Real Indians / Asian American Panethnicity / "Race" and the Construction of Human Identity

     Eva Garroutte writes about the challenges facing what it means to be "Indian." She doesn't discuss the day-to-day life, rather she is reviewing the definitions in place and not in place that are meant to classify humans into various ethnicities. Most tribes in the Unites States have classification standards based on blood line, meaning you have to have a certain percentage of Indian blood in order to be accepted into their tribe. Some tribes have no such requirements and simply ensure that potential members are of a direct lineage. What makes all this so controversial is that by controlling the standards by which people are classified, they can control other aspects of life associated with the classification. There are certain benefits that come with belonging to a tribe such as rights to land, access to money generated by the tribe and the right to live and function on a reservation. By controlling the entrance requirements, the tribes can effectively control these other parts too. This takes away from what it means to belong to a tribe and begins making the process more political than anything else.
     Yen Espiritu discusses what it means to be Pan-Asian and how it can be beneficial and detrimental. The benefits of being classified as such is that they are a unified front of varying ethnicities. Especially in a country like the Unites States where Asian-based ethnicities are statistically minorities, developing a panethnic classification allows several smaller ethnicities to combine and gain strength. The difficulties are obvious in that this classification system discourages individuality and can cause internal strife among individual groups living under the panethnic title. Although this is the classification that has developed throughout the years, it's important to know that this was not always the case; immigrants coming to the United States never intended to be put in an umbrella-like ethnic category, rather they were hoping to maintain their culture in a different land.
     Audrey Smedley reviews the history of ethnic labeling and the importances surrounding the development. In ancient times, people were less concerned with identities as there was little overlap of societies due to lack of technology/transportation. Identities were changing and individuals could join different identities if they wanted to. Starting with more of the classical era, people began classifying others based on their lineage and occupations. It was very important to know someone's ancestors to get a better understanding of who the person in front of you was. As people began to travel the world more and more, diversity became a reality; once this began being noticed, people began classifying each other in almost an attempt to organize the chaos that was seemingly a result of different ethnicities intermarrying.
     These articles all deal with one main topic: the classification of ethnicities. It was so interesting to read these articles and to see the differences in viewpoints and also the many similarities. What ties them together is the idea that we need to be classified at all. It was interesting to think of older times when classification wasn't needed as people didn't really travel at all. It proves that ethnicities and the classification system is truly a construct of man. The most unfortunate part of all is that societies are continuing to interrelate and insisting that we continue to need this system. As backgrounds become increasingly diverse, this begins to alienate people and make them feel less a part of something. For example, a person with a diverse background may not be more than 20% of any one origin; this might lead them to believe that they don't belong to the system we've created. What box are they to check off? Will it be enough to gain access to Native American lands? Will it be enough to claim citizenship? Attempting to classify inherently creates these problems and will only lead to more complex problems as globalization continues.