CONCHO – On Oct. 5 Cheyenne and Arapaho voters will consider a measure to lower the tribes’ “blood quantum” level, allowing individuals with less American Indian ancestry to become a voting member of the tribes.
The proposal, if passed, would allow individuals who possess one-eighth or more Cheyenne and/or Arapaho blood, from either parent or ancestor, to be enrolled with the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. That’s down from the current one-fourth requirement, and would allow individuals with one Cheyenne or Arapaho greatgrandparent to become a tribal member.
The amendment to the Cheyenne-Arapaho Constitution, Article IV, must pass by a margin of 30% to become tribal law.
Arapaho District 1 legislator Billie Sutton sponsored the bill that created the special election. She explained her reasoning in a Facebook post.
“After I started doing research for this bill I hosted meetings in the communities to listen to people and their concerns,” Sutton wrote, “their problems of getting enrolled, their desire to get their children and/or grandchildren enrolled. Most of all their desire to protect the children/grandchildren in state custody. … There have been numerous discussions and compromises, numerous changes and additions … that’s how government works. I needed to get other legislators on board so we could take this first step towards descendancy. I also need their input, as they brought up some things I had not thought of.”
She said that members who don’t agree with the language in the resolution should vote against it. “Perhaps down the line, years from now, another legislator will work on this,” she wrote.
According to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal Tribune, some benefits of reducing the blood quantum include greater accessibility to Native American scholarships in higher education, protection of children through the Indian Child Welfare Act, and access to health care via the Indian Health Services.
The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 established protections and new standards for the removal and out-of-home placement of American Indian children and enabled tribes to be more involved in the process.
Sutton’s original bill says the blood quantum was originally created as a way to measure “’Indian-ness’ through a construct of race.”
“So that over time, Indians would literally breed themselves out and rid the federal government of their legal duties to uphold treaty obligations,” the bill says. “We shall, over time, move away from this policy of eradication, towards lineal descendancy in order to ensure our tribes’ continued existence and sovereignty.”
Individuals would still need to possess at least onefourth Cheyenne/Arapaho blood to run for tribal office.
Absentee ballots for the Oct. 5 election will be mailed out between Aug. 23 and 27. There will be 10 on-site polling locations, with official addresses to come.