What impact did early and ongoing European immigration have on Native Americans?
Well, the diseases they brought with them- primarily smallpox and influenza, wiped out 90% of the entire population. That's a pretty big impact.
Are African-Americans considered "immigrants?"?
I hear people always saying how this country was "built by immigrants" and say that this is so not true. By looking at the definiton of immigrant, it says that (im paraphrasing) an immigrant is someone who "migrates" to another country. Well, I don't recall Africans "migrating" to America; as you all know, we were forced here against our will. Once the Africans got here, they did all of the hard labor (farming, herding, building, nurturing, etc.) for their White masters; thus, when people say that this country was "built by immigrants," they are totally wrong. This country was built by slave labor; slaves who didn't "emigrate" here, but brought against their will. So,for all those who want to say that "we are all immigrants," think again.
Do British people have Native American ancestry?
When Native Amerindian ancestry shows up the problem is figuring out where it came from; if a Mexican travels to England with the Spanish (and their were periods of peace between England and Spain), it might show the same thing as someone from upstate NY. American Indian Sailed to Europe With Vikings? shows the problem in Iceland.“In 2007 the BBC reported that mitochondrial DNA testing revealed two white English women as descendents of Native Americans. Doreen Isherwood and Anne Hall found out about their heritage after commercial DNA testing revealed them to possess mtDNA haplogroups A and C, characteristic of the indigenous people of the Americas. Mrs Isherwood had no idea of her Native American origins, as she had traced her family history to a long line of Lancashire cotton weavers. She believed her American Indian ancestor must have arrived in Britain in the 17th or 18th century, as she had traced her maternal ancestors back to 1798 and found no sign of herIn his book Transatlantic Encounters: American Indians in Britain, 1500-1776, historian Alden Vaughan explains how Native Americans began arriving in England as early as the 16th century, mainly as curiosities for a fascinated English audience; Sir Walter Raleigh brought back several individuals from the Orinoco valley. Some were later brought over to learn English and go back to the colonies as translators, while others travelled in colonial delegations to petition the British government over issues such as trading rights. The most famous Native American visitor, Pocahontas, went to England in 1616 accompanied by several of her fellow tribesmen, but she died there the following year. Some of her party stayed in England for several years. Later in the 17th Century, Native Americans were brought over as slaves.There is nothing in the historical record about any relationships between Native American women and Englishmen, but given Mrs Isherwood and Mrs Hall’s DNA results, it seems probable.” 10 Surprising Ancestral Origins Revealed by DNA TestingSince people like having sex and some sex leads to babies it is likely some of these people left DNA in the current population of the UK but I’ve never seen a collective study looking for it, which you do see for Portugal and Spain. Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records e.g. only reports results if 1% shows up; less than that they don’t bother.
Is there matriarchal society among native Americans?
The Iroquois (Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Mohawk, Seneca) are a matriarchal society. In the Iroquois community, women were the keepers of culture. They were responsible for defining the political, social, spiritual and economic norms of the tribe. Iroquois society was matrilineal, meaning descent was traced through the mother rather than through the father. Also, when a couple marries, the man traditionally went to live with the wife's family. Although the leaders were men, it was the Clan Mothers who nominated and elected them, and could remove them from their position. The women made sure the male leadership fulfilled their responsibilities. Iroquois women enjoyed social equality and respect.