All Things Cherokee

Blood Quantum - Why It Matters, and Why It Shouldn't
by Christina Berry
"You're an Indian? What part?"
That's the universal question many mixed-blood Native Americans are asked every day. How many times have you mentioned in passing that you are Cherokee to find your conversation interrupted by intrusive questions about percentage? How many times have you answered those questions? Well stop! That's right -- stop answering rude questions.
Have you ever been talking to someone who mentioned that they were part Hispanic, part African-American, part Jewish, part Italian, part Irish, part Korean, etc.? Have you ever asked them what percentage? Hopefully your answer is no, because if your answer is yes then you're rude. It would be rude to ask someone how Hispanic they are, but we accept that people can ask us how Cherokee we are. This is a double standard brought about by our collective history as Native Americans, and is one we should no longer tolerate.
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