A Case of Identity: The Indigenous American Student Organization at Stony Brook University

By Lucrecia Urrutia

The first time I was asked about my racial identity, I didn’t know what to answer. Growing up in Peru, I had always been told I was Mestizo —that meant some mix of European and native South American. Mestizos make up around 60.2% of the Peruvian population and identify as such. However, I didn’t see that option in standardized tests or school surveys.

I became a minority when I was part of the “mestizo” majority. When I asked my parents, they would tell me their grandparents were white. My mom also said part of our family was Black. Then again, during high school, some people would mistake my sister and me for middle eastern people. Though, once I came to the United States, I was told I was Latina. Who was I? How did I know I wasn’t appropriating culture by claiming an identity that wasn’t mine?

After the 2020 Census, Latinos’ social pressure to choose a race increased once they added the “Hispanic Origin Question,” which categorized Hispanics as an ethnic group rather than a racial category.

“If you are not Black, then you are white,” a Navy recruiter told my sister while she filled out her training application. Her dark, thick hair and strong indigenous features were outweighed by her light skin color.

David Robichaux, an anthropologist from the Ibero-American University in Mexico, said that limiting ethnic identity to high-visibility groups leaves people of undefined identities — specifically indigenous backgrounds. Societal standards and the pressure to adapt to a racist and colorist society make the revival of an identity lost to colonization even harder. Therefore, I decided to take an ancestry test. To the surprise of my family, I turned out to be more than three-quarters indigenous. And despite the remarks colorists made, I could not blame them. They had also forgotten. For more than 500 years, Indigenous people have been stripped of their identity. Their culture has been demonized. Our ancestors were forced to assimilate into European society, and those who refused were not considered “fit” to be part of a “civilization.” Boarding schools, forced sterilizations, territorial displacement, and discrimination are examples of rebellious individuals’ struggles. The Indigenous American Student Organization at Stony Brook University aims to help others find their place in- side the Indigenous diaspora and spread the struggles our communities face.

Our organization was founded Fall of 2022 and comprised a small group. Anyone is welcome to join us during this spring semster! As of now, we have hosted a few events to start a conversation among the Stony Brook Caribbean, Latino, and Indigenous communities.