When does someone become truely "native" to the country they where born in?

[Nickolai77]

This is a question which came to mind when i read the "Ask an Native American" thread.

The Native American's could probably safely claim to be "truly native" having ancestors who have lived there for tens, if not hunderds of thousands of years. Then there are the majority of American's, who's ancestors, from around 100-300 years ago came over as immigrants or slaves to America- are they truly native?

Are more recent immigrants, who say have parents from say Central America, "truly" American?


In England, most people are descended from the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings who moved in (rather bloodily) around 1,500 years ago- and kicked the native Britons out into Wales and Cornwall. Can the Welsh and Scotish and Irish claim to be "More native than thou" to the English?

Depending on your defintion of "native" this of course has implications for say, in Isreal where i often hear that the Israeli's have no right to be there. Most Israeli's grandparents i imagine came from various parts of Europe and moved their in 40's and 50's. Now, if we decide that someone is native born to a given country if their parents where born there, then that would mean that Isreali's today have every right to live where they live, as they are just as "native" as the Palestinians are to the land.

I personally think that someone becomes a true "native" if their parents where born and raised in that country, but what do you think?

 

[MetaKnight19]

I agree with the 'born and raised' thing you mentioned. Other than that, I can't think of anything else.

 

[Xender90]

Probably not politically correct: but I tell every one that I am Native American because I was born here. I do make a point to clarify I am not part of a tribe or what people usually consider Native American.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

This is a question which came to mind when i read the "Ask an Native American" thread.

The Native American's could probably safely claim to be "truly native" having ancestors who have lived there for tens, if not hunderds of thousands of years. Then there are the majority of American's, who's ancestors, from around 100-300 years ago came over as immigrants or slaves to America- are they truly native?

Are more recent immigrants, who say have parents from say Central America, "truly" American?


In England, most people are descended from the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings who moved in (rather bloodily) around 1,500 years ago- and kicked the native Britons out into Wales and Cornwall. Can the Welsh and Scotish and Irish claim to be "More native than thou" to the English?

Depending on your defintion of "native" this of course has implications for say, in Isreal where i often hear that the Israeli's have no right to be there. Most Israeli's grandparents i imagine came from various parts of Europe and moved their in 40's and 50's. Now, if we decide that someone is native born to a given country if their parents where born there, then that would mean that Isreali's today have every right to live where they live, as they are just as "native" as the Palestinians are to the land.

I personally think that someone becomes a true "native" if their parents where born and raised in that country, but what do you think?

Not sure I fully understand the point your putting across in relation to the Welsh Irish and Scottish and English.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I say "Home is where the heart is". I'd say your "native status" would be determined by how connected you feel to a given country or land. My mother was born in England and immigrated to Canada when she was 5, does that make me any less Canadian? Hell no!

 

[RavingPenguin]

Hmm, I dont really know. Here when we speak of someone of native descent we call them "Natives." Example: Did you hear the Natives went whale hunting?

I dont really know what it means to be native, but I would wager its all about local language and vocabullary. Much like the definition of a hill.

 

[Wadders]

Well as a Brit I feel very native to my country. I cant really feel any connections with the places my ancestors came from, such as Norway and Denmark or wherever it was that Vikings lived. However my granddad reckons his descendants were Vikings as he had a finger condition
that caused his pinkie to be amputated, and supposedly that condition was almost exclusive to people of Nordic descent.

Therefore you could say that a person is truly a native of the country they were born in when they have mixed so much with the populace that there is no real difference between the 2. In the UK you wouldn't really be able to tell if someone was descended from Picts (very early English/ Welsh tribes) Saxons, Vikings, or Normans or anyone else from the mixing pot of nationalities that have come to our island over the years. All those different groups have become natives.

Not really sure if I made a point there, I just wanted to waffle about stuff

Edit: Having said that, I'm not sure if I would class African/ Asian immigrants as natives as such. Sure they are British, if they were born here, but for some reason I wouldn't call them natives just yet.