As I am filling out my applications, I have come to the ethnicity question. I am a white female, with blonde hair and blue eyes, so of course I will select Caucasian as one of my ethnicities. My grandfather, however, comes from a Native American lineage. He is very clearly Native American, as are all his siblings, and grandmother, etc… While I do not show these characteristics physically (aside from high cheekbones and heavy eyelids), I do identify with his clear Native American ancestry because my grandfather was always teaching me about the ways and kept his ethnicity close to him. Because of that, I do identify with Native American culture, but I feel as though people would not believe me because of my physical appearance! Sorry if this is a stupid question, but do you think it would be acceptable that I select both “Caucasian” and “Native American (Sioux)”? I know this is a tricky situation and some people can abuse it, but I am just wondering if it would be ok to put both!
Go ahead, I think it’s legitimate for you, as opposed to a lot of kids on this site who are claiming ethnic ties by osmosis.
If your grandfather had a tribal affiliation, that would help as well. It doesn’t matter what you look like, the native heart is still the native heart.
As prior posters have intimated, Some colleges will ask for your tribal registration number. The tribes get to define who qualifies as a member and the amount of %age drift allowed varies by tribe (you may need to be 25% NA to be a tribal member). Some colleges won’t care and will take you at your word.
Caucasian (and Native American, for that matter) is a race, not an ethnicity.
If you identify as NA, there is no reason why you cannot put both. As stated above, the college gets to decide if it wants to take you at your word. Good luck.
schools that will give an advantage to race/ethnicity will ask you for your “Native blood papers” that prove that you are part NA and a recognized tribe member.
