These land allotments was referred to as "half-breed reservations" since the allotments were next to each other in the ceded lands. In what was to become a standard formula in the treaty-making process thereafter, Osage "half-breeds" were provided with one-hundred and sixty acre allotments within the tribal land base ceded through the treaty. The 1825 Treaty with the Osage provided the schemata of a federal Indian policy in which a specific blood degree defined Indian identity, and initiated the concept of land allotment.Īlthough the term "half-breed" was in common use before the Osage treaty, it is the first document that specifically delineates a racial separation in blood lineage. However, treaties began a process of the disfranchisement of a "peoplehood" that was an inherent aspect of tribal sovereignty. Through this criteria individuals who were non-Ojibwe or non-Indian were adopted into sovereign social structures. For example, among the Ojibwe-Anishinaabe people, membership criteria included clan membership, namesake ceremony, recognition for an outstanding feat or achievement, and intermarriage. Birth in the community was sufficient evidence for tribal membership. Traditionally, tribes did not have blood quantum criteria for membership in a tribal community. It is my belief they are more deserving of enrollment because they are going to help us survive as an Indian culture." "We have descendants of our own who have a mixture of other Indian tribes who are excluded from enrollment, yet who are practicing our culture and traditions. "This is expedient genocide," say Rhonda Friedlander, a Kootenai traditionalist. Parot's opponents see enrollment changes as having far-reaching consequences in tribal culture and values. We don't want them split because of blood degree, or because they weren't born on the reservation." It's worth it, because we want to put our families back together.
Regina Parot, who is spearheading a petition to change to lineal descent in the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe, says, "We know there will be controversy about this. The result is a eugenic tribal pecking order that has deeply scarred and fragmented the Indian community.Īt the center of current controversy is lineal descent - a process that eliminates blood quantum requirements. These federally imposed qualifiers have strongly influenced Indian Country's perceptions of racial acceptability within tribal communities. Although a seemingly innocuous question, it underscores the racial qualifiers initiated through federal acts and policies that define American Indian identity. "How much Indian are you?" In a list of fifteen questions to be used in interviewing Indian people, an Indian student had placed it as third on the list. Note: This article originally appeared in The Circle, Volume 22, Issue 11, November 2001