.6 (no idea what this means)
Now, you've noticed the unassigned, right? That 0.6%? According to 23&Me, it could be Mexico and Central America. I find it curious that it didn't categorize that with the Indigenous Americans since, according to them, my Indigenous roots come from the Mexico region. I wonder why this is?
Tristan has done Ancestry, not 23&Me. He sent me his results, and I thought I'd share them. He wants to do 23&Me, and I want to do Ancestry to compare.
Tristan's Results:
Ireland - 25
Scotland - 20
Germanic Europe - 19
England & Northwestern Europe - 10
Indigenous Americas/Mexico - 7
Sweden & Denmark - 3
Norway - 3
Basque - 3
Wales - 2
Northern Africa - 1
Levant - 1
Southern China - 1
Western Philippines - 1
Baltics - 1
France - 1
Portugal - 1
Indigenous Americas/Yucatan Peninsula - less than 1
We both found it interesting that I had more Portuguese than him. I had 5.6%, while he had 1%. We both had the same percentage of Indigenous Americans however. We'll have to compare them again at some point. We've both heard that 23&Me is actually more accurate. We'll have to see when he does his.
Since I've done this 23&Me, I've been torn.
What box do I check?
Do I continue to check white? Do I continue to check whether it is Hispanic or Latino?
The definition of race is this: a group of people of common ancestry, distinguished from others by physical characteristics, such as hair type, color of eyes and skin, stature, etc.
The definition of ethnicity is this: the quality or fact of belonging to a population group or subgroup made up of people who share a common cultural background or descent.
It is evident through my DNA that I have Indigenous American ancestry. Can I claim that ancestry, that culture? Even though I'm not a part of it? Even though I have no connection to it except through blood? Muddled blood? Can I claim any of these cultures even though I am not a part of them? All of them have rich histories and their own traditions. Can I claim that as mine? When I don't know their struggles? I don't know what they have been through?
That question has been running at the back of my mind. More than what box do I check. How can I claim a culture I am not a part of? I'd love to know more about my Indigenous heritage. I want to learn more. But where do I even begin? How do I say I am not trying to appropriate your beautiful culture? Instead, I am trying to understand. I am trying to connect to my family history since my family history is shrouded in so much uncertainty. Or maybe it's more than that.
Maybe a part of me is searching for a community.
A place to belong.
So perhaps, I keep checking the same boxes I've checked since elementary school. Maybe one day, I'll find a way to connect to my Indigenous American ancestry.
But another thought. Why does it matter my race? My ethnicity? Why is there even a box? Is it for data? What's the point of the box in the first place? Just food for thought.
-K
No comments:
Post a Comment