Found out I’m mixed race not white

[NewHeritage]

Long story short but an online dna test has discovered one of my parents isn’t biologically my parent. I have found the name of my biological parent and also talked to other “new” relatives online after making contact with them.

I now have a slightly daft question……I don’t know what “race” my parent was. I mean I do, but I don’t know the name/label/category. They were South American, from (British) Guyana and an indigenous American. So what race are indigenous Americans from South America?

Not Latino as British Guyana I don’t think is a Latino country. Not Afro-Caribbean as they weren’t from Africa or the Caribbean (though there is some African ancestry in the mix according to my dna results which makes sense as there were a lot of African slaves in Guyana in the past. So my dna results are like 50% European, 5% African and 45% Indo-american. But is indo-american a race?

I think not unless identical twins. Siblings inherit different amounts of dna from their parents. So with my sister cousins, I share more centimorgans of dna with one than the other even though they’re full siblings.

People would laugh in my face if I said I was half Afro Caribbean 😁

You're not half Afro-Caribbean. You're 5% Afro-Caribbean and 45% whatever indigenous people the test indicated.

Btw, the country is now Guyana. It used to be British Guiana when it was a colony.

Guyana is a very mixed country. Lots of African and Indian heritage people as a result of slavery and indentured Labour. Also Portuguese as it’s over the border from Brazil. And Amerindian /Native Indian which it sounds like your DNA test has revealed.

There are various original tribes - my husband is Guyanese and his great grandmother was from a tribe called Wapishana that come from the Guyana / Venezuela borders. It’s a fascinating country.

The over arching culture is Caribbean. It’s the only mainland country that’s seen as part of the Caribbean, I think. The Guyanese accent is a bit like Trinidadian.

thanks. Yes I’m aware it’s now Guyana. Hence why I put British in brackets in my OP to differentiate it from French Guyana as I have no idea if answers would be different if some people thought I was talking about the French one.

Slightly similar to you - my heritage is part Native American, Mexican and .... Yorkshire.
I wasnt born in this country either so my heritage is important for me.

I look Spanish but Ancestry.com have helped so much with my family trees. I have now have 100s of cousins and a total of 14 aunts and uncles I didnt know existed .
Good luck with finding out more of your ancestry

@GulesMeansRed There's one born every minute as Barnum would have it.

Did you even read what @sueelleker posted. So much of this is unreliable scammery.

I think it depends on how accurate the tests are. I read an article once, where identical twins took the test and it came up with totally different percentages of ethnicities.^www.cbc.ca/news/science/dna-ancestry-kits-twins-marketplace-1.4980976^

It says Despite having virtually identical DNA, the twins did not receive matching results from any of the companies.

But they should have been identical. Because they are identical twins you know for sure it is wrong. People are so fucking gullible. If these twins were siblings and like OP, they'd now be thinking they had different parents. wherease in fact it is just inaccurate.

Fortunately I am less bothered about the ancestry DNA as I already knew my heritage
I am grateful though that it helped me find my half sister last year - we had no idea of each others existance. It also helped me to connect with Aunts and Uncles both here and in the States. My family are fractured and this helped me know where to search and find people

@HadleyVaughn identical twins aren't always 100% identical genetically. The split happens within days of conception and from then there is plenty of time for mutations to occur. It's normal for identical twins to have differences.

No, you're still not getting it @HadleyVaughn in your desperation to point out scammers.

The main reason why many people take a DNA test from Ancestry or My Heritage or wherever is to find people who are related to them. The site will present you with a list of people who have DNA in common with you and tell you the percentage. THAT is the important bit of the testing, the cousin matching, the centimorgans. That is not a scam.

The "ethnicity estimates" are just that - an estimate. A bit of fun. A general indication where your ancestors may have come from. They are updated every so often as the database evolves, and you become more Scottish, or less Irish, or whatever. At one point one of the companies had me as 2% Turkish, and I'm definitely not. Ancestry even specifically uses the word ESTIMATE when they show you the DNA origins page.

Careful...some people think using percentages is racist. As far as they're concerned, she's Afro carribean, or just white depending on if they want to claim her or not. Like Meghan Markle

Thanks, very interesting about siblings/twins taking DNA tests.
My sister did some years ago and I'd like to in the future.

Not because I have any doubt we're full siblings, just for interest.

No I’m a working class Decorator born in London to parents who were both born in London to parents from Italy, Ireland and Wales. My Dad is a builder and still works at the age of 72 and my Mum who is no longer with us worked as a secretary. My children are 1/2 Czech and 1/2 British having been conceived with our joint ancestry. I do apologise for having been brought up not to judge or divide people by the colour of their skin or their background but then my family never really subscribed to all that Jim Crow bullshit.
People are people, humans are humans it’s what you do with your humanity that counts. Nuff said!

Incidentally just in case you’re wondering any further my Children’s Godparents are Godfather Jamaican and Godmother Czech.

Well said. Shattering the narrow lens with which we view other humans.

Hope you're ok, OP, in case it was a bit of a shock to find out that the person you thought was your bio parent was in fact not actually related to you biologically. I hope that parent loved and looked out for you anyway.

I also hope you find out lots of interesting things about your family background in Guyana and anywhere else you may have a family connection.

I'll just add that posters who have said things like 'There is only one race: the human race' are quite right. No need to jump down their throats for stating the obvious! But, speaking as someone from a mixed Asian/British/other European heritage, I think it's also quite exciting to trace all the different histories that make up your background - if you can, and if it interests you.

All good wishes, OP

@NewHeritage I’m a different ethnic background to DH but I don’t look like it. When people say oh you don’t look XXX I always saying: oh, what should I look like then? Shuts them down not be to so narrow minded! If I’m feeling generous I say oh yes, I’m very pale and burn easily but actually my Mum is Greek. It depends if I think they are trying to be dismissive/rude.

And Belize in Central America.

Thank you! 👏🏽

Yeah so you're still white, and recognised by others as being white and so have zero clue why many might find your comments offensive 😑

That's quite a discovery OP. I hope you are ok finding out this about your parents and processing that. How exciting for you though, I hope you get to find out more about this part of your heritage and get to make a trip there one day. It really can be quite a magical experience to go back to a place where your ancestors came from. Wishing you all the best.