Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

cox_ph t1_j77t436 wrote

As the article points out, it gets even more extreme if you go further back:

> According to the census, the Native American population in the U.S. has grown from 552,000 in 1960 to 9.7 million in 2020, a growth of over 1,600%.

The article mentions a lot of potential reasons for this increase, but it seems like a major reason is that in the past people with partial indigenous backgrounds felt more comfortable identifying as white, but in more recent times, claim indigenous heritage (even if it's just a distant connection).

68

moldyfishfinger t1_j79fmcg wrote

In the inverse, it was always thought my great grandfather was half Cherokee. There were pictures and he had all sorts of stories about growing up with his Cherokee family and friends.

Well my dad, his grandson, took one of those dna tests, we had exactly zero native American ancestry.

It just made it all very weird.

23

Tokio13 t1_j79l5nk wrote

I've heard a lot of native people won't donate for those DNA tests, so there isn't many to compare against. Doesn't mean his family is lying.

My mother is half Chiricahua and also had a DNA test and it shows no native DNA but my grandmother is registered, as far as I know. I think my grandmother's brothers do (or did, not sure if still alive) live on a reservation.

Also, DNA passing isn't always a perfect mix. Maybe you get a little more of A, a little of B, none of C but your relative does get some C.

16

moldyfishfinger t1_j79s6p5 wrote

I'd agree but my dad's cousin did it and confirmed he had native ancestry. Can't link to my other comment about it

2

AddisonsContracture t1_j79h82x wrote

Someone needs to have a little chat with great grandma

5

moldyfishfinger t1_j79hnp1 wrote

She's long dead, but It gets wilder.

My dad's mom's brother's son did the same DNA test and he has native ancestry. Definitely something funny going on but not shit can be done about it now but laugh.

4