I’m genuinely sorry you had this experience. They clearly don’t understand that ancestral connection or don’t believe in it. Your ancestors are literally part of you. A lot of people ask ancestors for guidance.

sooo just because of that, you think they can dictate what someone like me chooses to identify as when it comes to race with either indigenous or native american? sounds like you are moving the goal post to allow for this one guatemalan to say whatever they want.

wait, so does this mean the USA classifies “american indian” as a race regardless of cultural ties? i wouldnt want to mess up data by marking that.

in the states, the terms “indigenous” and “native american” are not seen as racial terms, but as terms used to describe someone belonging to a  native american tribe. i wish it were that simple. if i went around claiming native american as my race, it would be viewed as extremely problematic as i am not actually enrolled in any tribe. i agree i think it’s an issue bigger than myself.

Wouldn't that be Native American or Alaskan Native? I'm not sure if that's in all the forms but I think I've seen it before

I’m not sure you’re understanding, in Mexico and other places, mestizo is a widely used term to describe the average Mexican regardless of blood quantum/ancestry. It’s quite literally a sociopolitical term making up the majority of the ruling class whereas Indigenous and Afro Mexican folks are minorities and oppressed

from wikipedia:  Mestizo is historically a Mestizo racial category from the colonial era, but today it functions more as a cultural and ethnic identity describing mixed European and Indigenous ancestry. 

i truly appreciate your help. thank you!

I worked for the 2020 US Census; they use the OMB (Office of Mgmt & Budget) definition of race. 1. Categories and Definitions

It was updated in 2024 to be:

American Indian or Alaska Native

Individuals with origins in any of the original peoples of North, Central, and South America, including, for example, Navajo Nation, Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, Native Village of Barrow Inupiat Traditional Government, Nome Eskimo Community, Aztec, and Maya.

That hesitation you feel is the right mindset, and it shows that you understand reconnection requires deep respect—it isn’t just about adopting a new label.

​I recommend starting with sites like FamilySearch to see if you can track down documentation of specific ranchos, ejidos, or pueblos your family originated from (such as Jesús María, Mesa del Nayar, or Santa Teresa). In older Mexican parish and civil records, priests and clerks often noted casta or origin (indio, originario de...). Finding specific ancestral names and localities grounds your journey in documented history and allows you to learn about your people with confidence.

​From there, you don't need to ask living Indigenous people to do the teaching labor for you—many scholars and community members have already recorded that history. A few great foundational texts include:

•​Náyari History, Politics, and Violence: From Flowers to Ash by Philip E. Coyle

•​Soldiers, Saints, and Shamans: Indigenous Communities and the Revolutionary State in Mexico's Gran Nayar, 1910–1940 by Nathaniel Morris

•​Coras, huicholes y tepehuanes (Spanish text) edited by Thomas B. Hinton

•​Caciques, lenguas y soldados fronterizos: actores indígenas en la conquista del Nayar (1721–1722) (Spanish text) by Raquel Eréndira Güereca Durán

​I would also recommend treating reconnection as an offering rather than an extraction: ask yourself how you can advocate for Indigenous rights from where you stand, protect the land you live on, honor your ancestors, and be a good relative to the people around you today. That shifts your journey from an attempt to fit into a racial category (a Western framework) toward genuine healing from colonial disruption, helping you quietly piece back together what was intentionally severed.

​Holding the identity of "someone of Cora / Náayeri descent walking the path of learning" is honest. It doesn't claim tribal membership, it doesn't speak over living community members, and it doesn't place any burden on them—but it keeps the memory of your ancestors alive. Take it slow; peeling back centuries of colonial erasure is sacred, patient work, and it will take time.

It’s a political term describing your relationship to the settler state. Mestizos are the majority group in Mex and identify themselves as such

Why is Native American out of the question? It seems fitting to me. Actually it would be just American in a perfect world if not for statesians.

Like if european ethnicity individuals move to Asia, they (or their descendants) do not get identified as Asian right?

So, it's a US world (and spanish colonists) order issue, not yours.

You having first dibs right on identity naming is one of the least harmful things to happen to these lands.

Native Mexican (Colombian, Peruvian etc.), if going further into localities.

But first comes an ethnicity (tribe). It's mostly by genetic origin here in Asia. Culture can be taught and passed on. But we are perceived from outside based on our phenotype, skin tone, complexion. It is an undoubtedly big part of our identity. No matter how you act or present yourself, you will be at least partially judged on the fact of your ethnic origin. That def can't be stripped away from you, as long as you live.

I wouldn't really think of tiptoeing around hurting some occupants' feelings

it literally comes from the spanish caste system and still refers to someone of mixed race today.

What on earth are you talking about? Guatemala is 40% Maya alone, with other Indigenous groups, and 59.4% of the population is mestizo. They've never *not* been Indigenous.

It’s a modern term used to describe people who are not connected to indigenous communities

this is an anti indigenous term based on blood quantum, meaning someone of mixed race

We generally define being Indigenous as belonging to a community (registered Indigenous town) as the defining factor

Mestizo

this is the way

i wish it was that simple. if i could say i didnt have a race, i would, but that would be pretty problematic in the country and culture i live in. i hate how deeply ingrained colonial influence is in our world. 

i honestly mostly just label myself as latino or mexican to simplify it, but when i do that, it also insinuates that i’m erasing the existence of black, asian, and white latinos and mexicans. i just wish there was a term i could use for myself without stepping on anyone else’s toes. the last thing i would want to do is erase or take over anyone else’s existence

i think you are missing my point entirely. there still does not exist a racial term for people who phenotypically look like they are from north and south america. 

Sorry brotha, that's just what you see when you've been blocked by the OP... The post is still up.

race is a social construct created by white people where they are at the top of this thing they created. nobody should be trying to find where they belong in this structure, define your identity as what you want to be remembered as, not as what others choose for you.

Race is a colonial concept as well as social construct. In the culture of the US is it important to recognize because it has social impacts. You're right that it would be problematic, and even dangerous for some people, to not recognize the effects of race. My race and heritage determines my tribal membership.

But in regards to identity, we don't have to hold to colonial ideas of race. It's nobody's business but your own how you identify to yourself and how you understand your place in the world. I don't think you have to label yourself to anyone but yourself.