Pure Bred American Mut

With the census going on and illegal immigration in the headlines, ethnicity has been a hot topic lately. This got me thinking. I've always struggled when checking this box on any sort of form. I know my dad's side is primarily Norwegian. They came over in the late 1800's/early 1900's. However, my mother's side is an entirely different story. They were in America before America existed. Last night, I started researching my mother's side. I wanted to follow my direct lineage (parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc.) until I finally got to a relative that was born in another country. I want to know who they were, when they got to the US, why they came, etc. I haven't had time to go through everyone yet (this will be a long process), but I was able to follow my grandmother's father until I got to a relative that was born in another country. The result - I'm part Dutch. The second, he was born in 1654.

This means my family has been American born for over 350 years and that's just the line I could go all the way down. There are still lines that go as far back as far as 333 years where I haven't yet figured out the generations beyond them to know if they were born in the United States so it could date back even further. I've always kind of wanted an "American" box as an option. How long does my lineage after me have to live here before they can check an "American" box? I am sure that the Dutch have many great traditions, but I don't think of myself as being Dutch. I'm American. Period. Yes, several hundred years ago my great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather came to the US from another country. However, part of the beauty of America is that we're a melting pot of different ancestries. My family has been 'blending/procreating/reproducing' on American soil for almost 400 years. So, in all honesty, I feel more like a pure bred American mut. Unfortunately, there's no box for that yet. With dogs, mutts tend to be healthier because they're not overbred. They get the best of all breeds due to their varied genetic makeup. So maybe for now we're just a healthy bunch of 'others.'