Only those with 25 percent of "native blood" are allowed to enroll as tribal members
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| Minnesota Chippewa Tribe members voting on whether to continue blood quantum |
Like a lot of Americans, Sarah Agaton Howes' family is, as she puts it, "mixed from all over the place."
Her mom's family is from Norway. Her dad is a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and so is she. But the 46-year old also has relatives from the Red Cliff and Bad River Ojibwe bands in Wisconsin, and the Muscogee Nation in Oklahoma. Her husband is Filipino.
"And so my kids can't be enrolled here,” she said of the Fond du Lac Band. “And so what that means for them is that even though they're raised here, they grew up in our culture, that they aren't going to be able to vote or feel a part of our community in the same way."
Tribal members have cards that show their Certified Degree of Indian Blood. Howes' is 25 percent. But because her kids' Dad is Non-Native, they have only one-eighth Minnesota Chippewa Tribe blood. So they can't be enrolled tribal members.
"Our family, our kids have clans, they have names and so I know who they are. And they know who they are,” Howes said. “And the only one that doesn't know who they are, is the enrollment office.” | |
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