A distinct difference exists in the United States between its aboriginal peoples and its ethnic and racial minorities in terms of land issues. Native Americans, Alaskan Natives, and Hawaiian Natives were the original inhabitants of the United States. The identities of aboriginal peoples are closely linked to the land based on traditions that span generations. Many of these native peoples have not assimilated into mainstream white society. In contrast, the assimilation process is well advanced for most non-aboriginal racial and ethnic minorities.
Although many racial and ethnic minorities retain vestiges of their cultural pasts, most pursue a common identity in the American melting pot. Richard Rodriguez (1989) describes his transformation from clinging to the traditions of his Mexican immigrant parents to become an American writer. According to Rodriguez (1989) his is a "conventional story" in a country where "one stops being German, stops being Chinese" (p. 4-5). In some respects, Rodriguez's experience is typical of first generation Americans with foreign-born parents, yet distinctly Hispanic. Rodriguez (1989) describes his initial fear of gringos and the attraction that ethnic separatism once held for him. It is popular for modern Hispanics to assert their cultural identities and to reject assimilation. In contrast, the term "model minority" is synonymous with Asian-Americans, a group which has traditionally sought to demonstrate its loyalty to mainstream society.
Rodriguez (1989) concludes that the dramatic moments in his life were based on social class, not ethnicity. He defines ethnicity as "memory, response, attitude, mood, coded into the soul, transmitted through generations" (Rodriguez, 1989, p. 8). For many, ethnicity expresses itself more in the past than in the present.
An exception to the melting pot myth in America is the experience of black people. Reed (1989) cites examples that indicate th...