this post was submitted on 09 Nov 2023
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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by Masimatutu@mander.xyz to c/politicalhumor@lemmy.ml
 

late edit: DISCLAIMER: The pictured map is not actually a representation of the territories before colonisation. It's a hypothetical map of what countries there might have been had the continent not been colonised, thus all the names and borders are fictional and have never existed.

For good actual maps, check out native-land.ca.

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[–] theangryseal@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

My family (Appalachia) swears this one or that one was full Cherokee. My dna shows mostly what you’d expect. English, Irish, and Scottish. I also have 1% Nigerian dna. I figure that’s probably it. Someone was making an excuse for being a bit dark. That doesn’t explain how everyone I know is white as snow and claiming native ancestry though.

My wife shows 3% native ancestry, so her people didn’t make it up.

A lot of dna was lost to genocide though, so some can’t be tested for.

[–] s_s@lemmy.one 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

My wife's family is Appalachian (WV) and what I've distilled is that anyone who could tan at all (ie not completely ghostly Scotch-Irish) was told "well that must be indian blood in you!"

And then later they tell their grandkids "Your uncle roy was part-cherokee!"

Then those kids grow up and tell their kids, "Your great uncle Roy's grandma was Tenskwatawa's sister!"

It's all just a bad game of telephone with foggy memories and no real fact-checking.

[–] OrteilGenou@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I'm Sitting Bull!

[–] ReluctantMuskrat@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Similar story here. Both parents born in Eastern KY in early 1900s, primarily Irish ancestory. On my dad's side it's said one of the 5 brothers that came over from Ireland in the early 1800s together married an native American but we're not sure which one. My dad and I have very dark hair and skin - nobody guesses I'm irish - and little facial hair, so we'd just assumed we must be part of that Native American line. 23andMe says otherwise... no Native American, 75% Irish/English, some French and German... nothing else.

Why the heck am I so dark skinned that people asked if I was Mexican as a kid?

[–] OrteilGenou@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Prehistoric Irish perhaps?

Your French side could also explain dark eyes, as some proportion of Normans are known have black hair and eyes

[–] ReluctantMuskrat@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing that... I'd never heard of the prehistoric Irish. I have very tan skin but green eyes so not too far off.