It will come as no surprise to you, I hope, that Indian blood laws were created by European Americans to assert power over the indigenous peoples. Wikipedia, citing an academic researcher, says “…(T)he first such law was passed in 1705 in the Colony of Virginia, to define Native Americans and to restrict the civil rights of people who were half or more Native American….”
Known as “blood quantum”, it determined the percentage of your Native American ancestry. If one of your parents was Indian, you would be 1/2. If not, then, maybe one of your grandparents? 1/4. Only one great grandparent would mean you were 1/8.
The smallest number that might ever “qualify” is 1/16. I don’t even know who my great, great grandparents were. Do you?
It is a false criterion. There are 562 federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States. Each of them has its own method of determining membership. Sadly, it often only becomes an issue when casinos are built and federal grants are made. It is more of a joy when it is to celebrate heritage.
The first “white” settlers, or more accurately “invaders” came with the idea that everyone except them was inferior. But that was in the time of Plymouth Rock and Pocahontas not now, right? The neo-nazi, KKK, alt-right hateful people are pitching the same belief.
The color of our skin is what it is. But make no mistake, White Supremacy can not be allowed to exist in our midst. Maybe it can’t be erased. It is a persistent, toxic weed. But let’s keep at its extermination, no matter what the President says.
