Here is a hot topic I am sure will draw out quite a bit of emotion. For many years on every reservation throughout all of its members there has been a debate about Full Blood vs. Half Breed. Even in that context there are lines that are blurry. Some think Full Blood is having all of your mixture from a tribal nation, while others believe that you have to be 4/4 Sicangu. I fall into the 4/4 category. Personally I believe that we should start taking steps to preserve the Sicangu blood line, preserve the full 4/4ths of Sicangu, promote conception between full 4/4 members and have full 4/4 children. Create a program to allow adoption of 4/4 children through a donor type program where the mother and father must be 4/4. Why? Well this is easy to explain, Assimilation was and has always been the agenda of the United States. Many in the US government, White hate groups and anti Indian Gaming groups believe in their hearts that our blood line would be so greatly diminished, that we would disappear. I believe it, I believe it because all you have to do is take a look at the smaller nations like the Ihanktunwan. Look what happened to their full blood population, members who are 4/4. There is a very small amount of them compared to their total enrollment. Over the years their blood quantum requirements has changed and is getting to the point in which you only have to have had a family member who was once enrolled. That means someone with absolutely no tribal blood can enroll. The Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council is trying to do the same now. When you go through there (Ihanktunwan area) you see a fairly large amount of natives who have beards, mustaches and their skin is yellow or almost completely white. Its not all of them, there are full bloods that have a total mixture of different tribes, there are quite a few darker Ihanktunwan but I took a good look at their enrollment of 4/4s and believe me they are disappearing fast. If they dont do something the full bloods will be extinct, and soon will follow the blood line. It sounds discriminatory because I have seen quite a few arguments where the statement I didnt ask to be born half breed comes up. No, I agree because I myself am only 27/32nds. The other small part of me is Ponca. Although that may be true, that doesnt mean we cant take steps to preserve our blood line and help the 4/4 bloodline survive, thrive and help the full blood population explode. I honestly think we should all take steps to preserve a full blood line. This has nothing to do with enrollment requirements, but more of protecting our blood line. Thoughts?
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 21:07:03 +0000