MIXED-BLOODS-L Archives

From: Patricia Gunter-Hernandez <>
Subject: Navajo Nation News
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 12:38:09 -0700 (PDT)

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http://www.thenavajotimes.com/20042204/News/blood.html
Thu, April 22 2004

Nation could not afford 1/8 blood quantum, delegates say

By Marley Shebala
The Navajo Times

WINDOW ROCK - Among the Navajo Nation Council's agenda items this week
is a proposal to decrease the Navajo blood membership requirement.

Council Delegate Ervin Keeswood (Hogback), who is sponsoring the bill,
is proposing that the blood quantum be reduced from one-fourth to
one-eighth.

Keeswood, in his summary to the council, stated that the nation will
incur additional financial obligations in such programs as scholarships,

social services, employment, business, housing, home-site leases and
grazing permits.

But he stated the nation would increase its membership enrollment, which

could be used to justify an increase in its federal budget allocation.

More importantly, Keeswood noted, the council's approval to reduce the
blood quantum to one-eighth would allow Navajos to officially enroll and

claim their ancestry.

Keeswood added that the federal government will scrutinize the decreased

blood quantum requirement.

"Other tribes with one-eighth degree tribal blood enrollment or less
have been critiqued for allowing the correlated decrease in cultural,
tribal language and questioning the ethnic structure of the tribe," he
said.

Budget and Finance Committee Vice Chairperson Ben Shelley (Thoreau) said

on Wednesday that he's concerned that the nation might be rushing into
this change without a thorough study.

Shelley said the B&F has already expressed concern over the alarming
reduction of revenue in the next five years.

The B&F on Monday announced that the projected 2010 budget could be $89
million, compared to the $120 million budget this year.

Shelley said he'd like to see if there is any way to project the number
of Navajos that might enroll under the one-eighth-blood quantum.

Delegate Woody Lee (Sweetwater), who serves on the Human Services
Committee, said there are the pros and cons to reducing the nation's
blood quantum.

Lee said the positive aspect would be showing the country that the
nation is the largest, which would certainly catch the attention of
congressional leaders during their appropriations deliberations.

Lee said the downside would be whether the nation could afford an
overnight increase in its population.

He said the nation needs to analyze this population explosion because it

will have a major impact on everything the nation does.

Lee said Sweetwater, Ariz., is a small community and a substantial
increase in population will have a considerable impact on the smaller
chapters, which can also be good and bad.

Education Committee Chairperson Leonard Chee (Birdsprings/Leupp/Tolani
Lake) said he believes there is already too many enrolled Navajos that
are one-fourth.

Chee said the approval of a one-eighth-blood quantum will put on a lot
of stress on the nation's limited and dwindling resources.

"We can't afford the current population, especially in the area of
educational scholarships, where we denied so many qualified students,"
he added.

Ethics and Rules Committee Chairperson Duane Tsinigine
(Bodaway-Gap/Cameron/Coppermine) said any debate over the recognition of

tribal members must also include humanitarian reasons.

Tsinigine said that according to some American Indian law experts, blood

quantum should not be used to justify tribal membership.

He said the legal scholars believe that tribal memberships should be
based on family history or tradition, which involves recognition as a
relative by an aunt, grandparent or some relative.

Tsinigine said, "This issue needs to get down to that level because we
probably don't recognize other Navajos simply because they lack a
quarter-blood.

"In the humanitarian sense, they should be rightfully recognized," he
said.

The proposal is expected to be discussed this week.


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