Blood Quantum Documentary

About

This 10-minute documentary takes a look at how blood quantum affects Native American identity and families today. It traces a three-century old system called "blood quantum" introduced by the colonial government to define American Indian in the law. Today, blood quantum is an enrollment criteria employed by many Native American tribes and nations to define whether they consider an individual a Native American or not based on percentages of ancestry. There are several issues emerging from institutionalizing this system that is worth exploring. The current blood quantum standards of some Native American tribes and nations restrict the tribal enrollment of children who have lower blood quantum due to intermarriage. Along with the potential loss on tribal membership, is the loss of their eligibility to access education, health benefits, and landownership that goes along with the privilege of being ascribed member to a Native American tribe. As a quest to solve these issues concerning blood quantum laws, rising trend of advocacies and possible alternative progressive solution to reform blood quantum laws are also explored in this documentary.