Blood Politics, Ethnic Identity, and Racial Misclassification among American Indians and Alaska Natives

Abstract

Misclassification of race in medical and mortality records has long been documented as an issue in American Indian/Alaska Native data. Yet, little has been shared in a cohesive narrative which outlines why misclassification of American Indian/Alaska Native identity occurs. The purpose of this paper is to provide a summary of the current state of the science in racial misclassification among American Indians and Alaska Natives. We also provide a historical context on the importance of this problem and describe the ongoing political processes that both affect racial misclassification and contribute to the context of American Indian and Alaska Native identity.

Critical epidemiology in action: Research for and by indigenous peoples

“…A 2014 special issue of the American Journal of Public Health illustrates how linkages to Indian Health Service (IHS) databases can markedly improve data accuracy for a variety of health outcomes ( Cheek et al, 2014 , Espey et al, 2014 , Jim et al, 2014 , Wong et al, 2014 ). Yet in both publications and interviews, researchers highlight IHS database limitations: In addition to focusing only on those seeking health care (rather than general community populations), they are estimated to include only half of all persons who identify as AIAN in the U.S. ( Cheek et al, 2014 ), frequently exclude urban AIAN ( Freemantle et al, 2015 ), and may include non-indigenous people ( Haozous, Strickland, Palacios, & Solomon, 2014 ). As one alternative, Dankovchik, Hoopes, Warren-Mears, & Knaster (2015) describe the Northwest Tribal Epidemiology Center’s work with multiple tribes and urban AIAN health organizations to develop a regional AIAN registry.…”

The Prostitution and Trafficking of American Indian/Alaska Native Women in Minnesota

“…The Bureau of Indian Affairs, operating as an arm of the U.S. government, defines "who is an Indian" in approximately 12 different ways for the purpose of determining eligibility for services. Yet identity among AI/AN people does not generally follow the federal government's model (Haozous, Strickland, Palacios, & Solomon, 2014). Most AI/ANs provide an identity connected to their reservation instead of their family ancestry identity.…”

Racialization as a Barrier to Achieving Health Equity for Native Americans

“…14 Blood quanta became fundamental to federal policy determining Native identity, and such socially constructed categories have contributed significantly to perceptions of race as hereditary. 15 Contemporary conceptions of Indian identity were further cemented after the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. Federally recognized tribes used a minimum quantum of "Indian blood" to affirm an individual's tribal enrollment, an important determination that allowed individuals access to federal benefits, including access to health services.…”

“…Federally recognized tribes used a minimum quantum of "Indian blood" to affirm an individual's tribal enrollment, an important determination that allowed individuals access to federal benefits, including access to health services. 15 Issues of the relation of blood quanta to identity and tribal affiliation have emerged as real, everyday problems for Native peoples, something Louise Erdrich literally embodied. Her dilemma was whether being culturally Ojibwe was enough for her or whether she should possibly alter her own family's understanding of their kinship through DNA analysis and possibly claim certain rights based on blood quanta.…”

“…During the mid-20th century, the federal government "terminated" numerous tribes by depriving them of recognized status and benefits and imposed relocation policies on Native communities in an effort to assimilate members of recognized tribes. 13,15 Such policies have not only resulted in loss of tribal identity for individuals but also taken a generational toll since, without a minimum blood quantum, one's ancestral lineage to a tribal nation can be severed both politically and culturally. Faced with the daunting challenge of diminishing populations, many tribes have restructured tribal citizenship criteria to include lineal descent.…”