The Blood Quantum Laws were legislation that was enacted in the United States to define who is and who is not members of ethnic minorites. The laws were first designed for African-American slaves, and later extended to Native Americans. Critics of the laws say they have been used to discriminate against Blacks and Native Americans and deny them their civil rights as well as pre-empt the right of tribes to determine themselves who is and who is not a member. U.S. tribes set their own rules to determine tribal membership but Federal laws affect benefits received from the Federal government.

The first blood quantum law was passed in the state of Virginia by Virginia General Assembly in 1705. It specified that all mulatto cildren would be servants at least until they were thirty-one years old. The statute punished unwed mothers. A woman servant who had an illegitimate child by a black or mulatto was fined fifteen pounds; if she was unable to pay the fine she was sold for five years at the expiration of her time of service. If the unwed mother was a free white woman she was also subject to a fifteen pound fine or five years of service. [1] Subsequently, such laws were enacted in other states, and then by the Federal government itself.

When these laws were later enacted for Native Americans, they determined that either one half or one quarter Indian blood enabled an individual to be able to claim he or she is an Indian. In the 19th century, under these laws, people of minimum half-degree Indian blood were considered eligible and given a land allotment. Since this formula reduced the number of eligible individuals, it resulted in more land being available to European settlers.

In 1985, the US Congress passed the Quarter Blood Amendment Act to determine which Indian students were eligible for Indian education programs and tuition-free attendance at the Bureau of Indian Affairs or contract schools.

Individual tribes set their own laws to determine who is eligible for membership. These often require a specific degree of blood relationship and often an ancestor listed in a specific tribal census from the late 1800s or early 1900s. The Eastern Cherokee, for example, require an ancestor listed in the 1924 Baker census and 1/16th blood while the Western Cherokee require an ancestor in the 1906 Dawes roll but have no blood quantum requirement. The Ute require a 5/8 blood quantum, the highest requirement of any U.S. tribe. A 1/4 requirement is perhaps most common.

External links

• Native Descendency and Blood Quantums
• Blood Quantum: A Relic Of Racism And Termination