(CNN) -- When Ana María Tekina-eirú Maynard filled out her census form last year, she checked the box for Latino, and for the first time, she also checked the box for Native American. It had taken her more than 30 years -- plus research and genetic testing -- to discover her ties to the indigenous Taínos of Puerto Rico, to claim her identity and re-learn what she thought she knew of her history. She's not the only one. Since 2000, the number of Hispanics who identified themselves as Native American grew from 407,073 to 685,150, according to the 2010 census.
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Ana Maria Tekina-eirú Maynard discovered her Taíno heritage in her 30s
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She is among more Latinos in the United States who identify as Native American
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Many Puerto Ricans believed Taínos were decimated in the 1500s
The increasing number of people who identified as @placeholder and Native American in 2010 give him hope.