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Question: If someone asked you your lineage, and you were in my situation, what would you claim!?
Here's the scenario: I am an American daughter of a Caucasian mother born and raised in the United States and a Caucasian dad raised in South Africa!. My mom knows she is 50% Dutch and 50% Ukrainian!. My dad knows that he can trace his lineage back to the Dutch and French!. So when people ask me my lineage, I say, Dutch, Ukranian, and French!. I don't say "I'm half South African and half American"!. My nationality, on the other hand, is American, just like if I'd been raised in South Africa it would be South African!.!.!. but that's different than my heritage!. The reason why I'm asking all this is because now my 9-year-old daughter, who is a hodgepodge of everything I am, plus Irish, Scottish, and German from her dad's side, is trying to include "South African" in the list of things she says she is!.!.!. and I'm trying to explain to her why that's not true!. What do you think!?Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Wouldn't a solution to your daughter's problem be to call her South African ancestors "Afrikaners" of Dutch, Ukrainian, and French descent!? The characters in Olive Schreiner's "A Story of an African Farm," for instance, are from various European countries, but they all would also be labeled as "Afrikaners"!.
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I always claim ALL parts of my heritage, no matter how small a percent of something I have, because the bottom line is, that without that small percent of something, I would not be me!. Denying something because the percentage is so small is like denying a part of me, my heritage, and denying the ancestor that contributed that genetic heritage to me!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
I think if your dad's line goes back more then 3 generations in South Africa, that's something worth claiming!. In most people's minds that will imply there is some black ancestry!. Well, who knows when you have many generations in an African country like that, it's quite possible!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Your daughter is like a lot of Americans!. She can tell people there are so many heritages trying to claim her she doesn't want to show favorites!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
I think the only way someone can be a certain nationality or have a certain heritage is if one has had relations with someone of a particular origin!. Like if my friend moved to south africa and married a south african girl who's family has lived there, then their child would be considered south african, but not if you were just born there and he married someone who's family hadn't bred in with people living in that area!. That's just my idea of it!.
And America is a completely different story!. we're all american, but we still consider ourselves of different origins like i'm Italian and Irish, dad was italian and mom was irish!. So i always say that's what i am!. People that have been living in America so long usually lose track of their heritage and eventually just consider themselves American!.Www@QuestionHome@Com