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.
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The Spanish colonizers were ruthless in their quest to eradicate the native culture and replace it with their own. Native Mexican civilizations like the Aztecs were forced to adopt Spanish practices to survive. So within a few generations there really wasn’t much left of the native Mexican identity. That’s why it’s understandable that your mother doesn’t view you or herself as native Mexican even if your DNA says you have a significant portion of Native DNA.
But yes you would be considered native American by your DNA. But by culture, the Aztec culture is all but extinct. So unlike the North American native tribes where they hold onto their identity and practice their culture in numerous reservations, there really isn’t much of a distinct culture left for the Aztecs apart from the culture of Mexico as a whole. So really you’re both right. Culturally you are just Mexican. Genetically you are native Mexican (ie native Central American.)
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