![]() The framework through which federal benefits are allocated to Indigenous communities is inherently paternalistic, which helps contextualize the erasive history of blood quantum. Such a belief was expressed by individuals such as phrenologist Charles Caldwell, who said that the “only efficient scheme to civilize the Indians is to cross the breed.”īlood fractionating has been used predominantly in federal policies to manage entitlements to federal benefits. Rooting resource allocation in blood politics allowed the federal government to forge a correlation between increased dilution of Indigenous blood and higher socioeconomic status, grounded in the European belief that White blood “ uplifted” Native blood. Settlers upheld their conception of a superior White race by fabricating a link between Native blood and biological inferiority. With the development of colonialism in North America, metaphorical understandings of blood were replaced by European associations of blood to physiological characteristics. Evidently, among some Indigenous groups, systems of naturalization granted non-kin groups tribal membership. Within the Cherokee imaginary, blood was understood as a metaphorical, as opposed to literal, quality. In Cherokee origin stories like the legend of Corn Mother Selu, ceremonial adoption practices were seen as sacred acts of creating new blood. Consanguinity, meaning direct family descendance, was not exclusive in determining group membership, however. ![]() Because Cherokee society was matrilineal, children became part of their mother’s clan, regardless of paternal lineage. For instance, for the Cherokee Nation, membership was generally determined by kinship affiliations to one of the nation’s clans. Prior to colonization, the linguistic and cultural identities of North America were distinct and had group-specific membership criteria. In the present day, however, many nations and peoples’ voluntary use of blood quantum membership requirements complicates the story and suggests that there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to indigeneity. Historical use of blood quantum use led to frequent violations of Indigenous sovereignty and erasure of Native identity, including being used to limit social mobility and sustain structural violence. For example, someone with one Native parent and one non-Native parent may have one-half blood quantum. ![]() For Indigenous people, the blood-based rule is referred to as “blood quantum,” which measures the fraction of “Indian blood” that a person possesses. ![]() Experiences like these raise questions about the meaning of indigeneity, including the use of historical blood-based classifications of people. She was denied on the basis of her Black ancestry. In late 2001, Marilyn Vann, a woman with Cherokee and Black ancestry, applied for citizenship to the Cherokee Nation. ![]()
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