(for my mom): can someone explain to her how mexicans are part native american?

Question

she’s basically accusing me of “stolen valor” by saying “youre not indigenous, youre mexican,” despite having 25% “indigenous peoples: mexico” on my ancestry DNA test. can anyone please explain to my mother how this works? i tried to explain it but she wont listen to me.

In: 82

Answer 1

There have been some very good books written on why white European Americans so often identify themselves as Native American. They seek to legitimize themselves as rightfully belonging to the US. A great example is the ‘[improved red men](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improved_Order_of_Red_Men).