With stories like these, I'm reminded of the old Cold War claim that any great invention was done first by the Russians. I like ancient Roman and Egyptian culture - does that mean I have to have some Italian or Egyptian in my ancestry to appreciate it? (this would be news to all those solid Germans in my background - though there's probably some Roman back there from the old Empire days, come to think of it)
People should just appreciate American history for what it is, instead of grasping at straws and self esteem builders. Living in the US with the wealth of available information should be esteem enough.