The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska has approved a change in its membership criteria.

Anyone whose parent or grandparent is a member and has at least one-fourth Indian blood can enroll. Previously, enrollment was limited to those with one-fourth Winnebago blood.

Chairman John Blackhawk expects the rolls to expand by several hundred as a result of the change. He said the one-fourth Winnebago blood requirement was too limiting.

"When you look at blood quantum, it only takes three generations to be less than a quarter because you're dividing every time," Blackhawk told The Sioux City Journal. "A lot of these younger kids, you can tell they're Native American, they might be part Winnebago, part Omaha, part Sioux."

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Winnebago Tribe expands member definition (The Sioux City Journal 2/7)