Members and descendants of the Blackfeet Nation of Montana are debating the tribe's blood quantum requirement.

A group called Blackfeet Enrollment Amendment Reform wants to eliminate the 1/4th blood quantum requirement. They say enrollment will gradually decrease if the standard is kept.

"We are literally living in a caste system -- people with certain genetic qualities who are denied access to resources because of their racial makeup," Robert Hall, who doesn't meet the blood quantum requirement even though both of his parents are enrolled, told The Great Falls Tribune.

An opposing group called Blackfeet Against Open Enrollment doesn't think the tribe is in danger of losing its numbers. They say keeping the requirement protects their identity.

"When we go back and we look through history, Indians have fought assimilation and we have won -- and we're still winning today," Nathan DeRoche told the paper. "But if we open that enrollment, they have won. Then we are a defeated people."

The tribe's 1935 constitution included a 1/16th blood requirement. It was changed to 1/8th in 1962 under pressure from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the paper said.

Get the Story:
Blackfeet divided over blood quantum (The Great Falls Tribune 7/2)

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