'Part' Indian?
Half-breed quarter breed one sixteen.... what do fractions really mean?
Could you imagine having to carry a card to 'prove' you are white? Or imagine that, in order to truly be acknowledged as an African American, you had to be an 'enrolled member'. With utmost respect for our friends and relatives who are enrolled, we feel that having to carry a CDIB (Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood) card is, in our humble view, the very definition of institutionalized racism. We recognize that there must be some criteria for belonging to a sovereign First Nations community. But we respectfully assert that blood quantum is not the answer. Good people sometimes say that they are 'part Indian', or 'only a percentage Indian'. This is a sad testament to the legacy of their American Indian ancestors. You see, the U.S. government is responsible for the invention of the 'Indian blood quantum' law. As it turns out, this is quite a convenient way to 'kill Indians on paper'. Add to that the fact that many authentic Native people during the first half of the 20th century had hospital staff put 'white' on their babies' birth certificates to save their children from racial oppression; and the fact that, during that same period, countless Indian people wrote 'white' on their census info for the same reasons, and 'killing Indians on paper' becomes very, very real. What is sad is that most First Nations governments handle inclusion in their communities with this force-fed 'blood quantum' system which ultimately divides and separates us from who we are and has deeply damaged the integrity of our ancient cultures. We are people, not fractions. There are signs that some loosening of those requirements is beginning to happen. Many people from Native communities are concerned about this, and the general consensus is that if something doesn't change, enrollment numbers will continue to decline until entire Tribal communities will no longer be viable as sovereign nations. And this was exactly the intention of the blood quantum system forced on us by the U.S. government in the first place. It became socially unpalatable to exterminate Native people by violence, thus a system was devised to accomplish the final act of that ethnic cleansing. That system is the blood quantum rule that erases Native people from existence and forcibly assimilates us without firing a single shot. We want the demographic of our nations to grow, not shrink. We at Native Circle certainly do not have all the answers. But let us pray our leaders find those answers sooner than later.
Here we want to address the 'Human Genome Project' issue. This is a sensitive topic for many minority groups, and for good reason. Native American people are leery and guarded about using DNA as a way to 'verify' whether or not someone is American Indian. After all, it could easily be used as yet another way to erase Native people. Not to mention that DNA is not a reliable indicator of race. Yes, science has made some wonderful progress in genetics, including advances in DNA analysis. But DNA, that stuff is never wrong, right? Not so fast. Though it may be said that DNA can be a very accurate indicator of certain human genetics, it cannot - as some mistakenly believe - be used to distinguish one race from another. Please read the following quote direct from the U.S. Govt. Human Genome Project studies:
Will genetic anthropology establish scientific criteria for race or ethnicity? "DNA studies do not indicate that separate classifiable subspecies (races) exist within modern humans. While different genes for physical traits such as skin and hair color can be identified between individuals, no consistent patterns of genes across the human genome exist to distinguish one race from another. There also is no genetic basis for divisions of human ethnicity. People who have lived in the same geographic region for many generations may have some alleles in common, but no allele will be found in all members of one population and in no members of any other. Indeed, it has been proven that there is more genetic variation within races than exists between them."
In other words, a DNA test remains a completely unreliable method for determining race. Thus First Nations governments will not use DNA results as a consideration in the enrollment process. And the racial/ethnic profile results of popular genealogy sites and companies are really just educated guesses, not incontrovertible facts.
Now, having shared our thoughts about 'blood quantum', let us offer some levity to this topic. Native/Indigenous identity is not so much about blood quantum as it is about cultural immersion. As a direct result of forced assimilation and genocide, many people with Indigenous lineage have grown up with varying degrees of disconnection to the Native cultures whose blood they carry in their veins. A sad result of this is that there can be a chasm between Indigenous people who grew up completely immersed in their culture and those with mixed ancestry who were not immersed, but still long to reconnect to the culture of their Native/Indigenous bloodlines. A perfect example of this chasm is Senator Elizabeth Warren. It seems she grew up with an oral history that her family carried Native blood. And her DNA test, though controversial, may lend some validity to that claim. However, it does not appear that Warren grew up immersed in much Native culture if any. And yet, she still holds on to a sense of identity as a person with Indigenous lineage. The challenge to her sense of that identity is based on only two things: lack of immersion and lack of blood quantum, both sad vestiges of forced assimilation. So is Elizabeth Warren wrong to lay claim to an identity as a Native person? Some say yes. Some say no. We say that, if she identifies as such, carries the lineage, and takes the time and makes the effort to immerse herself in the culture, then her identity is valid. So you see, the forced assimilation practices of the U.S. government which include the invention of blood quantum as a means to qualify or disqualify a person with Indigenous lineage, are problematic. Identity is complex, and much damage has been done to Native cultures by the labeling of who does, or who doesn't belong.
You are 100% descendant of ALL your ancestors, and that includes your Native ancestors just as much as the others. Honor them....
Could you imagine having to carry a card to 'prove' you are white? Or imagine that, in order to truly be acknowledged as an African American, you had to be an 'enrolled member'. With utmost respect for our friends and relatives who are enrolled, we feel that having to carry a CDIB (Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood) card is, in our humble view, the very definition of institutionalized racism. We recognize that there must be some criteria for belonging to a sovereign First Nations community. But we respectfully assert that blood quantum is not the answer. Good people sometimes say that they are 'part Indian', or 'only a percentage Indian'. This is a sad testament to the legacy of their American Indian ancestors. You see, the U.S. government is responsible for the invention of the 'Indian blood quantum' law. As it turns out, this is quite a convenient way to 'kill Indians on paper'. Add to that the fact that many authentic Native people during the first half of the 20th century had hospital staff put 'white' on their babies' birth certificates to save their children from racial oppression; and the fact that, during that same period, countless Indian people wrote 'white' on their census info for the same reasons, and 'killing Indians on paper' becomes very, very real. What is sad is that most First Nations governments handle inclusion in their communities with this force-fed 'blood quantum' system which ultimately divides and separates us from who we are and has deeply damaged the integrity of our ancient cultures. We are people, not fractions. There are signs that some loosening of those requirements is beginning to happen. Many people from Native communities are concerned about this, and the general consensus is that if something doesn't change, enrollment numbers will continue to decline until entire Tribal communities will no longer be viable as sovereign nations. And this was exactly the intention of the blood quantum system forced on us by the U.S. government in the first place. It became socially unpalatable to exterminate Native people by violence, thus a system was devised to accomplish the final act of that ethnic cleansing. That system is the blood quantum rule that erases Native people from existence and forcibly assimilates us without firing a single shot. We want the demographic of our nations to grow, not shrink. We at Native Circle certainly do not have all the answers. But let us pray our leaders find those answers sooner than later.
Here we want to address the 'Human Genome Project' issue. This is a sensitive topic for many minority groups, and for good reason. Native American people are leery and guarded about using DNA as a way to 'verify' whether or not someone is American Indian. After all, it could easily be used as yet another way to erase Native people. Not to mention that DNA is not a reliable indicator of race. Yes, science has made some wonderful progress in genetics, including advances in DNA analysis. But DNA, that stuff is never wrong, right? Not so fast. Though it may be said that DNA can be a very accurate indicator of certain human genetics, it cannot - as some mistakenly believe - be used to distinguish one race from another. Please read the following quote direct from the U.S. Govt. Human Genome Project studies:
Will genetic anthropology establish scientific criteria for race or ethnicity? "DNA studies do not indicate that separate classifiable subspecies (races) exist within modern humans. While different genes for physical traits such as skin and hair color can be identified between individuals, no consistent patterns of genes across the human genome exist to distinguish one race from another. There also is no genetic basis for divisions of human ethnicity. People who have lived in the same geographic region for many generations may have some alleles in common, but no allele will be found in all members of one population and in no members of any other. Indeed, it has been proven that there is more genetic variation within races than exists between them."
In other words, a DNA test remains a completely unreliable method for determining race. Thus First Nations governments will not use DNA results as a consideration in the enrollment process. And the racial/ethnic profile results of popular genealogy sites and companies are really just educated guesses, not incontrovertible facts.
Now, having shared our thoughts about 'blood quantum', let us offer some levity to this topic. Native/Indigenous identity is not so much about blood quantum as it is about cultural immersion. As a direct result of forced assimilation and genocide, many people with Indigenous lineage have grown up with varying degrees of disconnection to the Native cultures whose blood they carry in their veins. A sad result of this is that there can be a chasm between Indigenous people who grew up completely immersed in their culture and those with mixed ancestry who were not immersed, but still long to reconnect to the culture of their Native/Indigenous bloodlines. A perfect example of this chasm is Senator Elizabeth Warren. It seems she grew up with an oral history that her family carried Native blood. And her DNA test, though controversial, may lend some validity to that claim. However, it does not appear that Warren grew up immersed in much Native culture if any. And yet, she still holds on to a sense of identity as a person with Indigenous lineage. The challenge to her sense of that identity is based on only two things: lack of immersion and lack of blood quantum, both sad vestiges of forced assimilation. So is Elizabeth Warren wrong to lay claim to an identity as a Native person? Some say yes. Some say no. We say that, if she identifies as such, carries the lineage, and takes the time and makes the effort to immerse herself in the culture, then her identity is valid. So you see, the forced assimilation practices of the U.S. government which include the invention of blood quantum as a means to qualify or disqualify a person with Indigenous lineage, are problematic. Identity is complex, and much damage has been done to Native cultures by the labeling of who does, or who doesn't belong.
You are 100% descendant of ALL your ancestors, and that includes your Native ancestors just as much as the others. Honor them....