So I’m a senior applying to colleges, and while many of them have an option to select Hispanic ethnicity, I don’t know what to put down for race. Race and ethnicity are separate questions… not required, but I feel like I should answer?
I am “mestizo”: partly Indigenous (Taino… they’ve been extinct for a very long time though. I’m also generally “Amerindian”) and Caucasian. I am also probably a tiny bit black. But, to select Native American for race, you have to prove tribal affiliation, and I don’t really think most people in/from Latin America can do this, including me.
Basically, what should I put down? I feel like I’m denying part of my identity by only putting down white because I don’t think I can trace the majority of my roots to “any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.” White seems like the only choice, but I do want to hear other people’s thoughts.
(Also like… what do Native Americans from the US do if they can’t prove tribal affiliation, just out of curiosity? Do they suddenly just become white? Honestly lol.)
No you don’t.
If you’re mestizo, put down whatever blend you think/know you are.
How each college determines URM is up to the individual college, unless otherwise dictated by law. Some colleges may interpret Native American very narrowly as the indigenous people of the US, including native Hawaiians and native Alaskans. Others may use a more wide definition to include indigenous peoples of all the Americas, including Canada’s First Nation and the indigenous peoples of Mexico/Central/South America. For your purposes, it does not matter how a college classifies- that’s their prerogative. Check what applies to you. Good luck.
Are you Puerto Rican? My father is Mexican and when he applied back in the day, he simply checked the same box he was listed as in census records. Most Latinos are at least some part Native American, and if the ancestry is very distant, you might just be better off putting white Hispanic. Not all schools require to to prove tribal affiliation, but I have seen some top schools ask for it (just because they want to know if you’ll actually be boosting their numbers in that area or not).
If everyone with some Native American ancestry checked the Native American box, the percentage of Natives at top schools would be much higher (most Hispanics and many black and white Americans have a bit of Native in their blood).
@toystorywasokay I am Puerto-Rican, and I’m from a South American country as well. Facial features are more Native but I have lighter skin. And thanks for your answer! I’ll probably just put white Hispanic but I wanted some input.