If my ancestors were Native American, would that make me Native American as well?

If your ancestors were German, does that make you a citizen of Germany? No? Same thing.

The legal definition of "native American" (as defined by the US government) is: An enrolled citizen of a federally recognized tribe.

Are you a tribal citizen? No? Then you aren't native American. You just have the same family myth that 3 million other families have, that your great-grandma was a "full-blooded Cherokee", right? Funny, how out of 566 tribes, I was able to guess the right tribe and the relative you are claiming. That's because everyone has that same old story. And when you bother to check the census records, and tribal rolls, you will discover, like everyone else does, that the family folklore is fictional.

I am 1/4 Iroquois. So I am a descendent of Native Americans. I can apply for tribal citizenship and in all likelihood would be accepted. Although to be technically correct, there are NO native people living on the American continents. All came from the Eastern Hemisphere.

There is a difference between family stories of Native American blood and vague, mysterious and unproven "ancestors" said to be Native...

...and actually having real, legitimate and recent Native ancestry.

If it is proven and from real tribal nations, then "yes." If it is typical American lore, then probably not. Most of those claims are not even true at all. Yet, if you point this out people get hostile. They love their "Cherokee blood" stories!

Pure blood is almost done with over the centuries of people ariving in boats from other countries.

no. my ancestors came from mexico. But I'm not Mexican and don't speak Spanish.

Nope. Not unless you are enrolled in a tribe.

Nah just a mutt.