[deleted] t1_j798frg wrote on February 5, 2023 at 1:24 AM

Reply to comment by 5spd4wd in TIL the number of people who identify as Native American on the US Census increased by 86% from 2010 to 2020. by substantial-freud

Most of the tribes in Oklahoma only require that you have at least one relative that signed the Dawes rolls. To be an elder though, many require 1/4. Most tribal members in Oklahoma are of majority white heritage.

5spd4wd t1_j79f0lv wrote on February 5, 2023 at 2:18 AM

I live in a state with a very high number of tribes but I don't know much at all about who is and who isn't considered NA by DNA.

[deleted] t1_j79gudu wrote on February 5, 2023 at 2:34 AM

In Oklahoma, it doesn’t go off DNA or even proven ancestry- it goes strictly off the Dawes rolls. Dawes was a man hired by the US government to make a list of all Native Americans for land grants etc. If any of your ancestors signed these rolls, you can get a CDIB card (certified degree of Indian blood) which is the only way to enroll in the tribes there. Once you are enrolled in a tribe, you are considered Native American even if you are majority white. It is not uncommon to see CDIB cardholders with 1/124th or 1/215th etc. Anyone with 1/4 or more is extremely rare and they are eligible to be elders and often get offered special jobs at the nation.