"Full Blooded"

[freep]

In a discussion of Native Americans today I came across the term “full blooded.” It made we wonder, is anyone today “full blooded” anything?

Consider this: In Scotland there are many considered full blooded Scots. But are they? William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, Bonnie Prince Charlie and the rest of the Stewarts, all these people are of note in Scottish history but are they full blooded Scots?

No. Wallace and Bruce were of Norman origins. The Stewarts were originally from Brittany. The Scots themselves are descended from Irish that invaded Caledonia around the 4th century. In time they intermingled with the earlier Britons that were there first. A bit later, in the north and west, Norse invaders mixed with the Scot and Pictish residents.

So, in a nation so fiercely proud of its heritage, by strict definition there are very few “full blooded” Scots. Unless or course, a people can absorb and assimilate an influx of alien blood and make the resulting combination a new and perhaps revitalized “full blood.”

Using this Scottish experience as a guide, perhaps then we're justified in celebrating our Scottish (and Pictish and Norman and Saxon and Norse and Briton and . . . ) blood in an American way.

[Andrews Son]

I did read a while back that men with gaelic surnames in the west of ireland have a percentage around 98-99% of their branch of r1b. Which is very high. Ill will try to find where I seen it but it was picked up in a few newspapers, but I have to go out now. I believe the basque population has a high amount of non assimilation too

[Mike S]

While "Wallace" is a corrupted Norman-French word, it references those of Welsh origins. Thus, William Wallace was more likely from a Welsh lineage originally, and they settled northward in southern Scotland as many did.

[freep]

I did read a while back that men with gaelic surnames in the west of ireland have a percentage around 98-99% of their branch of r1b. Which is very high. Ill will try to find where I seen it but it was picked up in a few newspapers, but I have to go out now. I believe the basque population has a high amount of non assimilation too

No doubt correct but then there's this:



Quite a bit of geograhpical separation between say Sligo and Camaroon.

[Profane James]

So....
Are we nothing? Or are we all?

[Andrews Son]

The cameroonians are from an ancient line of r1b where we separated and went west and some east to India they went back on themselves and stayed in Africa.

[kiltedcontractor]

My dna came back. I have 7% english/Scottish. It's not much. Im thankful its there. So much for full blooded over here.

[Cavalry Scout]

This is something I've been giving thought to recently. My DNA testing showed that I'm 69% English/Scottish/Welsh with a bit more from eastern Ireland. The rest is a scattering from northwestern Europe, 5% Scandinavian, etc. Having done some genealogical research (quite a bit actually), I've discovered many interesting facts about who my ancestors were and where we came from.

My wife — her grandfather was a Tyrie who emigrated to America as a stonemason — and I have discussed this topic at length. My ancestors in Scotland were also MacIntyres, although the records I've located list the spelling of my family members as 'MacIntire,' but that was in the early 1800s.

I am still pondering what this all means to me. My family is embedded in the history of the US. But there is no denying where we came from, and that is squarely from what today is the UK. I've always known that we were from there, I just didn't realize how deeply our roots were also embedded, nor just how much of my family's history is the story of Great Britain.

This is a brilliant topic and I am looking forward to hearing what others think about this.

Cheers, Mark

[OC Richard]

In a discussion of Native Americans today I came across the term “full blooded.” It made we wonder, is anyone today “full blooded” anything?

It's probably a term referring to the known family lineage rather than to DNA.

Each tribe has it's own cutoff of how much Native blood is required to be a member. I remember reading an article about a guy who looked very Native, grew up on the reservation, got teased while in the Army (they called him "Chief") yet when his tribe decided to tighten up the percentage required for membership, he suddenly found himself an outsider, in the eyes of his own people.

One of my sisters married a "full-blooded" (in the eyes of the tribe) Navajo, their daughter is regarded as half Navajo by the tribe, though I'd wager her DNA is quite complex.

Here's a list of the "blood quantum" requirements of several tribes:

http://www.nativevillage.org/Message...0Americans.htm

My niece has no worries; her kids are members, I suppose, due to the Navajo requiring only 1/4 blood.

[OC Richard]

Are we nothing? Or are we all?

We are all "us", and have always been so, I believe.