The framework through which federal benefits are allocated to Indigenous communities is inherently paternalistic, which helps contextualize the erasive history of blood quantum. She is part of the writing team at TIF and is the article and Instagram content writer. It makes absolutely zero sense. Blood quantum was initially a system that the federal government placed onto tribes in an effort to limit their citizenship. Blood Quantum is so effective because it expertly combines ingredients from the horror genre (in this case zombie horror) with a real-life horror story that needs to be toldthe story of the very human horrors that marginalized peoples like the First Nations have experienced for centuries, which continues to this day. Blood quantum is very harmful to our people and only further divides us. [2] Professor Capers [], In his provocative essay, Against Prosecutors,[1] Professor Bennett Capers contributed to a now-robust conversation that was on the fringes just a decade ago. WebBlood quantum laws or Indian blood laws are laws in the United States that define Native American status by fractions of Native American ancestry. Natives have to carry a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB, issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs). 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. ne of the frustrating elements of U.S. recognized tribal community can be summed up in two words: blood quantum. Native tribes also generally accepted mixed-race individuals into Native societies with few hesitations. Shake my head. Ask Dave Epstein: What is freezing rain, anyway? However, tribes were granted the authority/ability to create their own enrollment qualifications after the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. Blood Quantum Land Laws and the Race Versus Political Identity Dilemma. Finally, some nations are incorporating knowledge of language, culture, and traditions into their citizenship requirements. Just like blood quantum. Overall, the right of self-determination should not be used to insulate a tribe or promote discrimination and deny an individual the equal protection of the law. 2022 Harvard Political Review. 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. According to the Court, the adoption of the blood quantum rule was not racially discriminatory. I would argue that in this regard, tribes were influenced by European-Americans to at least some degree. I didnt understand how anyone thought to control their sexual attraction in such ways. For example, if they didnt believe someones blood quantum to be correct, theyd make a guess based on that persons physical appearance. Well, if a tribe has a casino there is a good chance that the tribal members are entitled to percapita payments. In late 2001, Marilyn Vann, a woman with Cherokee and Black ancestry, applied for citizenship to the Cherokee Nation. And so, for example, these officials would mark someone potentially as "full blood" when potentially that person was not. But our primary identity continues to be a political one. These statistics raise questions about the future of blood politics, the makeup of the constituents of Native tribes, and the trajectories of tribal population numbers. Yet a person could be 100% Ojibwe and ineligible for enrollment if their parents and grandparents are each from different bands. Through dialogue, communities better acknowledge the roles lived experience, cultural connection, pre-colonial forms of knowledge production, and blood-based classifications all play in shaping indigeneity. The efforts of Vann and her partners were rewarded in the 2017 case Cherokee Nation v. Raymond Nash and Marilyn Vann, in which Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan ruled that Freedmen citizenship is coextensive with the right of native Cherokees. Following the decision, Vann said she was elated.. Many tribes use a 25% blood quantum standard. Its the percentage of how native a person is. Dr. Elizabeth Rule explains, There might be, down the line, a moment when folks are not going to be eligible for citizenship. Should we wind back, you know, move away from it? Throughout history, blood quantum was used to define a point at which responsibilities to tribes, entitlement programs, treaty rights, and reservations would end. St. Croix requires a 50% blood quantum to be considered for enrollment. Native nations sovereignty allows them to define their own citizenship criteria; some nations currently using blood quantum are in the process of considering possible alternatives. 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. As Gabe Galanda explains, Before contact, the great majority of our nations today self-identified as kinship societies. Together, we can create a more connected and informed world. [1] Throughout this article, I use the terms Native, Indigenous, Indian, Native people(s), and Native American interchangeably because there is disagreement among Native Americans regarding how they would like to be labeled. When I tell my students this, they assume I loved rebuttals for the intellectual one-upmanship. Although it seems contradictory, equal protection law allows the use of blood quantum to give preferential treatment to members of American Indian tribes. Not really. That is the question of the century. Stream GBH's Award-Winning Content For Parents And Children. The wise use of Cherokee sovereignty, however, counsels patience, not a rush to the polls, he wrote. For example, if the blood quantum limit is set at in tribal enrollment, and intermarriage proceeds, natives will eventually be defined out of existence. And first, I want to be clear that I don't intend to speak on behalf of any specific tribes or even on behalf of my own, but I'm happy to walk you through some of those arguments that exist in support of maintaining blood quantum requirements for tribal membership. And howtribes use blood quantum varies from tribe to tribe. Do you have to enroll to be White? All rights reserved. Or do they promote a legitimate political and non-racial purpose? Over 90 million of the 138 million acres originally designated as Indian territory were lost, and thousands of AIs (American Indians) were displaced.. Although the federal governments use of blood quantum limits the number of Natives who have access to certain federal benefits, tribes currently have the right to determine their own tribal membership requirements. Watch our event recording to learn more. Both parents enrolled? Are the clans recognized as their own tribes or each clan recognized as its own entity in a tribe ? If someone was Black and Native American, they were Black (unless they were seeking U.S. citizenship), no matter how much Native American blood they had. (If youre enrolled with a particular Native nation and want to switch nations, youll need to unenroll first. 37 0 obj <>stream She's a doctoral candidate at Brown University who specializes in Native American studies, and also a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation. Maya Harmon: Membership Development Editor, California Law Review Vol. Under this federal law, many Native nations adopted boilerplate constitutions developed by the federal government that included using blood quantum as a basis for citizenship. But also the fact of the matter is most east coast tribes are very obviously black natives and the racism in native spaces is real asf. Home. Federal officials used blood quantum to decide who was entitled to specific property or benefits. Blood quantum was initially a system that the federal government placed onto tribes in an effort to limit their citizenship. The CDIB specifies an individuals blood quantum. When the Bureau of Indian Affairs began recording blood quantum designations in the 1880s, white settlers had the final say when it came to the numbers. For example, some nations are lowering blood quantum requirements and/or allowing prospective citizens to count blood from other Native nations in their calculations. Their policy Safe space my ass, if you silence native voices. On the Trail of Tears, Freedmen were the backbone that helped the Cherokee Nation survive. Many Freedmen did, in fact, have Cherokee ancestry, but because they or their ancestors were enslaved, they lacked the documentation to prove it. So, lineal descendant supporters think about high memberships through the lens of existence as a resistance right. Blood quantum did not play a role in determining Tribal citizenship until the Indian Reorganization Act was passed in 1934. Tribal affiliation certainly wasnt one. ' wAF +]QOMpZrd=CubZfz 2ut}v+wl+ In the present day, however, many nations and peoples voluntary use of blood quantum membership requirements complicates the story and suggests that there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to indigeneity. To address concerns about scarce resources, those exploring alternatives to blood quantum are also emphasizing the importance of differentiating between citizenship and qualification for benefits. When pressed to identify a crush, I often pick a random guy instead of being honest about any sexual attractions I might have. Similarly, tribes that have land tend to be more exclusive than tribes that do not. Others required reservation residency, ownership of land kept in a government trust, or tribal citizenship for federal recognition. Can you get COVID and the flu at the same time? 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.. Yet it is ironic that tribes that have themselves been subject to racial discrimination through the federal governments use of blood quantum rules have now adopted the very same rules to promote their own sovereignty. endstream endobj startxref Gabe Galanda notes, I advocate for moving away from blood quantum because I think mathematically or statistically, it is intended to eradicate each and every one of our nations or societies from existing., Opponents also mention that the federal government implemented blood quantum as a tool for genocide, removal, and erasure. Kids enrolled. This measurement can affect a persons tribal identity and ability to become a federal member. The Dawes Act, passed in 1887, broke up communally-held Native lands into individual parcels, or allotments. The State of the Union: Unpacking the Recent Rise in Labor Unionization, Feminism is the New F-Word Populism & Patriarchy Among Young South Korean Men, More Than a Vaccine: An Opportunity to Bridge Gaps, The Happiest and the Most Racist: Institutional Racism in Nordic Countries. In other words, when tribes operate along patriarchal, racist, or homophobic lines, should federal and state governments of the United States intervene to protect individual civil liberties, given that tribes are not bound by the U.S. Bill of Rights? The event featured Megan Hill (Honoring Nations + Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development), Dr. Elizabeth Rule (American University), Dr. Jill Doerfler (University of Minnesota Duluth), and Gabe Galanda (Galanda Broadman PLLC). Climate Driven: A deep dive into Maine's response, one county at a time; With the development of colonialism in North America, metaphorical understandings of blood were replaced by European associations of blood to physiological characteristics. It's an extremely progressive and interesting move, and they're really changing the game. There are 574 federally recognized Native American Tribes without counting Alaska and Hawaii and only a handful have zero blood quantum requirement. Native Governance Center held a virtual event on blood quantum, Blood Quantum and Sovereignty, in March 2022. 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. Simply Blood Quantum was created by federal governments to eradicate Indigenous peoples. Cherokee slavery was a product of warfare between tribes, sometimes to repopulate a community after intertribal conflict or disease. What is blood quantum? The blood quantum policy was first implemented by the federal government within tribes to limit native citizenship. But it does happen and I just want to point it out again to show that there are difficulties on both sides and that there's not a clear-cut answer yet. Duh. The amount a person has is measured in fractions, such as or . So the way that blood quantum is calculated is by using tribal documents, and usually it's a tribal official or a government official that calculates it. 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. Blood quantum emerged as a way to measure "Indian-ness" through a construct of race. Kylie is a 17-year-old indigenous (Mohawk & Algonquin) girl from Michigan. 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. Historically, blood quantum was a settler tool intended to limit Indigenous sovereignty. has anyone done a 1440 on a skateboard; frozen trouble rules avalanche; patricia mae hewitt; arizona winter league; woolf reforms advantages and 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. Specifically, Freedmen, the descendants of Black slaves of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogees (Creeks), and Seminole tribes, have faced significant exclusion. If native communities uphold strict blood quantum rules, it is inevitable that enrollment numbers will decline and tribal communities will no longer be viable as sovereign nations. And so there's a desire to build up tribes' numbers and capacity in order to survive and perpetuate the tribe. Because of their black appearance, they were listed on a separate roll. Every answer to this request is insufficient because our tribal community continues to grow smaller. My tribe doesn't use blood quantum for obvious reasons. The definitions of Indian are inconsistent because the government is constantly reshaping those definitions in order to fit its aims. And so why do tribal governments not have to follow these agreements? Vann asked in an interview with the HPR. My grandfather cut ties with his brothers after that long, loud battle. Some tribes dont. We encourage readers to stay up to date on conversations happening around blood quantum and citizenship within the Native nations and communities closest to them. Theyll know about it for sure because the tribes history is part of their history.