text: what does mestizo mean? i read that it means a mixture spanish (or european) and  american indian which is like native american....i also read that's what ethnic group most mexicans are so if you take away the amerindian then most mexicans would be white? in bolivia, mestizo refers to someone who is mixed native american and european.  there's also an unspoken caste system that implies the less native you are the more privilege you are.  kind of like here in the us where white folks receive more preferential treatment over minorities.  i'm sure if you take away the native blood that there really wouldn't be much of a person at all.  as the european blood makes up only a small small fraction of it.  here in the us, many native american groups include those of mixed backgrounds up to a certain %.  why aren't they called mestizo?..to be simply put,  because they choose not to.   they either choose to be of that native group or part (big or small) of that native group or even exclude that side all together.   it's really up to how that individual identifies with.  the reason why the term mestizo isn't used is because of language.  in the americas mestizo is mostly used by spanish/portuguese while here in the us we say things like mixed or other... etc.