I have a question that I been wondering about

[yuiyoshida]

I am 1/4 Native Hawaiian. My grandfather is full Hawaiian. Hawaii became apart of the United States first as a Territory in 1898 and later a state in 1959.. Would I be considered a first American? I am guess not, maybe just a part of the Pacific Islanders. I wish I knew more about my Hawaiian culture. I was born in San Francisco, so have never even been to Hawaii. My parents are Hawiian and Japanese like me. I probably know more about my Japanese culture than anything.

whatcha think?

[roody]

1. A part is two words.

Apart is an adjective. The lovers are apart right now and missing each other.

[yuiyoshida]

2. fixed it

thanks.

[2naSalit]

3. It depends on

a number of things. If your grandfather is Hawaiian and you know his lineage, you may find that, for many aboriginal groups 1/4 qualifies you as being "of" that group/tribe/clan. In some American Indian groups 1/8 is enough to be considered a member of that group. So it depends on what that group uses as the qualifying amount of provable lineage and whether they are "recognized" by the US government. The government doesn't recognize all the tribes/clans which actually exist but that is not always the case with the actual group. So it could be that you would be considered a "first American".

It would probably be good to know what lineage your grandmother/his mate was too.

You can inquire about that through the State of Hawaii, I think, since it is a group that is recognized, again I think.

[yuiyoshida]

5. my grandmother

was Japanese. Thanks for this.

[2naSalit]

9. Interesting

My ethnicity is widely varied due to the melting pot this country is based upon. There's some American Indian in there a couple generations back and certainly not enough to be considered for membership in the tribe my mother claims was in her father's lineage. I wouldn't try to claim it unless I was close to "full-blooded" but I also think it has to do with your interaction with that group. I engage in activities and rituals with a couple reservations in my area and am accepted as family in that when I go to any of those places I am greeted with "welcome home". which I find humbling and greatly respect.

So in tracing this lineage, it normally seems to go back as far as one or more blood relatives who were known to be "full-blooded" and go from there.

It sounds like a curiosity of yours and I think it's a worthy point to investigate, since you are wondering about... check it out.

Looking at the info you posted below, it seems there is a question as to the actual status of Hawaiians but I think any aboriginal group whose ancestral home has been annexed into the US is worthy of the title, and many of my Indian friends feel the same about that.

My two cents.

FWIW..

In the end, we are all members of the human race with endless variety... like language, there are many varieties in most languages and English could be seen as a good example here. In anthropology, there is only one race.. the human race.

Thanks for sharing and asking an interesting question that prompted me to think about this... I have friends from all over the planet and I find it fascinating how different ethnic groups interpret this question.

Good luck in your search for an answer.

[msongs]

4. tons of information on the internet. real history, revisionist history, all sort of views. I do not

think first americans includes people off the continent tho. but definitions can be tricky

[Juicy_Bellows]

6. You were born in San Francisco so you are an American.

I find it odd that the United States is one of the only countries in which no one is ever from?

You notice that? Unless you are Native American, no one acts like they are an American, like it isn't a real country. That has always fried my ham.

BTW I am Native American (card carrying Choctaw) but I usually don't bring it up, if you were born here, well shit, you're as Native as I am as far as I am concerned.


Born in France - French. Japan, Japanese. America, half German a quarter Irish and a little English blah blah. I think people might be better served identifying as American. It's like our country is a proxy?

Cheers.

[yuiyoshida]

7. Well gee,

I never said I wasn't and it wasn't my question. If you are Choctaw you are a first american. I am part Native Hawaiian... my ancestors on my mothers side of the family were Polynesians or pacific Islanders who came to an island that was created by fire and lava, out in the middle of the pacific and settled there. We didn't become apart of your America until 1959..but I am not sure we would be considered first Americans, though we were indigenous people. I was curious how we came down in that category.

In reality its not important, I suppose. Its not like I am looking for any kind of special compensation, and I think I may have found my answer:

According to the U.S. Census Bureau report for 2000, there are 401,162 people who identified themselves as being "Native Hawaiian" alone or in any combination, but they are not considered Native Americans. 140,652 people identified themselves as being "Native Hawaiian" alone. The majority of Native Hawaiians reside in State of Hawaiʻi and the American Southwest. Two-thirds live in the State of Hawaii while the other one-third is scattered among other states, with a high concentration in California.

There is some controversy as to whether or not native Hawaiians should be considered in the same light as Native Americans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Hawaiians

[Juicy_Bellows]

11. Full admission - I was drunk! Sorry about the derailment. nt.

[yuiyoshida]

13. ahh...

No harm no foul.

[Juicy_Bellows]

14. Thanks - your post was/is important and I barged in all drunk like.

Sorry about that.

[yuiyoshida]

15. dun worry about it

I am not offended, but hey.. take good care of yourself, okay?

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

8. Long term guilt?

Unless you are Native American, no one acts like they are an American, like it isn't a real country.

Or more like the rest of us know we're not really 'from' here, just invaders and refugees, and the descendants of same?

[Juicy_Bellows]

10. I was pretty drunk when I typed that last nigt - truth be told.

It is something that bugs me though. I never hear "I'm an American" to the question of where are you from.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

12. Well, I only ever say it when I'm overseas or online on a non-American site or server.

If I'm talking to someone on one of the German Lord of the Rings Online servers, for instance.

In America, I'm more likely to simply say 'I'm from Ohio' or 'I'm from Middletown'.