Thread: Pocahontas
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Unread 12-13-2017, 09:08 PM
Jennifer Reeser's Avatar
Jennifer Reeser Jennifer Reeser is offline
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Roger, that percentage you mention is what we call "blood quantum." It is completely irrelevant to tribal membership, for more than a dozen tribes in Indian Country, many, many of which are all about lineal descent. If you can prove one single ancestor, then you're in, no matter how little actual "blood" you possess.

The Cherokee Nation is one of those. If I recall correctly, the current chief is 1/16th, but he has that proven ancestor, whose name was on the Dawes Roll -- sometimes called the "Trail of Tears" roll. If it were not for that, most of the "blood quantum" tribes might not even consider him Indian, at all. (Most of the tribes require either 1/4 or 1/8 minimum blood quantum).

To give you an idea how this might play out, in terms of truly miniscule blood quantum -- many of those on the old Dawes Roll themselves had as little as 1/64th Indian blood, but were considered Cherokee. Technically, you could be descended from one of those, with virtually no Indian blood in your veins, yet still enroll in the tribe.

Conversely, you could be pure as the driven snow, ethnically speaking -- a full-blood Cherokee, yet could not enroll in the tribe, because you did not have an ancestor recorded on those rolls.

Jennifer
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