Awareness of Native American recognition concerns?

[Loowit]

My DD is a speech and debate student at her college.  She is working on finding a topic to use for a persuasive speech, and I had suggested the problems facing Native American tribes getting and keeping federal recognition.  She took a class last semester that covered the topic and it was the subject of her final project.  It is also an issue I feel strongly about.  My cousin's husband's tribe is not currently recognized and they have been fighting for recognition for years.

DD said it might not be a good topic because "everyone" has already heard about it.  I am not sure how many people really are aware of this issue, so I thought it might be interesting to put out a poll to see how much this is a well known issue.

[Sneezyone]

41 minutes ago, Loowit said:

My DD is a speech and debate student at her college.  She is working on finding a topic to use for a persuasive speech, and I had suggested the problems facing Native American tribes getting and keeping federal recognition.  She took a class last semester that covered the topic and it was the subject of her final project.  It is also an issue I feel strongly about.  My cousin's husband's tribe is not currently recognized and they have been fighting for recognition for years.

DD said it might not be a good topic because "everyone" has already heard about it.  I am not sure how many people really are aware of this issue, so I thought it might be interesting to put out a poll to see how much this is a well known issue.

I don’t think a lot of people are aware about the issue at all. Not only the current issues around getting and keeping recognition but the historical ones around who got recognition and some of the exclusionary compromises that were made to achieve it.

[kbutton]

I voted "Yes, I have heard about it, but don't know a lot," but it's only recently on my radar (last decade with much more information coming out in the last five years).

4 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

I don’t think a lot of people are aware about the issue at all. Not only the current issues around getting and keeping recognition but the historical ones around who got recognition and some of the exclusionary compromises that were made to achieve it.

Even with what limited information I've learned, I get the impression that the various times in history in which removal/confiscation/wars/sickness played out for individual tribes had very different practical and policy results for those people groups, and that those outcomes contribute to why we don't really hear a lot of stuff about some tribes and cultures, but we almost always know something about the tribes that tend to have reservations (and/or casinos). 

[Scarlett]

My DIL is native and I live in OK.  I don't think the majority of people know much about it at all.

[mellifera33]

I suspect that the issue is familiar to those whose families/nations are directly affected by it, and somewhat familiar to people who live on land that was traditionally inhabited by non-recognized nations. I heard a fair bit since I spent a lot of time in Steilacoom growing up, but I think that without that exposure I wouldn’t have had a clue until beginning to volunteer at the local historical society as an adult. 

[Farrar]

I chose that I knew "a lot" but only because I think I know more than the average American. I doubt I know anywhere near as much as truly informed folks. The tribe I think of with this immediately is the Lumbees because I'm from NC and have known Lumbee Indians. It's like, all the discrimination and none of them benefits when you're a member of an unrecognized tribe.

[Moonhawk]

I have grown up on the border of reservations, have gone to church regularly on reservations, I have had classmates that were native. My mother's family  has a a fair amount of intermarriage with Native families. The tribes I am familiar with are currently federally recognized. 

I did not know this was an issue.

[Loowit]

My DD asked me to let you know that she really appreciates you all taking the time to vote in the poll and respond.  It has been very helpful.

[Lecka]

There has been a lot of news locally about Freedmen from some tribes being recognized or not, which was a new issue to me.  
 

But in general — I do think I’m familiar.

 

I have step-relatives who are involved in foster care for children from the wife’s tribe, and it’s a pretty big deal in a lot of ways.  

[Katy]

I heard something on NPR 5-10 years ago, but that’s all. I think I’d qualify for two tribes if I could find a copy of my grandmother’s birth certificate (Her dad was on the Dawe’s Rolls as two tribes). I don’t think this is a widely understood topic at all. 

[Carol in Cal.]

I suspect that knowledge of this is more common among kids than adults, given the plethora a recognition of 'historic grounds of the XXX tribe' that has swept college convocations in the past decade or two.  So I think you're probably both right.

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich is a fairly recent novel that treats this issue as it arose in the 1950s.  While fictional, it is based on her grandfather's life.  It is also quite well written, and I recommend it.

[Lecka]

It can make a big difference for health care in some places, that is a main way I hear about it.  

[HS Mom in NC]

I'm from AZ, son-in-law's maternal grandmother who helped raise him his Hopi Nation, I grew up with a close relationship to my mother's best friend who was half Choctaw with a registered Indian census number, I lived within a five minute walk of tribal land for 2 decades of my adult life, I've hired a Native American guide on tribal land, I've hiked on 2 different tribal lands not near the one I lived close to, and I wasn't aware there are currently tribes without federal recognition.

[cbollin]

When one of my dd had speech class with persuasive, I suggested a topic ( with specific action to benefit a well known children's cancer research hospital in our city) and her response was "everyone knows about that".  But turns out the audience she was speaking to did not know the specific action was a need and an option to help the patient's and families.  Maybe this is same kind of thing:  what's familiar and known to me isn't always as well known to everyone as I think it is.  depending what it is she wants to persuade the audience about may be well known or not.  In my dd's class, the assignment was clear that it was a persuasive speech to encourage audience to take a specific action.  Having some familiarity with the topic was a big help to connect with the audience. But it didn't mean all things and actions were known.

[Lecka]

Some things seem pretty arbitrary.  

[Tanaqui]

Your daughter thinks everyone knows about this because she has known about it for a long time, possibly as long as she can remember. I can assure you, there are still people in America who think that Native Americans are all dead, or are fairytale creatures and not real people. I have had (frustrating) conversations with people like that. The average American does not know what she thinks everybody knows.

[BeachGal]

I am part Native American and grew up on a reservation. Most people don’t understand how incredibly varied reservations can be let alone the challenges faced by those who are not recognized. I wouldn’t expect most people who’ve never lived on a reservation to truly know much.

[Ottakee]

Another issue is tribes shrinking due to blood quantum requirements.  Some require the member to be 1/4 or more Native of that tribe.  Over time that is harder and harder to do.

[Sneezyone]

29 minutes ago, Ottakee said:

Another issue is tribes shrinking due to blood quantum requirements.  Some require the member to be 1/4 or more Native of that tribe.  Over time that is harder and harder to do.

Except blood quantum is is usually, but not always, coupled with hereditary (if you can prove ancestral relation) enrollment.

[Spryte]

Voted that I’m aware of the issues — and have been.

So I don’t skew the results — I had to be aware, as it impacted my field, pre-homeschooling. I wouldn’t necessarily think everyone knows about these issues if not impacted in some way.

The Native museum in DC has some great research areas, not sure if they can be accessed remotely by students, but might be worth a shot.

[Murphy101]

I answered yes, I know a lot. But I feel there should be a proviso if I know a lot (for a white chick that wasn’t raised and doesn’t live on a res).  I live in Oklahoma. Most (all?) of which was an Indian reservation at one point.  And court clashes of tribal nations with local/state/federal government is a daily thing here and has been my 1/2 century here and long before my time.  I notice and read about it but I wouldn’t say I’m an expert either by a long shot.  But I would say I think I’m a lot more aware than the average non-native American in Oklahoma.  

[Murphy101]

I did the poll without reading the post. Now I’d read the post and I’d bet donuts that if you asked almost anyone what it meant for a tribe to be recognized federally - they’d have no clue. Zilch. And that’s true in Oklahoma too. Which is crazy pants bc we have a LOT of tribes here!  And this issue has been in our news and papers every single day locally. But it’s such stupid journalism it’s just not even funny. 

State says they can’t let a native who commits a crime on tribal lands go through the tribal courts bc the tribe can’t handle it and the murderer would get off free. But the tribes say that not true and never has been true. That they are dedicated to make sure it isn’t true.   But really it comes down to American courts wanting to make money of tribal lands. If you get a speeding ticket on tribal land - the American courts won’t let the tribe handle the ticket. They want that revenue. The tribe says the ticket from another jurisdiction officer shouldn’t even be legit on tribal lands. But the goal is always to drain tribal resources by forcing tribes to constantly go to court to plead for the recognition of their nation to be honored.  They know the tribes can’t afford to do it every time. So the state and city keeps pretending there’s no tribal boundary and they keep making money off that banking in the tribes only being able to afford to pick and choose what cases they are going to fight.

I don’t agree with many things on both sides.

Edited January 6, 2022 by Murphy101

[Frances]

47 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

Except blood quantum is is usually, but not always, coupled with hereditary (if you can prove ancestral relation) enrollment.

There was just an article about some of this purging of rolls in The NY Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/02/us/nooksack-306-evictions-tribal-sovereignty.html

 

[Sneezyone]

31 minutes ago, Frances said:

There was just an article about some of this purging of rolls in The NY Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/02/us/nooksack-306-evictions-tribal-sovereignty.html

 

It is definitely a problem, usually driven by money. It has ever been thus. If you look at historical discussions/debates around recognition, dilution and preservation of benefits frequently appears. So too does the value of the lands the tribe would be entitled to.

Edited January 6, 2022 by Sneezyone

[Ottakee]

1 hour ago, Sneezyone said:

Except blood quantum is is usually, but not always, coupled with hereditary (if you can prove ancestral relation) enrollment.

The tribe my family is involved in is 1/4 blood quantum based in a roll from over 100 years ago.  The issue is that is a tribal member marries a non tribal member then their children might not be eligible for membership if the child is not 1/4 of that tribe.  So over time the membership shrinks as many children born aren't allowed to be enrolled.  This was a big concern expressed at the last tribal meeting.

[Sneezyone]

23 minutes ago, Ottakee said:

The tribe my family is involved in is 1/4 blood quantum based in a roll from over 100 years ago.  The issue is that is a tribal member marries a non tribal member then their children might not be eligible for membership if the child is not 1/4 of that tribe.  So over time the membership shrinks as many children born aren't allowed to be enrolled.  This was a big concern expressed at the last tribal meeting.

Oh, I get it. I just know that some tribes prioritize ancestral/genealogical connections to the Dawes rolls even over blood quantum (e.g. 1/8 marrying 1/8 and children not enrolled vs. 1/4 or 1/8 marrying nils with kids who are enrolled).

Edited January 6, 2022 by Sneezyone