Native American DNA
Social and cultural definitions of relatedness are more consistent with the traditional notions of tribal membership; however, the U.S. government has long imposed its needs on tribal traditions (p. 55-61). The Dawes Act of 1887 effectively dispossessed Native Americans of communal land holdings by conferring land allotments to Native American male heads of households. Persons believed to be full-blood Native Americans were given an allotment, but it was held in trust for 25 years, with the hope that the Native Americans would eventually assimilate into the capitalist economic system. By contrast, persons deemed to be half-blood or less were immediately given their land allotment under the assumption that they were culturally-advanced enough to successfully manage their holdings. This 'blood quantum' strategy for managing tribal lands has remained in place since the Dawes Act became law, but this paternalistic approach moderated somewhat during the 20th century.
Enforcement of the Dawes Act imposed European-American notions of tribal membership on Native Americans, an approach that is entirely consistent with a population genetics approach to tribal membership determinations (p. 55-61). The Cherokee decision to disenroll the Cherokee freedman because of their African ancestry is a case in point and flies in the face of a traditional social and cultural determination of tribal affiliation. Tribal governments are worried about loosely-affiliated people seeking tribal membership for economic reasons, thereby encouraging increased reliance on genetics as a screening tool. Despite these efforts, some Native Americans continue to advocate for a return to a social and cultural basis for determining tribal affiliation. The most likely outcome, according to Tallbear, is that there will always be a role for blood lineages and genetics in determining tribal membership, but that this will be moderated somewhat by other considerations, such as knowledge of tribal history, culture, politics, ethics, and language.
Question 2
Tracing a person's ancestral lineage in...
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