Blood Quantum Reform
Encyclopedia
The Blood Quantum Reform (BQR) is a grassroots Native American
/Indigenous
activist movement in the United States, started around 1999 in Southeast Texas
by urban Native Americans. The BQR agenda focuses on reforming the framework of tribal enrollment, tribal unity, working against the Indian termination policy
, and tribal sovereignty.
The movement originally gathered to address the mounting issues concerning the use of the blood quantum in tribal enrollment. From its beginnings in Texas
, BQR soon attracted members from across the United States
, Canada
, with particular involvement in Hawaii
- where the issue of Blood Quantum has become a major political issue.
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
/Indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
activist movement in the United States, started around 1999 in Southeast Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
by urban Native Americans. The BQR agenda focuses on reforming the framework of tribal enrollment, tribal unity, working against the Indian termination policy
Indian termination policy
Indian termination was the policy of the United States from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s. The belief was that Native Americans would be better off if assimilated as individuals into mainstream American society. To that end, Congress proposed to end the special relationship between tribes and the...
, and tribal sovereignty.
The movement originally gathered to address the mounting issues concerning the use of the blood quantum in tribal enrollment. From its beginnings in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, BQR soon attracted members from across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, with particular involvement in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
- where the issue of Blood Quantum has become a major political issue.
See also
- Blood Quantum LawsBlood quantum lawsBlood Quantum Laws or Indian Blood Laws is an umbrella term that describes legislation enacted in the United States to define membership in Native American tribes or nations...
- Red PowerRed Power movementThe phrase "Red Power", attributed to the author Vine Deloria, Jr., commonly expressed a growing sense of pan-Indian identity in the late 1960s among American Indians in the United States....
- Kamehameha SchoolsKamehameha SchoolsKamehameha Schools , formerly called Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate , is a private co-educational college-preparatory institution that specializes in Native Hawaiian language and cultural education. It is located in Hawaii and operates three campuses: Kapālama , Pukalani , and Keaau...
- One Drop Rule