24 ■ Chapter 2
Indeed, the phenomenon of ethnicity is “complex, ambivalent, paradoxi- cal, and elusive” (Senior, 1965, p. 21). Ethnicity is indicative of the following characteristics a group may share in some combination:
1. Geographic origin 2. Migratory status 3. Race 4. Language and dialect 5. Religious faith or faiths 6. Ties that transcend kinship, neighborhood, and community boundaries 7. Traditions, values, and symbols 8. Literature, folklore, and music 9. Food preferences 10. Settlement and employment patterns 11. Special interest, with regard to politics, in the homeland and in the
United States 12. Institutions that specifically serve and maintain the group 13. An internal sense of distinctiveness 14. An external perception of distinctiveness
There are at least 106 ethnic groups and more than 500 American Indian Nations in the United States that meet many of these criteria. People from every country in the world have immigrated to this country. Some nations, such as Germany, England, Wales, and Ireland, are heavily represented; others, such as Japan, the Philippines, and Greece, have smaller numbers of people living here (Thernstrom, 1980, p. vii). People continue to immigrate to the United States, with the present influx coming from Haiti, Mexico, South and Central America, India, and China.