How much Indian do you have to be to get benefits?

Question:

How much Indian do you have to be to get benefits?

My husband is 1/8th, and my kids are 1/6th Indian and I was wondering if we could get tribe benifits or are they too far down the bloodline. I have heard you can register up to a 1/322, but that seems crazy!

Thanks

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: A large number of tribes have closed registration to anyone who is over the age of 3. It wouldn't matter what fraction someone is, if they weren't registered as a child they won't get tribal membership and won't qualify for any benefits.

As others have mentioned, the government doesn't have regulations governing "percentages"...it's the individual tribes that do. Any number of tribes will accept you if your parents were registered, but won't accept you if it's been more than 2 generations since there was a registration (such as the Potowatome and Huron). Others will accept anyone who can prove any direct heritage to a deceased tribal member.

Your husband being 1/8 makes your kids 1/16th (not 1/6). They would have trouble registering with many tribes even if your husband doesn't. There are even tribes who are "disenrolling" members whose last ancestor was in the mid-1800s because they're too far removed from the tribe.

Another increasingly common requirement is that you must have maintained a role in the tribal society to gain membership. If your husband has never even met other members of the tribe, he may be excluded.

The long and short of it is that tribes are not actively seeking new members and have been overwhelmed by "long-lost relatives" seeking casino revenues and other benefits that are diluting benefits for those who have stayed active in their tribes and maintained their culture. They are, on the most part, very careful about whom they'll recognize and your husband and children will not have an easy road ahead.

That's not to say they aren't from a tribe that isn't easier to work with and join. Those do exist. They are just becoming increasingly rare. Good luck with the quest.