<p>I am a weird situation, and I want to know how I should go along with it. First, my mother was the child of a closed adoption back when she was born, and was taken by my grandparents. Her real parents were both very young and were living in North Dakota. Well, this is where things get a bit mixed up. On the adoption papers, it was said that my mother was Irish and German, nothing special. However, during this age of discrimination against Native Americans, and in the Mid-West where people are more hesitant abotu admitting having Native American blood, our family has always believed that my mother had quite a bit of Native American in her. </p>
<p>I know all this is speculative, but it is something we have always thought. My real grandparents wanted my mother adopted, so, in order to do that, it would make sense to lie about her heritage. In my mother's old pictures, she looks very Native American due to the eye shape, nose shape, dark hair, and darker skin complexion. Even when my brother was little, iIused to telll my mother he looked like a little indian baby, becasue that is what he looked like.</p>
<p>We have tried to get in contact with the parents or the agency, but since it was a closed adoption, there is no way we can. So, this may sound really bad and for the wrong reasons, but I want to know this so I know if I can get any sort of scholarships or even try to apply as part Native American in admission. </p>
<p>I realize this is selfish, but anythign I can do to give my self a leg up in this very competative college process would be helpful. I need to know what I should or even can do about this, and whether I should even meantion it on my college application.</p>
<p>I would just put down that you are part Native American. If they ask for proof, then you may have to explain. I think you have a legitimate reason to put yourself down as part Native American.</p>
<p>Thanks man. I think I will do that 
Anymore responses?</p>
<p>I think that at least in some cases you might actually have to be registered with a tribe to put it down…not positive, but check on that.</p>
<p>Since there’s no proof that your mom is part Native American, and she has no connection with any Native American tribes, I don’t think you can put down that you’re part Native American. You’d just seem to be a liar, an opportunist or a foolish person if during an interview, someone were to ask you about your heritage.</p>
<p>While I am not planning to interview at many of the schools, I completely understand. however, if there were an opportuinity to define myself, I would be a fool not to take it. One can sermonize me about how I should not depend on race or legacy or anythign else to get me into my colleges, but I will still believe that there is nothing wrong. Lacks of morals? I don’t think so.</p>
<p>However, I would not dare putting down that I was fully Native American. In fact, I will proabably explain the circumstances. It can’t hurt, becasue either they accept it or just ignore it. All it can do is help my chances.</p>
<p>Thinking about it, I don’t think I will…</p>
<p>If you put it down, do explain the circumstances so that the colleges don’t think you’re a liar. There really is no evidence that you’re Native American. I doubt that your putting it down will help you in any way. It will just make you seem to be grasping at straws.</p>
<p>That would not really be honest, since 1) You plain don’t know and 2) the point of AA really isn’t “someone in my family maybe could have been a different race, a fact which, even if it were true, had virtually no effect on me since I was brought up Caucasian-looking in a Caucasian family with Caucasian culture.” </p>
<p>But I mean, it is sort of like people who volunteer for 90 hours and write 100. Basically, you draw your own line for honesty, what you feel is right. Plenty of people stretch the truth farther than you would be doing by saying you are Native American. Your call.</p>
<p>1) Who am I?</p>
<p>You aren’t sure about your mother’s heritage and you want to know more. This is a legitimate question. And you are to be commended for your interest. If you’ve run out of luck within the family and with the old adoption agency, there are adoptee groups out there who may be able to help you take this a bit further. You also can have a DNA analysis done. If you are looking for your mother’s mother, you would want to look at the mitochondrial DNA. This is inherited through the female line, and can give fairly specific indications about where your female ancestors came from. An analysis of the nuclear DNA would give more general indications of where both sets of your parents came from.</p>
<p>2) Can I claim Native American status?</p>
<p>The answer here is probably No. Most colleges and universities have specific policies that ask that you have a formal tribal affiliation. Since you don’t have that right now, you are better off not claiming it. You are however free to identify your racial/ethnic background as “mixed”. And, when you come right down to it we all are pretty mixed. When my parents married in the 1950’s it was still a pretty big deal for a Pennsylvania German Lutheran to marry a Midwestern Swedish Lutheran - both of them were “white folk” but culturally speaking it was indeed a mixed marriage.</p>
<p>One of the background ideas of minority-based scholarships are “if i give a kid of (insert race here) some money and a chance at higher level education, perhaps he will use the opportunity to give back to the (insert race here) community.” Which in-turn gives other kids of said race the same opportunity as you had.</p>
<p>Scholarships and Affirmative Action are NOT to be used SELFISHLY. (Although they frequently are). They are supposed to be used to uplift an entire community.</p>
<p>Honestly, it wouldn’t be so bad if you actually felt something for the Native American community. If you tried to reconnect. Asked your mom if she ever would take you to visit her birthplace. Or attempted to learn a little bit more about the history of “your culture” beyond what little is said in American History textbooks.
But I shouldn’t assume anything without asking…have you?</p>
<p>I really am Mohawk, and I can’t even get benefits from it because I’m not affiliated with my tribe. And you really need to be 80%-100% to get any benefits anyway. I really doubt you will get anything.</p>