That history is very clear. And again, I think it's helpful to understand the way that blood quantum works through another example that people may be more familiar with and that's the "one drop rule.". 2023 (Well say more about why the amounts were usually incorrect later.) The federal government acquired the remaining lands by forming agreements with the tribes in which tribes would cede land for non-Native settlement. She hopes to spread awareness on the inequities indigenous people face and help create an easy way to enlighten people on the topics through The Indigenous Foundation! She describes this framework in her book Real Indians, Identity and the Survival of Native America, proposing that Radical Indigenism illuminates differences in assumptions about knowledge that are at the root of the dominant cultures misunderstanding and subordination of indigenous knowledge. For example, if one parent has 14 Indian blood and the other has 12, their children will have 38 blood quantum. During the Treaty Periodthe time from 18171871 when the United States had a policy of negotiating treaties with tribes as sovereign political entitiesfederal officials used the language of blood to describe Native American ancestry, specifically those who were mixed with non-Native ancestry. endstream
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And some tribes have extremely high blood quantums such as the Ute tribes(southern and northern) have a 5/8s blood quantum requirement. 2022 Harvard Political Review. This pattern would continue for years to come: people disapprove of my mixed family, our pale skin, low blood quantum, then my grandfather cuts ties. Native art can be anything as long as the artist is native. In an interview with the HPR, Professor Matthew Fletcher, a law professor at Michigan State University and a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, said, if you ask 100 Indians to define Indians, youll get 100 separate definitions. In any case, Fletcher believes blood quantum occupies a more negative role in Indigenous communities today, citing repercussions of blood quantum use within his own tribe. I'm glad my tribe is based on lineage and not percentage. When I became a teenager, my family started requesting grand babies. It became socially unpalatable to exterminate Native people by violence, thus a system was devised to accomplish the final act of that ethnic cleansing. A Progressive Facade: Comparing the U.S. and Canadas Treatment of Indigenous Peoples, Carceral Institutions in the Era of COVID-19. Other laws did not provide any definition of Indian identity, leaving it up to the courts to decide. ne of the frustrating elements of U.S. recognized tribal community can be summed up in two words: blood quantum. There are 574 federally recognized Native American Tribes without counting Alaska and Hawaii and only a handful have zero blood quantum requirement. Many Freedmen did, in fact, have Cherokee ancestry, but because they or their ancestors were enslaved, they lacked the documentation to prove it. Those whod like to eliminate blood quantum point out that the original numbers are arbitrary. Others are eliminating blood quantum requirements entirely and using lineal descent (or sometimes, more specifically, patrilineal or matrilineal descent) to define membership. Rose Cuison Villazor is an associate professor at Hofstra University Law School and the author of "Blood Quantum Land Laws and the Race Versus Political Identity Dilemma," published in the California Law Review. Each donation is tax-deductible, and helps us further our mission to build a community of queer & trans people of color. It can affect your identity, your relationships and whether or not you or your children may become a citizen of your tribe. Besides, honesty about attraction could be dangerous. If you're Native American, this controversial term about your blood can affect your identity, your relationships and whether or not you can become a citizen of your tribe. Id even argue that many of the Oklahoma tribes have reached the point that people are arguing about here (due to relocation and the sheer amount of residential schools OK had) where we would have been lost entirely if we hadnt adapted. Usually this is detailed on a CDIB (Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood) Card issued by the United States Government. "I use the term 'Colonial Catch 22' to say that there is no clear answer, and that one way or another, people are hurt," says Elizabeth Rule. Dr. Elizabeth Rule explains, There might be, down the line, a moment when folks are not going to be eligible for citizenship. Climate Driven: A deep dive into Maine's response, one county at a time; And, some Tribal citizens refused to sign blood quantum-related documents in protest, thereby losing their place on the Census rolls and, oftentimes, future citizenship for themselves and their descendants. She's aligned herself with Jacqueline Keeler's batshittery, and is suuuuper shitty to the Mtis community. We couldn't do it without you. Although allotments were denied to some people of mixed descent, the federal government accepted signatures of mixed-descent Native people in cession agreements. It requires honest, sustained, and, no doubt, difficult dialogue, not politicking, and the critical reinterpretation of cultural resources in the service of kinship, not the blind reproduction of divisive racial hegemonies-in short, ga-du-gi, all working together.. (Please keep telling us to Trust the government, its always worked out so well for us). They find me obstinate. [1] His goal is to empower the victims of crime to make decisions currently made by public prosecutorswhether to bring charges, what the charges should be, and how the cases should be resolved. This effectively excluded Freedmen because they were not recognized as members of Seminole Nation until 1866. Proven bio dad enrolled? In the context of developments such as urbanization, large numbers of Natives are in contact with non-Natives, increasing intermarriage rates. They base citizenship on culture, liniage, and roll numbers. Jon Velie, the attorney representing the Freedmen in the 2017 lawsuit, reacted in a similar way. Blood Quantum, as a way to ascribe Native American membership, has dire consequences. Sign up for our newsletter to receive news and upcoming event updates. As we mentioned at the start of this guide, blood quantum is controversial, with many different arguments for and against. At the time, the federal government required persons to hb```f``g`a`Nc`@ &G@V9%ro3{Plda`RL!|F `
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,lZO" For example, if they didnt believe someones blood quantum to be correct, theyd make a guess based on that persons physical appearance. Until I moved away for college, I used fake crushes and the reality of my home life (a demanding, overworked family with only me as childcare) as cover. Not really. The Seminoles, for instance, have also employed blood differences to deny membership. Starting in 1884, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) used Census rolls to assign blood quantum amounts to Native people. We encourage you to take action to meaningfully support Native nations in strengthening their sovereignty. In some tribes, people could gain tribal citizenship if they were born in, married or were adopted into, or had long-term residence within the tribal community, or if they assumed cultural norms such as religion and language. And one of the ways that history could be eradicated, sadly, by design, is through blood quantum.. It is the US governments way of controlling who gets to be Native. And that ensured that every person who had at least one drop would be considered black and would be covered under these discriminatory laws and, even in the earlier days, enslaved. All in all, blood quantum limits the holistic meaning of what it means to be Native American. It is almost as if this erasure was premeditated by the government. Also I had no idea about South Africa and the nazis. Does any other ethnicity have to enroll to be a member of their own ethnicity? The pressure to create heteronormative romantic partnerships and babies becomes unrelenting. For Indigenous people, the blood-based rule is referred to as blood quantum, which measures the fraction of Indian blood that a person possesses. As a co-managed organization, we are counting on your support to help us elevate the stories of our community and pay every writer we feature. Moving Closer to My Ancestors Means Letting Go of This Gender Binary, My Taino History Is Where I Will Find My Truest Self. To ensure that only Real Natives are enrolled in tribes. Few friends believe me when I say that I dont have an interest in having babies or finding a sexual partner. The use of blood quantum as a genetic cut-off point for Indian people is viewed by many as an instrument of assimilation and extermination. Tribes use blood quantum as an enrollment tool requirement. Many Native nations currently use blood quantum to determine who can and cannot become a citizen. And so, for example, these officials would mark someone potentially as "full blood" when potentially that person was not. Few people I talked to cared about the blood quantum of potential partners until college. Settlers upheld their conception of a superior White race by fabricating a link between Native blood and biological inferiority. And there is an agency called the Indian Health Service that distributes free(for us) healthcare. FOR OUR DAUGHTER[S] . Who Decides Who Counts as Native American? Tribal affiliation certainly wasnt one. Fletcher, Indigenous Law and Policy Center, Rose Cuison Villazor, co-editor, "Loving v. Virginia in a Post-Racial World", Carla D. Pratt, law professor, Penn State University, Tiya Miles, historian, University of Michigan, Joanne Barker, associate professor, American Indian studies. If you've got 25 percent of Navajo blood according to that tribe's blood quantum standards and you have children with someone who has a lower blood quantum, those kids won't be able to enroll. Copyright Whether by requiring a higher blood quantum for federal recognition and benefits, denying Indigenous people U.S. citizenship, or influencing tribes to adopt their own blood quantum requirements, White people have been the gatekeepers of Native American identity. The programs that most nations run have a host of requirementsthey might be living within a certain boundary or having a certain income or age requirement, for example., Continued use of blood quantum requirements has major implications for Tribal sovereignty. why blood quantum is problematic Native American (Hey America, did yall know that your taxes are already paying for universal healthcare? Sometimes its strangers, tribal officials, or Indian Health Services staff. So that over time, Indians would literally breed themselves out and rid the federal government of their legal duties to uphold treaty obligations. Thank you for sharing your powerful words. In 1912, Congress conditioned funding and membership for some tribes on blood quantum, limiting its obligations to only those tribes and individuals it deemed to have enough Indigenous blood. The federal government used blood quantum to deny some mixed-race Native Americans land during this time by requiring at least one-quarter Native blood to receive allotments. Blood quantum. I nickname them the BQMs (Blood Quantum Mechanics). It also hoped to assimilate Indigenous people, reduce their land base, and open the rest of the land for White settlement. Spending the first half of my life without tribal citizenship, only to gain this distinction once our tribe lowered the blood quantum minimum, Ive experienced both sides of the divide. In late 2001, Marilyn Vann, a woman with Cherokee and Black ancestry, applied for citizenship to the Cherokee Nation. Shake my head. I also want to emphasize that it is the tribe's sovereign right to determine their own membership and whether that involves a blood quantum minimum or lineal descent system. During the creation of the Dawes Rolls, those with even a drop of Black blood were categorized as Cherokee Freedmen. Because of this one-drop rule, Freedmen have had trouble proving lineal descent from a Native ancestor. Ultimately their decision has to be respected in order to uphold tribal sovereignty. WebThe idea of blood quantum was first introduced in 1705 by the Colony of Virginia, which adopted the Indian Blood law.. The book is a compilation of articles by Indigenous intellectuals examining the history and current use of blood quantum to determine tribal citizenship and why its a problem. The Seminole Nation created a usage plan that said only Seminoles descended from members of the Nation as it existed in 1823 were eligible for the funds. Vann began her advocacy for Freedmen membership after being denied citizenship in 2001. Sure, I could control whether or not to act based on my desires, but the interest itself was uncontrollable. Blood quantum was initially a system that the federal government placed onto tribes in an effort to limit their citizenship. . The federal government, and specifically the Department of the Interior, issues what is called a "Certified Degree of Indian Blood," and that is a card similar to an ID card. We need to tell them. ne of the frustrating elements of U.S. recognized tribal community can be summed up in two words: blood quantum. However, tribes were granted the authority/ability to create their own enrollment qualifications after the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. PROTECT CHEROKEE CULTURE FOR OUR CHILDREN. FIGHT AGAINST THE INFILTRATION.. The BIA must also approve of tribes methods for determining enrollment. For instance, for the Cherokee Nation, membership was generally determined by kinship affiliations to one of the nations clans. Fucking none. By contrast, many tribes and nations do not include blood quantum as part of their own enrollment criteria. A person's blood quantum is defined as the fraction of their ancestors, out of their total ancestors, who are documented as full-blood Native Americans. And I don't think that anyone would argue that it isn't that. Or do they promote a legitimate political and non-racial purpose? And they way they see it is no more Indians = no one to keep the trust. There are Indian Hospitals and clinics only for use by tribal members. Their policy i&nEiQ|,7z%Fveg%1{i,Jb/sal>Kb(}a9-NrcaGq.tNG\u:1cck6F>6 GQT/C"=b/|zZq);p QLm.NH1/An3| zpqUX\6NEj['8 nwI+{sP:7M2hjpvZ(+^rh(.BQwfeA?5P!JVL`@?B_hT'F=PzN }'^
,k@UcMt`d5 Ie8E&A7[5tQ#d'e^-W%w"*bb#Cot]E6MmP~{)39]p}q,'X,MHa Blood quantum did not play a role in determining Tribal citizenship until the Indian Reorganization Act was passed in 1934. Safe space my ass, if you silence native voices. Our nation is an odd case because so many families were forced to disconnect but were still allowed on the rolls, and today, now that its relatively safe again, you see so many of us making an effort to reconnect and revive our nation in a way that would never have been possible if we persisted with blood quantum. Because of their black appearance, they were listed on a separate roll. But, tribes today of course have to adapt, and blood quantum for some tribes in their view has been a way to preserve their community. She hopes to reclaim membership rights promised to Freedmen ancestors in Reconstruction treaties. Blood quantum really emerges as a way to trace race between generations of Native people starting at the turn of the 20th century. Diversity of experience within and among tribes suggests that there is no one-size fits all approach to defining a Native person. Looking forward, sustained, open community dialogues can foster recognition of these complexities by considering the legacy of colonization, lived realities, and pre-colonial practices from a time when Indigenous Peoples had ultimate authority over their land. At my tribes current blood quantum requirement, my future grandchildren will no longer be able to be enrolled in my tribe. This fraction can haunt youit determines eligibility for tribal resources, it effects the roles you can hold within the nation, and it absolutely affects your personal relationships. Many Native tribes adopted the same criteria used by the federal government, leading the majority of tribes to have a blood quantum requirement. Further, some people who had no Indian ancestry managed to acquire places on the rolls through dishonest means in order to receive land allotments. I try my best to avoid these discussions. ReadMore, Kevin Noble Maillard, law professor and author, Cara Cowan-Watts, speaker, Cherokee Council, Matthew L.M. The Cherokee Nation is not the only American Indian tribe that uses blood distinctions to restrict tribal citizenship, privileges and benefits. Support GBH. [2] I have put references to type or amount of blood in quotation marks because they denote social constructs, not biological realities. The importance of community dialogue in the development of Cherokee citizenship requirements was articulated by S. Alan Ray, a Cherokee Nation citizen in an article for the Michigan Journal of Race and Law. WebThe term blood quantum is used to refer to the amount of Alaska Native or American Indian blood a person has. Their reservations werent deep in middle America or the forests. And, if a parent refuses to sign necessary paperwork, their child may be unable to enroll in the future. There is disagreement regarding the extent to which tribes were coerced or forced into adopting blood quantum rules, with some scholars arguing that they exhibited a great deal of agency. For example, the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe requires members to have 14 or more blood quantum from Lower Brule. L
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And how tribes use blood quantum varies from tribe to tribe. One of the questions that kept coming up is: OK, so why don't tribes just ditch these blood quantum requirements and switch to an enrollment requirement that uses lineal descent? It had never worked that way for me. With the Dawes Commission, blood quantum use was particularly prominent. And honestly I know nothing about South Africa, how, if, did it end? Creative discussions are happening across Indian Country on ways to incorporate traditional ideas about reciprocity and kinship into membership. The US government wants tribes to keep using blood quantum so that one day, nobody will have enough tribal blood to be enrolled in a tribe. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Its the percentage of how native a person is. Such a belief was expressed by individuals such as phrenologist Charles Caldwell, who said that the only efficient scheme to civilize the Indians is to cross the breed.. The blood quantum policy was first implemented by the federal government within tribes to limit native citizenship. Others required reservation residency, ownership of land kept in a government trust, or tribal citizenship for federal recognition. I dont think the federal government was promoting miscegenation. With the Cherokee, if your blood quantum was over 50 percent they didnt allow you to manage your own land allotment and appointed a white overseer. The federal government used this strategy to further strip Native nations of their land base. Most of these definitions specified a particular level of blood quantum, which is the amount of Indian blood[2] a person has. Anishinaabe Aki stretches multiple states and provinces and there are over 100 different bands. For purposes of land allotment, the government wanted fewer people to count as Native American because it wanted to keep the majority of land to itself. The thing that I've found to be most interesting about both arguments in support and against blood quantum requirements is the language of survival. It argues for the reassertion and rebuilding of traditional knowledge from its roots, its fundamental principles.. Yes. It only exists until we do not. What is blood quantum, and why is it controversial? The BIA issues Native people a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB) that identifies an individuals blood quantum and Native nation affiliation. Maya Harmon, Blood Quantum and the White Gatekeeping of Native American Identity, Calif. L. Rev. This explains why, for example, biracial people who are Black and White have historically been viewed as Black instead of White. Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation Chad Smith denied accusations of racism in the exclusion of Freedmen, instead arguing that later Congressional legislation like the Five Tribes Act of 1906 abrogated Freedmen rights to citizenship. When Im referring to a specific tribe, I refer to the tribe by its name.
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