I'm adopted and recently found out that I am one quarter Sámi

[KolyaReindeer]

Name changed because I would never hurt my parents but what do I do with this information?

I am living proof that nature outweighs nurture as I have always had very specific interests that my parents and big sister did not share - mostly large animal/snow related. Bizarre but genuinely true!

Apparently when I was born I had blue black hair and I have very dark brown eyes and a very rare Rh Neg blood group too. Until I did a DNA test I just thought that these things happened randomly but I googled pics of Sámi people and one of them looked more like my sister than my sister does!

As above, what do I do with this info, how do I process it? I love my Mum and Dad and my Sister but I cannot help but think that my 'heritage' needs acknowledging as well.

I am a quarter Indian but I don’t put my love of a good curry down to my Anglo Indian mother.

@Drivingdownthe101

How fascinating OP! I’m a bit confused about the bit about your sister... you say she looks like the Sami people? She’s your birth sister then and you were adopted together, is that right?

You've got that backwards.

Her sister doesn't look much like her but the some of Sami people do.

Because this is silly and shows the OP is getting carried away.

Is it really your place to police the OP’s enthusiasm? Why?

Are any of these negative posts coming from an adopted person?
I bet they aren't.
I believe that biologically certain traits do pass down.
I'm quite weak until I need to be strong, it wasn't even me that noticed it was dh. He calls me tea bag because you don't know how strong I am until I'm in hot water.
Like many of my ancestors they needed to be strong living in the way they did.

Whose ancestors DIDN'T need to be strong?

I work with Sami topics in my professional career. There are different Sami language groups and different ways of life. Do you know anything more specific than that you are 1/4 Sami? Not all Sami are reindeer herders and there are nine different living languages. So if you want to explore your Sami heritage, be aware of that and that what you read may not necessarily be relevant for your ancestors. If you know the area, I can tell you which Sami language group live in that area, and maybe give some links with information about them.

I'm quite weak until I need to be strong, it wasn't even me that noticed it was dh. He calls me tea bag because you don't know how strong I am until I'm in hot water.
Like many of my ancestors they needed to be strong living in the way they did.

This trait is not limited to a certain race, it’s prevalent across many.

I’m not policing her enthusiasm to learn more but I am disputing her ‘proof’, which is childish nonsense and frankly, got on my nerves.

I can’t be figged with that sort of crap. If she’s enthusing to other people about loving snow being proof of her special heritage she will get on other people’s nerves too...because it’s daft.

You've got that backwards

Her sister doesn't look much like her but the some of Sami people do

Ah thank you, that makes far more sense . I blame the heat.

Cherry, it's precisely experiences like yours of India that I struggle with. I'm not the kind of person who can just see the colour and magic of India and elsewhere and remain oblivious to the abject poverty and inequality.

I note someone upthread wondering whether the OP was considering 'becoming Sami and taking up the lifestyle'. Apart from the blithe assumption that there's a particular Sami lifestyle (there isn't, unless you're talking about reindeer herding, which so many Sami have abandoned because it's such a hard way of life) there's also the assumption that you can just become Sami and 'the Sami' would be fine with that. We may have BLM on our minds, but colonialism still rules!

OP, I wish you many happy years learning about Sami culture, going to Riddu Riddu and other Sami festivals and discovering one quarter of your heritage. But show some sensitivity.

I would be wary of claiming your love of snow can be explained by your Sámi ancestry. Remember you do have a completely different relationship to snow to someone who is part of the traditional Sámi culture.

Many British people love snow because they think it looks pretty and it's fun to play in and it's also relatively mild and rare here.

But for someone living a traditional Sámi lifestyle snow is something that informs their way of life. I would imagine it's something that needs to be prepared for every year, something that can be harsh and difficult.

Maybe Sámi people in general do love snow (I wouldn't know) but I think it would be a different kind of love to someone for whom snow is a rare and fun thing.

But anyway, I think it's worth looking into your family tree and finding out about your ancestors. Whoever they are and wherever they came from you're bound to find some interesting stories, and maybe people you feel connected to.

This trait is not limited to a certain race, it’s prevalent across many.

Of course, but obviously more prevalent in some races.
It depends on what your ancestors went through.

OP, this might interest you, and pictish you get on my nerves, and btw are you adopted, qualified to speak on this topic at all. Leave the poor woman alone.

www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/science/bioscience/can-memory-be-inherited/

Im adopted and I think its daft too sorry!

Sonjadog, how do you pronounce Sami? A PP refererd to Saami, which is the way it's pronounced on the BBC (Saarmi), but my Finnish contact (half Sami) called herself Saymi and told me Saarmi is wrong. Is it pronounced differently in different areas?

All of our ancestors have been through shit. Pretty sure the last ice age wasn’t fun for anyone.

Of course if you’re referring to recent events like the Holocaust / slavery of black people / genocide in Bosnia / Rwanda genocide / Khmer Rouge then those things are more recent and will affect the current generations. But not sure they’re imprinted in our DNA just yet.

Of course, but obviously more prevalent in some races.

No, not obvious at all. Until the industrial revolution, survival was a daily struggle for the vast majority of humans. Even today, the majority of people on the globe live in relative poverty where one misfortune will kill them.

Which races do you think are genetically stronger?

^ Devlesko

Apologies, that was rude actually.

Someone else put it better when they compared it to people claiming certain personality traits or preferences are down to their star sign.
They’re not, and they should not expect to say these things and be taken seriously.

Same applies here. It’s actually bordering on stereotyping and it’s pretty clumsy stereotyping at that.

No, not obvious at all. Until the industrial revolution, survival was a daily struggle for the vast majority of humans. Even today, the majority of people on the globe live in relative poverty where one misfortune will kill them.

Agreed @AnnaBanana333

I’m also very uncomfortable with this idea from @Devlesco. Reminds me of people in the USA in the 1960s saying black people do less well in IQ tests due to genetic reasons. Bullshit.

Saying some races are stronger leads to saying some races are superior.

Quite, and race isn't even a genetic concept. That's why these DNA tests are so inaccurate - you can't look at someone's genome and say what race they are.

@KolyaReindeer

can I suggest that you get this moved to the adoption board where you will get more reasoned responses.

Agreed!

Agreed eith @AnnaBanana333 that is.

Have they been quite open with you about your heritage? Family I know who have been adopted are very open about this and encouraged their kids to look into this if they wanted. It's perfectly natural to want to know where you came from, genetically speaking. I don't think this will come as a shock, especially if you bring it up sensitively.

My DNA ancestry came back as 50% Scandinavian and 0% English. I can only guess that it’s going back a long, long way as all our ancestors for many generations were born in England.