Native Americans?

Question

If a person doesn't have legal ownership of their tribal document due to adoption.How do you find out how much Native American you have?I wasn't at liberty to ask as a young adult.

Answer 1

Try the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Answer 2

Do you know who in your family was Native American?
If so then you could determine your own blood quantum which I will post right under this. If you are looking into finding relatives then I will post below how to become enrolled. But you will have to know the name of someone in your family. Or at the very least what tribe you come from.

Blood Quantum:
For each person who is not native you divide by half. If your great grandmother was full blood, 100%, 1/1. And she has a child with a non-indian you divide by half. That is 50%. Say her child 50% (1/2) is your grandmother. Then your grandmother has child with a non-indian. You divide her 50% by half. So her child is 25% (1/4, one quarter). Lets say her child is your mother (25%). Then your mother has a child, you, with a non-indian. You divide by half again and that makes you 1/8. It can get complicated if someone down the line does marry a native. So if your mother married a Native instead of a nonindian and she was .25 percent. Say the native was full blood. Then the child, you, would be 50% or half blood.

How to Enroll:
To become enrolled in one's tribe is often a difficult process. Once one is enrolled one will have certain rights as a Native person. It is true that no one needs to prove their ethnic identity but to have full access to rights for Native people one must be enrolled.

To become enrolled one must first should call one's tribe and find out the enrollment requirements. They are different per tribe.
For most tribes you have to prove descendency and have a certain blood quantum. To prove descendency one needs to have some record of her belonging to a member of the tribe that was recognized by the tribe at some point, hopefully an individual that was enrolled at some point. The average blood quantum standard is 1/4. Unless you are Cherokee, they pretty much accept much less.

If you don't have contact with your parents then you can ask the tribe to look for their last name(s). They can look this up and see if his family line is registered. If so then your in luck. If they don't immediately find it then you can use the tribal newspaper and submit an article asking if anyone has lineage to your parents.

Many Native people can never become enrolled because standards of enrollment are high and were set up by the White government to oppress Native people and Native people have yet to change them.

To become more involved in one'sculture one might want to look up local Native organizations or local tribes. Try going to Pow-wow's (because they are easy to find) and talk to community members there. Many colleges/universities have a Native student union where one can get involved or get more information.

Please remember ancestry is very difficult for many Native people.

Information pertinent to you if you have no other information except a name (or not even that) and can't find it on the enrollment documents:
A good way of going about this now that you are stuck. Put an add in the tribal newspaper. Asking if anyone is related to your relatives. Or if they know someone who gave a child up for adoption in (whatever year). This is the best next step. Make sure to include as much information as you have, be respectful, and make it sound like you want to be enrolled because you are committed to your community (people are more likely to help than if they believe you just want money or other stereotypical reasons).

By the way, I am Native, so I have some knowledge pertaining to this.

Answer 3

you mean that you are already an enrolled tribal member and someone has your paperwork? if you are already enrolled (even if you have been since adopted) then you do not have to prove blood quantum. which nation do you belong to anyways? (tsalagi, blackfoot....ect..) just saying native american is a pretty broad statement? and it isn't 1/4 or more..depending on the nation, you can have as little as 1/16th and still be eligible.. but like I said, if you or your birth parents are already enrolled tribal members then the question of blood quantum is moot.

here is a link to an article that helps explain, and the steps you need to take. best of luck

Answer 4

Call your tribal office and ask for your documents and they will send you a copy. The tribal office will check you out to verify your families lineage. That will verify the degree of NA blood running through your veins. If that doesn't work call your BIA office in the area of your tribe and they will have records.
Makes me smile to see that you are headed in the direction of verify your status as Native American.

Answer 5

Google "Native American DNA test"

Answer 6

1/4 or more.

Answer 7

Slavery is immoral.

Answer 8

I guest into their DNA? or something!!