Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2006
Abstract
This article discusses the implementation of the half-blood provision by the central office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) under the administration of Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Collier. Through archival documents, the article reveals that the lawyers and administrators within the BIA were aware of the conceptual and practical problems of defining Indian status solely by blood quantum, and inconsistently applied social and cultural definitions alongside the biological one to implement the criterion. Therefore, despite the statute's clear biological definition, administrative application of the definition incorporated both biological and non-biological elements. Such incorporation complicates attempts to label the half-blood category "racial" under a Due Process analysis. Ultimately, based on the incorporation of both biological and non-biological elements, the definition in practice as applied to certain Indians might be considered analogous to the definition found to be political in Mancari. Given the Court's approach in Mancari, the article concludes that the constitutionality of the half-blood provision ought to be considered in light of its implementation, and not just based on its statutory language.
Publication Title
Rutgers Race & The Law Review
Volume
8
First Page
27
Last Page
49
Keywords
Blood Quantum, Federal Indian Law, Political Classification, Racial Classification, Morton v. Mancari, Rice v. Cayetano, Half-Blood Category, Indian Reorganization Act, Bureau of Indian Affairs, John Collier
Recommended Citation
Indian as Race/Indian as Political Status: Implementation of the Half-Blood Requirement under the Indian Reorganization Act, 1934-1945, 8 Rutgers Race and the L. Rev. 27 (2006).