Claiming Indian Heritage Becomes Popular

There is a recurring problem in Indian country that has been a bother for many years. I hear Native Americans discussing it oftentimes with a lot of anger. It's a very touchy issue and some would even find it offensive, but it is not a problem that should not be addressed.

The problem involves those people claiming to be Native American although they are not enrolled with any particular tribe. Every Indian nation in America has definite criteria for tribal membership. The tribes have set these limits for a reason. Tribal members can vote, they can run for elective office, and their numbers are included when the tribe plans its annual budget. And for those tribes with successful casinos that make per capita payments to tribal members, proof of membership is critical.

Certain services are allowed for tribal members, services such as health care, scholarships, and housing. And in order to avail themselves of these services each individual must show proof of tribal enrollment. There are also jobs available that entail priority hiring for tribal members. Tribal enrollment is highly valued in Indian country because it establishes the individual's ties to his or her Native nation.

But, in these days of the burgeoning success of some Indian casinos there is also the problem of disenrollment. Some tribes have been accused of removing members from their tribal rolls either for political or economic reasons. Those that have been removed accuse the tribal leadership of reducing the rolls so that fewer members can draw larger per capita payments. California seems to be leading Indian country in this regard.

The problem that seems to be the biggest in Indian country is that of individuals claiming tribal status in order to secure highly desirable jobs. Ward Churchill, a man who held key job positions at the University of Colorado, has never been able to prove tribal membership and yet he was given jobs that could have, and probably should have, gone to legitimate members of a state or federally recognized tribe.

Indian educators have come across this problem frequently. A man or woman is given a key job position at a major university based upon their claim to Indian blood, but they cannot submit proof of that claim. Some Indians blame the university for not having firm guidelines in their hiring of Native Americans. For example, if one applies for a job with a federally recognized Indian tribe where Indian preference is the rule, that individual must submit proof of tribal enrollment.

A recent article in the journalism blog of Richard Prince about a gay Native American that had just been named editor and vice president of the Arizona Republic newspaper brought immediate questions to my mind.

The man named Randy Lovely said, "I don't want to overstate or understate my Native American heritage. Both of my parents are of Cherokee origins and my family comes from East Tennessee. I am not a member of the tribe." If not, why should it be announced that he is openly gay and a Native American? Whether he is gay or not is not the question. The question is that at some time in his application for the job he must have listed himself as Native American. If he admits that he is not enrolled as a Cherokee, why would he do that?

There are many reasons why an individual may claim Indian heritage and yet not be enrolled. Maybe they do not meet the criteria demanded by the tribe, or maybe they just have not bothered to find out how one can become enrolled in the tribe in which they claim membership. But surely most people can see that it is extremely important to all legally enrolled members of tribes that there be a distinction.

I have heard some people claiming Indian heritage say that they did not want to be insulted by going through the Bureau of Indian Affair's criteria for tribal membership and it just goes to show their lack of knowledge about the process. It is the Indian nations that determine membership, not the BIA.

If one has a legitimate reason to claim membership in an Indian nation there is a procedure to prove that claim. Every tribe sets its own rules and regulations and I would advise anyone with a legitimate claim to find out about this criteria.

The surest proof of membership, and most tribal members know this without a doubt, is one's relationship to the tribe. Everyone one of us that is enrolled with a tribe can name our family members usually for a couple of generations. And more than that, our family lineage is known by the elders of the tribe. They can name many of your family members, maybe even some that you do not know about.

As I said, it really doesn't matter if Mr. Lovely is gay or not, but it does matter whether his claim of Native American heritage is true or not. Anyone can claim Indian blood but as the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding.

Tim Giago, an Oglala Lakota, was born, raised and educated on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard in the Class of 1991. He can be reached at [e-mail]

Comments

[DebbieReese]

This is a major problem in books for children/teens. Books about American Indians have more marketability if the author is Native. Hence, there are false claims made. One of the more famous fakes is EDUCATION OF LITTLE TREE author, "Forrest Carter" who was actually ASA Carter (George Wallace's speech writer).

I write about this occasionally at my blog, "American Indians in children's literature." This past week, I wrote about the false claims by John Smelcer, whose YA novel is on the American Library Association's top ten lists for 2007.

Kids, parents, librarians, teachers---all those who do "author study" are duped by people like Carter and Smelcer.

Please visit my blog for details about Smelcer, but also to find discussion of books worth reading, that don't stereotype Native peoples.
americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com.

I'm tribally enrolled at Nambe Pueblo, in northern NM, born at IHS, went to day school at Nambe, eventually taught at SFIS, and am now on the faculty in American Indian Studies at the University of Illinois. (Note: I came here in 94 for graduate study, joined Native students committed to getting rid of UIUC's mascot, opening a Native House, and getting a Native studies program started. All goals complete as of last year.)

[redcrowswenona]

It is very true that there is and has been a good majority of non-native who claim to have some sort of ancestry. As far back as the 70's this has been the case. My father wrote his song "Where were you when" based on this very subject.

It's nice that so many wish to be "related", however they do very little to further the causes that have plagued Nations all across the US. Instead they slap it on like a badge of honor that lacks, well "honor."

But, there comes a point when claiming to be a Native of some nation means nothing because everyone says"s it. The most inconsiderate of all is they have no clue of the price that has been paid by our ancestors and family members. They claim it and they do not realize what a slap in the face that is. Who were their ancestors that were slaughtered? Whose child do they know that was taken from their home and told not to be you anymore? Who has felt the racism and hatred that continue today in many prominent Native States? I work very hard not to view with skepticism, but I cannot count how many times someone will say their grandmothers grandmothers mother was some sort of Native heritage. I always respond with oh, what family? I have yet to get a response other than "Oh I don't know."

There are many non-Natives that I know that I respect like I do my own father. But it"s because over the years of their life they have put their love and energy into the causes of all Native Americans. Those are who I consider part of our family!

I believe as my father, through education on the truth of the holocaust of the United States, perhaps many will respect and behave with dignity no longer behaving in this way (although there will always be some) so the healing can begin.

[RayEvansHarrell]

As for Warriordoom, dude that is not only wrong but ignorant. Cherokees have been in Arkansas since 1817 and that is long before the Trail of Tears. Just google Cherokee Old Settlers and read. Education is easy with a computer. Get to it. Real history is always more interesting then that revisionist made up stuff.

[RayEvansHarrell]

Tim,

I fully expect this not to be posted since I'm regularly censored on your site. But you do people of Indian descent a great disservice and the rules you praise, cause relatives long separated to stay so. Really you reduce it to product labeling and that means that its just business. Like cattle with a brand. But is a nation a business? The rules that you preach as law, are arbitrary at best with most groups. Can you imagine a real nation, dissolving membership over money? Most serious Indian people now realize that half truths and depressing situations are no answer for the young or anyone else? Even Sherman Alexie has given up the depression attitude. I don't agree with his answer (to assimilate) but at least it is not so down! Those of us who grew up on a reservation know very well the dangers in your language and what you say. That was why we left. But to say that we have no blood or that a person's family history is untrue because of the Dawes Rolls is to be totally ignorant of the history of rolls in the first place. Cherokees suffer from some of the lousiest blood historians on the planet. We are still waiting for someone to write the truth and when it's done many myths will fall. We need a Cherokee Angie Debo but the current "fashionables" would probably put her on trial for witchcraft like Sequoyah. How about saying, like religious traditions in the world, that Indian is whether you are culturally Indian and not followers of a Middle Eastern Desert manual of behavior?

Otherwise it is just a fight, like the fancy Koch family of Wichita fame, over money, and most of us don't come that cheap. Being Indian is being generous not cheap.

[redbow40]

Tim, your blog comes at a very interesting time in California. We are getting ready to have our primary vote soon. Around the clock ads for and against Indian gaming have appeared everywhere.I have seen more Indians on T.V. in the last week than I've ever seen employed in a professional capacity as actors for Hollywood in movies or network t.v. shows. Co-workers and friends have asked my advice. I've told them the ads are spun so well even I don't know the truth anymore.I do know that it is embarrassing for me to see what appears to be greedy individuals spending 100 million dollars for these ads while so many Indian people live in abject poverty.I should mention that one of the groups against gaming has represented California Indians who have claimed to have been wrongfully dis-enrolled.

[slg]

There are many who have Native North and South American ancestors who are proud of their heritage and who will never be a member of a tribe. They may not want to claim benefits, or deprive others but many do want to express their love and honor to the forebears. You might let them know they have legitimate claim to that.

[raptor]

In Australia anyone who wants to can claim to be an Aborigine.

I think the American system is better.