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Indigenous American Links     Cherokee by Blood

 When Cherokees Were Cherokee   

As 2009 progress it is our hope to form a 501c3 non profit corporation.  Our purpose in this is that we may be able to raise monies needed to further the knowledge base for Indigenous Americans.

While there are many events that recognize other peoples accomplishments, we still are invisible to the majority of the USA population.  

Stereotypical views are still condoned concerning the indigenous peoples of the Americas because, for one reason or another, there is not a united voice decrying this practice.

I do realize that my writings are at times redundant, but sometimes thoughts must be repeated until understood by those addressed.

If anyone wishes to be of service in our goal of forming this corporation, your help would be most appreciated.

Link below is to the remarks made before Congress to address problems in The Pineridge Reservation in South Dakota.

Take the time to read and learn what the Indigenous Americans face.

PINERIDGE RESERVATION

My Thoughts

In this time of so much fear and concern over the rights of seemingly select minorities, where are our leaders? Have we no one that speaks for the indigenous peoples of the Americas? Why is it okay to ask an Indigenous American how much native blood they have and not expect us to be offended?

We possess a great history and talent that is almost unknown and seldom mentioned. While in school, our children are required to memorize other peoples speeches, who learns the words of Chief Joseph and other great leaders. The tribal history for each is different, but there would seem to be a lack of knowledge shared about the indigenous peoples in general.

Our musical talents are mostly ignored, except for the traditional songs and chants heard at pow wows.  Mato Nanji  a great guitarist,  is not heard in the mainstream media. 

Is it widely known that Jimi Hendrix was of Cherokee blood?

Indigenous Americans have clothing lines, that would show forth the pride we share, such as Native Threads .

It seems, that while others outside this country rate help and news coverage, the peoples to whom this country was taken are forgotten.

A good book to read and consider would be IN THE HANDS OF THE GREAT SPIRIT by Jake Page. It sets forth many ideas that will help those seeking to understand more about the Indigenous peoples of the Americas  Also, the book 1491 offers much needed instruction to those who seek to increase their knowledge of Indigenous Americans.

Are we like the shadows, seen only dimly and of no substance? Have we no one to speak words for us, not as one but of one.

Your comments are appreciated. I would be glad to read and post some of the responses. All tribes are asked to participate. It is my hope that this site can grow and become a point of knowledge to those who wish to learn and teach others.

Indigenous Americans Census

Analysis of the 1970 and 1990 US Census data shows that the Indigenous American population has grown from 827,000 in 1970 to a total of approximately two million in 1990.

The 1990 total of the Indigenous American population was a compilation of Eskimo, Aleuts, and those commonly referred to as American Indians. The Census Bureau estimates projected that by July 1994 the Indigenous American population would be 2.2 million and by 2050 this number would increase to 4.3 million. If this projection is correct, the number of Indigenous Americans would amount to over one percent of the USA population.

In 1990 approximately fifty percent of the Indigenous American population abode in the western United States. The proportions were twenty-nine percent in the South with six percent in the Northeast and the remaining seventeen percent in the Midwest.

In the census report, the only Indigenous American group that increased in proportion from 1980 to 1990 were in the South. Even, this was only a three percent increase in the ten years covered. This report further excess of one hundred thousand. These states, New Mexico, Arizona, California and Oklahoma with there population compromise forty two percent of the Indigenous Americans in the US.

Approximately sixty six percent of the families of Indigenous Americans in the 1990 census were married-couple families. This is a smaller group that the nearly eighty percent of the nearly sixty-five million US family groups. Also there was seen a trend for single parent households that was ten percent larger that the general US population.

Comparing the national poverty rates for Indigenous Americans and the general US population would show another despairing statistic. In this, Indigenous Americans had a thirty one percent total of its group living below the poverty level in comparison with the thirteen percent of the remaining US population.

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Blood Quantum

Why It Matters, and Why It Shouldn't

by Christina Berry

 That's the universal question many mixed-blood Native Americans are asked every day. How many times have you mentioned in passing that you are Cherokee to find your conversation interrupted by intrusive questions about percentage? How many times have you answered those questions? Well stop! That's right -- stop answering rude questions.

Have you ever been talking to someone who mentioned that they were part Hispanic, part African-American, part Jewish, part Italian, part Irish, part Korean, etc.? 

Have you ever asked them what percentage?

Hopefully your answer is no, because if your answer is yes then you're rude. It would be rude to ask someone how Hispanic they are, but we accept that people can ask us how Cherokee we are. This is a double standard brought about by our collective history as Native Americans, and is one we should no longer tolerate.

The history of blood quantum begins with the Indian rolls and is a concept introduced to Native Americans from white culture. Throughout Native history blood has never really been a factor in determining who was or was not included in a tribe. Many Native American tribes practiced adoption, a process whereby non-tribal members would be
adopted into the tribe and over time become fully functioning members of the group. Adoption was occasionally preceded by capture. 

Many tribes would capture members of neighboring tribes, white settlers, or members of enemy tribes. These captives would replace members of the tribe who had died. They would often be bestowed with some of the same prestige and duties of the person they were replacing. While the transformation from captive to tribal member was often a long and difficult one, the captive would eventually become an accepted member of the tribe. The fact that the adoptee was sometimes of a different ethnic origin was of little importance to the tribe.

It wasn't until the federal government became involved in Indian government that quantum became an issue. One of the attributes collected on a person signing one of the many Indian rolls was their quantum. However, this was highly subjective as it was simply a question that the roll takers would allow the people to answer for themselves. I know for a fact that this was known to be incorrect because my own ancestors' quantum is recorded incorrectly. My great grandmother and her sister are listed with generationally different quanta even though they were sisters with the same mother and father and have the exact same quantum.

In this day and age, however, quantum is important in many ways. In order to become a registered member of any federally recognized Indian Nation you must first get a CDIB (Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood). This CDIB is issued by the BIA and simply states that the United States government certifies that you have a specified
degree of Indian blood and are a member of a given federally recognized tribe. Once you have a CDIB you can become a recognized member of that tribe. Without a quantum you cannot become a registered member of a tribe.

In addition, many Indian tribes include their own quantum restrictions. The Eastern Band of the Cherokees requires that you be 1/16 or higher to join, and the Keetowah band requires a blood quantum of 1/4 or higher. The Cherokee Nation, on the other hand, has no quantum restrictions. The majority of the Cherokee Nation has 1/4 or less Indian blood.  

When considering these numbers it is important to remember that the Cherokee were in direct contact with white settlers prior to the American Revolution. Many prominent Cherokee families included intermarried whites very early on. The Ward family - descendants of Nancy and Bryant Ward (an Englishman) -- is a good example. My own ancestor, Granny Hopper (daughter of Old Hop), married a Scottish trader (McDaniel). The Cherokee people has been intermarrying with whites for over two hundred years, so many families have some very confusing fractions to spit out every time someone asks, "How much Indian are you?"

Many Indian people today would like to see the emphasis on blood quantum fall by the wayside. Blood quantum is a sterile, inhuman way of calculating authenticity. When you ask a person how much Indian blood they have, you expect an answer. If they answer your question with a small percentage or if they refuse to answer, you immediately
question their authenticity as an Indian. Never mind -- that blood quantum is completely irrelevant to Cherokee culture.    

Throughout history the Cherokee people have believed that if you're Cherokee, you're Cherokee. If you're not, you're not. Percentage doesn't matter. In addition, many people now make a distinction between quantum Cherokees and cultural Cherokees. How Cherokee you are is more determined by how you live, how active you are in the tribe, how you grew up, and what you know of Cherokee history, culture, and language.

Blood quantum, while it appears harmless, has had a very negative effect on many Indian Nations. In many cases the issue of quantum has divided full-bloods and mixed-bloods, causing resentment. The issue also divides tribal members and non-members on the issue of proof.

From a historical and cultural perspective, the idea of blood quantum is dangerous. Blood quantum is a scientific, government-approved method of determining blood purity and race purity. One of the most frightening examples of a government's interest in blood purity comes as recently as the Twentieth century in Nazi Germany, when Hitler wanted to create an Aryan master race. The consequence was that millions of people were killed because they were not Aryan. While Nazi Germany is an extreme example, blood quantum is nonetheless a clinical, inhuman, and careless way to determine the ethnic authenticity of a person. We are not Gregor Mendel's cross-pollinated pea plants; we are people.

Our ethnicity and cultural identity are tied to our family history, our surroundings, our own hopes and expectations, and our self-identity. To measure our "Indianness" by a percentage is to completely eliminate the human element. And to allow others to judge us based on a number is to continue a harmful trend.

Launch a quiet protest against the reliance on blood quantum to measure Indian authenticity. The next time someone asks you what percentage Cherokee you are tell them that they are asking a rude question and don't answer -- because the answer doesn't matter.

Either you are Cherokee or you're not.