The classification of Native Americans by the United States government has long produced tension. Native Americans within the United States are classified using standards that differ from those used to classify other racial or ethnic minorities, specifically African Americans. While, historically, the classification of African-Americans as relied upon the “one-drop” rule, the classification of Native Americans over the past hundred years has relied upon varying, complicated, and ultimately arbitrary blood rules. However, the reliance upon blood laws does not illustrate the effects of self-identification or identification by others. Across the United States, there are various persons who would self-identify as Native American but are not …show more content…
The new legal system enforced a new ruling system that allowed for national authority over certain aspects of life, especially that of schools, town councils, taxes, and language. The system was built upon the rule of self-identification; that is the process of defining who was who was done via the individual 's self-declaration through the census. However, the system still contained flaws and frauds which could not go unaddressed; again the self-profession principle came to be the defining factor in many of these disputed cases. Self-profession within the case of Native Americans in the United States has been deemed insufficient evidence of the validity of one 's identity. While, self-profession is used for certain types of identification, there is an extraordinary reliance upon historical censuses and what tribes are recognized, legitimated, by the BIA. Few tribes are still recognized, only 566 are still currently recognized by the BIA, yet many of those who are not recognized by the BIA still identify as Native American. The criteria used to recognize tribes, as well the tribes themselves use differing criteria to determine status within a tribe itself. A combination of various quotas of blood complexifies a system already complicated enough, each tribe and the government as a whole uses certain blood standards to determine the legitimacy of membership to a specific tribe. Similar to the Austrian cases’ problems of dealing with ideas of blood, where in blood
It is hard to find someone who doesn’t have a mixed heritage. In “Borders” Thomas King addresses this fact through the difficulties of having inherited mixed cultures. The mother describes herself as “Blackfoot,” but this description is too broad for the border police, and for the law. Similarly I have come across the same issue. I could describe myself as Mexican, which is my race, but I could also describe myself as an American, because that is what my passport says. In the eye of the law I am American, but with the culture I surround myself by I am Mexican. This conflict comes from within the mother, and also from her beliefs that she lives by. Blackfoot could easily refer to someone from Canada, but their land was taken, thus creating this separation. The Blackfoot people are “Indians without a country,” they are the indigenous people of an area, but
During the end of the nineteenth century, the United States had formed policies which reduced land allotted to Native Americans. By enforcing these laws as well as Anglo-American ideals, the United States compromised indigenous people’s culture and ability to thrive in its society.
The definition of Sociology is the study of human societies through the synthesis of theoretical analysis and controlled research, focusing on the social patterns and the different factors that influence humans. I was born in a small town with roughly five hundred people in it; Terrero Negro the most beautiful town in Honduras is where I grew up for the majority of my childhood. Sadly do a corrupt government the majority of the population lives in poverty, however that does not stop anyone from always offering you a cup of coffee or any type of beverage when you arrive at their house. This is one of the most important norms, thus from a young age everyone is taught to be courteous and make your guest feel at home by offering them a beverage.
Over 100 years ago, the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina pleaded for federal recognition. In 1956, an act relating to the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina was passed, giving the Lumbee tribe the acknowledgment of being of native descent. Recently, an amendment to the 1956 law has been put on the table under the name of “Lumbee Recognition Act.” This amendment will make the Lumbee Indians a fully Federally recognized tribe. To be recognized as a legitimate native nation, a tribe must have political influence, possess membership criteria,
Although the Anglo-Saxon Clubs of American was generally successful in reclassifying Virginia’s native population, they were not successful in their ultimate goal of establishing a bi-racial system in the state. Despite Virginia’s classification, Native peoples continued to enter into marriages, raise families, and live identities in direct opposition to the law. It is also important to mention that the ASCOA’s reclassification only went as far as Virginia, when the state’s Native peoples registered for draft during WWII they were overwhelmingly accepted into the armed forces classed as Native Americans and placed in white or American Indian regiments. Likewise, when individuals or families decided to relocate to locations where their racial
As a young adult living in Oklahoma, I had never given a lot of thought as to the portrayal of the Native American. Although, it never occurred to me that my perception of life might be different from those growing up and living with the everyday realities reservation life offered. Simply put, I was overjoyed to be amongst those who lived on the reservation and in hindsight, I realize that I was naïve as to the treatment of those I call my people. Growing up, I was always aware of my Native heritage, but truthfully that is where it ended. My grandmother a full blood Cherokee woman was content to live the life to which she had become accustom to in the white man’s world. Therefore, as children, stories of my grandmother’s childhood were never bestowed upon my brothers, sister, and I. Ultimately, leaving us to our own imaginations and with that I created the image I had readily embraced, the image of the beautiful Indian maiden.
The identity of Alaskan Natives and Native Americans and the ability to delineate tribal affiliation has been a subject of argument for many years. The demands of federal programs determine the blood volume required to be Native. As federal programs increase and decrease so does the blood volume required to obtain these benefits. Blood quantum is the display of colonialism and is gradually eroding and eradicating the roots of indigenous people and sets a precedence that a person’s blood relates to their cultural orientation and identity. “American Indians and non-Indians have defined Indian identity through law, biology, and culture. All three overlap in specific ways, but more significantly, all have ties to outdated blood quantum
Throughout the book, Native American Voices written by Susan Lobo, Steve Talbot and Traci L. Morris, many of the authors emphasize the growing concept of identity and state that identity only exists through differences in relationships with others. Without these differences, we would be identified as the “same.” The social grouping of people happens all over the world, not only for Natives, but it is most near and dear to my heart. I have realized my differences from others through my own origins and cultural identity. Native Americans are coined under the same family, yet many of us see ourselves as people of our own tribes and nations, such as me being Sac and Fox. My personal identity grows from many different aspects of my own life. I believe I have an individual identity, as well as many complex identities which can be defined by class, gender, age, spiritual and
Reference to the European racial construct of the “one-drop” rule, which considered anyone with any trace of African origin to be Black, has been used by the federal government and Indian nations to negate the existence of any Native American blood in African Americans. The shared historical partnership and miscegenation between African Americans and Native Americans challenges the legal attempts to define the “purity” of Indians. Freedpeople, no strangers to fighting for recognition from Euro-Americans, continue to fight for recognition and their rightful place within the Seminole
Throughout the 1925-1975 period, the Native American population of the United States has faced many obstacles. Just a few years before, they had been suppressed by the federal government’s “Anti-Long Hair” policy for all Native American males. This would set the stage for future cultural restraint on the Indians. However, they continued to fight for equality. All through this time period, the experience of the Native American culture has been a struggle for equality in their homeland.
However, Hamilton states, “Disenrollment weakens the People, individually and collectively. Former tribal members lose their identities, their culture, and their benefits. Sometimes they lose their jobs and their homes. They struggle to put food on the table,” thus giving insight to the detrimental effects of disenrollment (n.d.). He also goes to explain that more often than not, tribes that disenroll their members experience instability and a plethora of other problems that may last for many generations (Hamilton, n.d.). Hamilton continues with facts such as blood quantum and disenrollment not being among tribal traditions, as they spawn from the U.S. federal government; “I personally think blood quantum should play some role in determining who is an Indian . . .Disenrollment should only be executed in the most extreme cases” (n.d.). The Association of American Indian Physicians (AAIP) lists other reasons against tribal disenrollment, “. . . tribal disenrollment leads to the loss of cultural identity and access to health care, education opportunity, job opportunity, and housing which are social determinants of health. . .” (Walker, 2015). Perhaps one of the most riveting effects of disenrollment would be the federal government no longer considering you an ‘Indian’ (Stretten, 2014). Following disenrollment, you would no longer be able to partake in any federal funds that are sent to the tribe, or receive any of the benefits that come with federal support (Stretten, 2014). Some of those benefits include education, law enforcement, and agriculture and range management (Stretten, 2014). Although disenrollment is not necessarily moral in all cases, it remains a part of the Native tribes’ culture and tradition
Otten, George Van, and John A. Dutton. "What it Means to be Native American in Twenty-First Century America." What it Means to be Native American in Twenty-First Century America | GEOG 571: Culture and Civil Society. Accessed April 16, 2017. https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog571/node/155.
Native Americans were targeted in many situations and through several events as being less-than, the American white community. The law for instance, reflected the disenfranchisement as Apess argued against the lack of choice for the Native American community. For instance, the bar of legal interracial marriage imposed in Massachusetts, targeted Native Americans (159.) The ban created an attitude of superiority and inferiority. It furthered the idea that Native Americans were not equivalent to the “White America” façade. Apess criticized the law in that it did not fulfil the true meaning of being a human. It not only limited the rights for both races, he also criticized the lack of religious relevance this law evoked (160.) Apess recognized the effort of the lawmakers to limit the “humanness” and degrade the Native Americans. Apess discussed the separation of physical appearance and the actual meaning of the law. He argued against the lack of protection and preservation of rights and privileges because Americans had limited it, based on “skin” (156.) From a physical appearance standpoint, Native Americans were categorized as different in comparison from the self-defined American white man appearance. This differentiation ignited the
“Only one “white” was listed.”* In 1976 a suit regarding nearly 16,000 acres of land went to the federal court in Mashpee. The trial set out to determine whether the group, called the Mashpee Indians, constituted an Indian tribe. James Clifford’s The Predicament of Culture includes a section on this trial. This Mashpee section provoked questions in my mind about identity, authenticity, race, and ethnicity. With the transcript and his own court notes, Clifford describes the trial as best he can, as well as present his own argument and thoughts. Even though I can’t decide if the plaintiffs represent a tribe, the trial helped me understand the manners in which identity reveals itself.
Blood quantum is an inhuman way to calculate indigenous authenticity. Similar to Ellinghaus (2008), I believe blood quantum is a manufactured, artificial estimate of an individual’s Native ancestry. Sanctioned in the United States to define membership in an Alaska Native tribe, blood quantum refers to describing the degree of how much an individual is Alaska Indian, Aleut and/or Eskimo. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) issue Certificates of Indian Blood (CIB) for a person to carry that describes this degree; "the BIA sets no minimum blood quantum requirements for acknowledgement purposes, but does require proof of descent from a historic Tribe” (NEBI n.d). Blood quantum is still used today by many tribes to specify requirements for legal citizenship; but is “not required by the acknowledgement regulations” (NEBI n.d, n.p.). The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 is another way the government is deteriorating Native communities. This Act states that if you are one-quarter or higher of Alaska Indian, Aleut and/or Eskimo blood and coastal dwelling you are able to take marine mammals for subsistence or handicraft purposes.