system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Why is Indigenous ancestry a source of pride in the United States but a source of shame in Latin America?

After watching Spanish-language soap operas and then visiting Latin America, I noticed that dark skin and other indigenous characteristics are viewed as undesirable and associated with lower socio-economic status. My first-generation Mexican American friend tells me her parents constantly pressure her to marry a *güero* (white person) in order to *mejorar la raza*, meaning bless her posterity with more desirable features. 

In the US, by contrast, many people claim to have indigenous ancestry and wear it as a badge of pride. Even if it's something as insignificant as being 1/16th Cherokee, people will flaunt it. So I'm wondering, given the history of racism against Native Americans throughout this continent, what accounts for these differences in attitude?
gpt
It hasn't always been that way. There is a documentary called Reel Injun that discusses both the appropriation of native ancestry, and the history of its social desirability in a more broad context of cinema featuring native american characters.