A mind wandering day that started out with the Ho-Chunk Nation health board. They need representatives from each district (4), but hey, aren't there 5? I'm not Ho-Chunk because I live in MN? See the above photo and search your history. We lived in WI, Illinois, Iowa, and, yes, MN.
Then in the newspaper Indian Country Today, there was an article about Alaska and their identity situation. They have thought beyond BQ and embraced kinships. That is good, but some tribes are sticking with BQ; either way, you slice it, it seems that blood or genes need to be involved. What about people who have been careful to marry within the tribe but consider clans? Ought their attention to BQ be rewarded? Shouldn't tribes be able to consider the survival of their people? Some tribes lowering their BQ to 1/8. Some say it is not our way to measure the amount of blood, uh; tell that to the number of metis or 1/2-bloods out there. Is blood or kinships the only connection to a tribe?
Every summer, my grandparents, Henry and Marie Decorah, visited their family in South Dakota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. We went to powwows too. We went to ceremonies, birthday celebrations, funerals, and devotions. We lived in the Cities, but we were connected to our people, family, and tribe. My Choka's tribe and people knew him. My gram's tribe and people knew her. We attended inter-tribal events in the Cities as well. We were connected to our people.
Tribes need to have the final say in who they acknowledge as tribal members.
I work in a place where people have a faint connection with their tribe for monies only. This faint connection earned them college scholarships (no proof of ancestry required), jobs (no Indian status), and promotions. They have worked at this institution and have never helped our people until I started working there. I feel this is very hypocritical. These people don't know the lang, the culture, or the ways. Sad. I notice that these are the type of people that cry foul over BQ.
Tribes know their people. They know the families that comprise their tribal membership. They know the sacrifices that families have made over the years to help the people. BQ or kinships, it's up to each tribal nation to determine who their tribal members are.
