Why Indians Fought to be White in America

#ancestry #findingyourroots #ancestrydna #dnatest #india #indians #familyhistory #genealogy

Over the course of American history, the racial classification of Indians has been complex and ever-evolving. In the early 20th century, a series of legal battles and court rulings attempted to determine the racial status of Indian immigrants. Despite being initially excluded from whiteness, Indians strategically argued their case by invoking theories of Aryan origin and Caucasian identity. The Supreme Court's ruling in United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind in 1923, however, rejected the notion of Indians as "white" based on a narrow interpretation of common understanding. This decision marked a pivotal moment in shaping the racial classification of Indians in America and had lasting consequences for the Indian American community.Who counts as "white" ?

SOURCES AND REFERENCES:

Credit: The Omaha Evening Bee News, January 6, 1932.
-----------------
The documentary- series "Finding Lola" is done, but is the journey over?

--------
Come join me on a new docu-series that explores identity, racial tensions in the South during the 20th century, and the unique experiences of those who historically called Louisiana home.
My name is Danielle Romero, and all my life, I have romanticized Louisiana.
Growing up in New York, it represented a place where I could step back the sepia-toned life of my great grandmother, Lola Perot, who died before I was born.
Now, it was time to go back to Louisiana--although I had no idea what the truth would be or what questions to ask---who was Lola really? Who were we?

*Amazon links are affiliate links. If buy something through these links, we may earn affiliate commission. Thank you for supporting this project!

[AnthonyClark]

They wanted the same status they had in South Africa. Gandhi didn't fight against the Apartheid regime; he was fighting to be in the same position as the white population.

[chiefvyhu_ru]

They didn’t fight to be white. They was told they was white.

[patrialibertatemetdei]

Why would anyone fight to be categorized as African unless they had no choice? Nobody would choose to be part of the marginalized group given a chance.

[AnXX]

Why do they still call native Americans 'Indians" nowadays? Wasnt that a colonial term because of the confusion with the country India 😅?

[doubleutee]

"Why Indians Fought To Be White in America". Sometimes the reverse was also true: Why Whites Fought To Be Indians in America.

[meb]

It was "African". That African just came about the last few years. Nothing of Africa was in our lineage.

[michaelrochester]

What I found interesting is that so many white Americans claimed to have an Indian, indigenous ancestors. 98% of it is BS. I am one of the few people who has indigenous ancestry and it’s because I descend from early settlers of Quebec. There was just not enough women in the Quebec colony, and the kings daughters were not imported until much later, so many early settlers married, indigenous people. That happened to my ancestor, Martin provost he is the first Frenchman in North America to marry in indigenous American.

[tommygamba]

All natives aren't from Africa there from the Americas. And why is just a classification not actually a place or race.

[codyharris]

Thats how the government has so much power. Seperation of the masses keeps us weak. If everyone stopped refering to others as colors and segregating ourselves wed be alot better off. We are all just people.

[marcusmoore]

No natives ever fought to be anything other than what they were.

[francescocaci]

in America they are obsessed with racial classification. In Europe you simply don't have to declare what race you belong to

[johnlockett]

What an obsession with RACE do this people have. People are people, they got a soul like everybody else and treat them like Human Beings

[clbailey]

My Grandma was 100 preset Sioux Native American and she was African because she had skin tone.

[drobski]

So it sounds like you’re search is to prove your not Black.

[kapunda]

Ladt time I saw someone so obsessed with race as this person, was when Apartheid was still in charge of our country.

[Courtdogk]

To my understanding, What we call Natives today are not the Natives. Or not the only Natives. And when the pilgrims began to take over land here, they made deals with the modern day native to enslave the black natives. Not all agreed but most did and some even had african slaves themselves.

The US Government banned all black "Natives" from Reservations in 1978, so while you can say they fought to be white. How they did that and what they did is what I'm speaking on here

[TurnAwayNow]

It's a lot deeper than that. Many choose to indulge BEFORE any of what you're talking about was relevant.
Of course they didn't wasn't to be considered the same as the Africans they enslaved.

[grassrootsndns]

Do something on citizen band Potawatomi they fought their own people to become US citizens SMH

[TheSuzberry]

I worked in the 2020 census following up on houses where a form hadn’t been completed. This was a Spanish-speaking family and when we reached the race question, there was some discussion. But we finally agreed that since they weren’t African-American, they had to be white. We had no valid option.

[kasnarfburns]

Hence, the habit of so many of using the term American as interchangeable with WHITE!!