Blood Quantum and the Fight Over Native Identity

Blood quantum laws turned Native identity into numbers, measuring people by fractions of ancestry rather than kinship, language, or tradition. These policies were imposed by colonizers to reduce Native populations, limit treaty obligations, and erase sovereignty. The results were devastating: families excluded, rights denied, cultures undermined. Today, the debate over blood quantum still shapes Native communities and tribal law. Should Native identity be defined by colonial math—or by the people themselves?