Hi everyone,
So I am about half (~30%) native American. However, unlike most applicants, I am native SOUTH american, specifically Aymara. Because of this, there is no enrollment process or tribal code affiliated with it.
I have heard that some schools will not take the Native American status into consideration without a tribal code, but there is literally no way that I could have one.
If I put “other: Aymara, native Bolivian. No enrollment process for Aymara people.” on the common app when it says to specify N.A. ancestry, do you think colleges will find this sufficient?
What each college wants or considers will be dependent upon that college. You answered the question correctly. If a college considers your ancestry and it wants more info, they will contact you. If the college does not consider your ancestry - well, it’s not like you can do anything about it.
My S has the same issue. He is 100% native american but not enrolled because it is a central american tribe. It is silly to me that people with a small fraction of NA heritage get credit for being NA because those tribes are located within the borders of the US, while those like my son do not qualify. He will be checking NA and describing his heritage in a manner similar to what you describe.
My understanding of the URM status describes the NA people and tribes who were “displaced” or forced to move (with direct US government intervention and accompaniment) during the “Trail of Tears” or the use of “Reservation systems”. It’s a type of ‘guilt’ that the US quietly feels the need to compensate. But its a Federal “thing” not a local, public nor private university thing.
Those tribes, along with the current US tribes that are documented (like the Apache/Navaho and “Plains”), are the ones the US Federal government currently tracks for US federal monies and programs.
South American tribes are vast and historic, but I don’t know how the US colleges admit based on federal policies.
I have the problem that our family NA history includes both sides of the border, but no documented tribal affiliation on the US side.