In this day and age, however, quantum is heavily relied upon for determining eligibility for tribal recognition. My great grandmother and her sister are listed with generationally different quanta even though they were sisters with the same mother and father and have the exact same quantum. I know for a fact that this was known to be incorrect because my own ancestors’ quantum is recorded incorrectly. However, this was highly subjective as it was simply a question that the roll takers would allow the people to answer for themselves. One of the attributes collected on a person signing one of the many Indian rolls was their quantum. It wasn’t until the federal government became involved in Indian government that quantum became an issue.
The fact that the adoptee was sometimes of a different ethnic origin was of little importance to the tribe. While the transformation from captive to tribal member was often a long and difficult one, the captive would eventually become an accepted member of the tribe. They would often be bestowed with some of the same prestige and duties of the person they were replacing. These captives would replace members of the tribe who had died. Many tribes would capture members of neighboring tribes, white settlers, or members of enemy tribes. Adoption was occasionally preceded by capture. Many American Indian tribes practiced adoption, a process whereby non-tribal members would be adopted into the tribe and over time become fully functioning members of the group. Throughout early Native history, blood never really played a factor in determining who was or was not included in a tribe. The history of blood quantum begins with the Indian rolls and is a concept introduced to American Indians by white culture. This is a double standard brought about by our collective history as American Indians, and is one we should no longer tolerate. It would be rude to ask someone what part Hispanic they are, but we accept that people can ask us what part Cherokee we are. Have you ever been talking to someone who mentioned that they were part Hispanic, part African-American, part Jewish, part Italian, part Korean, etc.? Have you ever asked them what percentage? Hopefully your answer is no, because if your answer is yes, then you’re rude. How many times have you mentioned in passing that you are Cherokee to find your conversation interrupted by intrusive questions about percentage? How many times have you answered those questions? Well stop! That’s right - stop answering rude questions. That’s the universal question many mixed-blood American Indians are asked every day.
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