Whoooaaa! I have read some articles, I believe in National Geographic magazine, regarding the Basques of our country as shepherds in Wyoming and Idaho... but I didn't know that they were receiving preferential treatment... as seperate ethnic groups? ************************************* Charles Wyly wrote: "The Rocky mountain Sheepherders with horse drawn camper wagons were Basque- often mistaken for Gipsies. Boise,Idaho is the largest Basque city in theU.S. and was settled by Basque sheepherders or descendants. and Over 1/2 ,some say 2/3 of Colombus's sailors were of Basque ancestry. and They are now part of the Wichita >Reservation based on linguistics and lifestyle. " And then Jim Brown wrote: "is 50% Basque. He is the grandson of an Idaho sheep herder. Believe it or not, he is entitled to preferential treatment under the Civil Rights and Affirmative Action programs of the Federal government, since he is considered "Hispanic"! ************************************************ Does this mean that these Basques, arriving in the US ca. 1490's, have gradually assimilated into both the Hispanic and Native American groups... and are receiving benefits as such? What about all the poor Swedes, Danes, Norwegians, Germans, etc? Karla ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.