Native American Heritage

[ZFanatic]

I'm currently a freshman at Cornell, Native American if the title of the thread didn't give that away already. I'm fully registered in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, 7/32nds blood (with the card). So I plan on applying as a Native American, but my issue lies in the fact that I look white, grew up white, and live in Texas. My family however lives in Oklahoma, and most of them work for the Cherokee Nation.

Now before you jump on me, you should know that I don't pretend to have lived on a reservation and things like that, I'll get to my reason for claiming heritage in a sec.

As someone who has family living on the reservation, and receives scholarship money for school (not much, but enough), I feel like I definitely owe something back to the Cherokee Nation. I've also dealt with health issues typical of Native Americans, HBP, diabetes, alcoholism, heart disease, etc. Thank god I'm not afflicted with all of those, but the ones I do not have, definitely affect my family. What I'd like to do is spend some time after med school working for the IHS, as well as try and do clinical research on things that matter most to Native Americans, mainly those mentioned above. I'm also going to take a number of American Indian studies courses here (trying to get the minor, but we'll see) to try and learn what I can, as well as spend some time next summer or the summer after at the IHS to see what it is like (and if it truly is what I'd like to do).

My question being is that something that medical schools would see as worthy of being classified under Native American status or URM? I'm not trying to pretend I've lived the culture, but does have a vested interest in wanting to help the people (as well as being a registered 1/4 blood tribal member) constitute a good enough reason for "checking that box?"

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[njbmd]

Race/ethnicity is self-reported data. No one is going to check your DNA to see if you are "worthy" of what you designate. You can designate anything that you want. It's likely not going to make that much of a difference in your acceptance if you are not otherwise qualified for medical school.

 

[ZFanatic]

Race/ethnicity is self-reported data. No one is going to check your DNA to see if you are "worthy" of what you designate. You can designate anything that you want. It's likely not going to make that much of a difference in your acceptance if you are not otherwise qualified for medical school.

Then why is there so much talk of people caring whether or not someone should or should not check that box?

 

[sramati]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=561767

While this thread does not refer to the race you've inquired about, it does provide insights into the reasons for checking the boxes.

I was interested because while I am of Blackfoot descent (far, far removed), I am not involved with the tribe or the heritage. I had intended on checking the box anyway. After reading the thread, however, I will not because I know I cannot back up my identification with the tribe at all besides "my aunt tells me that Granny was part Blackfoot" if it came up in an interview. I don't think this would be a problem for you, and had I been in your situation would have no trouble identifying as Native American on my applications. Besides, if it does comes up, you can just bust out your card.

As several in the linked thread suggested, many people worry because they aren't being completely truthful when they check the box. If you don't believe that your involvement with the Cherokee Nation, your registration card, and your interest that you will underline with your classes and possible minor are enough, then simply do not select it.

 

[mybubbles14]

There isn't a "urm box" to check...you just self-report your "ethnicity/race" (I know they aren't the same just can't remember the exact wording). Some people make a big deal about it (mostly non-urms) because they think that applying URM gives you a HUGE advantage over other applicants. However I don't think anybody wants to get into that debate, but if you are interested just search sdn. There are plenty of threads that pop up frequently on that matter which usually get quite heated and occasionally closed. Anyways, have you checked "white" up until now? If you haven't checked it before now you should probably assess your reasoning for the change. Regardless of what you look like nobody can tell you what you are or aren't. Many individuals that I know have native american blood (myself included) but do not check that box because they don't necessarily identify with that since they don't have any exposure with that side of their heritage. It doesn't necessarily sound like you fall in that category though. Since you have your tribal card I don't see why you wouldn't check it unless that is not how you identify yourself. However, only you can decide what is right for you...

I've only seen one application ask for proof of tribal affiliation btw but that obviously wouldn't be a problem for you.

 

[Grif]

My question being is that something that medical schools would see as worthy of being classified under Native American status or URM? I'm not trying to pretend I've lived the culture, but does have a vested interest in wanting to help the people (as well as being a registered 1/4 blood tribal member) constitute a good enough reason for "checking that box?"

From the IHS application: "Submit documentation of American Indian/Alaska Native eligibility. A Certificate of Indian Blood (CIB) [CDIB card --grif] alone is not enough for acceptance. You must provide official evidence of Tribal membership."

So you have to submit your tribal membership card, not your CDIB. I would love to say that blood quantum plays no part, but honestly I have no idea. I think they are making it more open to people who don't have all of their paperwork 100% lined up. Because, let's be honest, making sure our CDIB cards are accurate is probably the last thing on our minds. I spend more time picking out underwear than making sure the gov has the right quantum listed.

I'm 1/8th, but my card says 1/128 because my parents didn't submit all the paperwork (lack of interest in bureaucracy). My aunt's on the council for the cherokee nation, is also 1/8th, so I may be able to change my official quantum laterally to 1/16. Sorry, tangent.

At any rate, my hope is that grades and recommendations are more important than that.


EDIT: Wow, I completely misunderstood the first post. I thought you were apping to IHS. OOPS!

 

[ZFanatic]

From the IHS application: "Submit documentation of American Indian/Alaska Native eligibility. A Certificate of Indian Blood (CIB) [CDIB card --grif] alone is not enough for acceptance. You must provide official evidence of Tribal membership."

So you have to submit your tribal membership card, not your CDIB. I would love to say that blood quantum plays no part, but honestly I have no idea. I think they are making it more open to people who don't have all of their paperwork 100% lined up. Because, let's be honest, making sure our CDIB cards are accurate is probably the last thing on our minds. I spend more time picking out underwear than making sure the gov has the right quantum listed.

I'm 1/8th, but my card says 1/128 because my parents didn't submit all the paperwork (lack of interest in bureaucracy). My aunt's on the council for the cherokee nation, is also 1/8th, so I may be able to change my official quantum laterally to 1/16. Sorry, tangent.

At any rate, my hope is that grades and recommendations are more important than that.


EDIT: Wow, I completely misunderstood the first post. I thought you were apping to IHS. OOPS!

Oh I'm definitely enrolled in the tribe too, lol.
Idk, we'll see. If I make it to the interview stage, I'm hoping that being honest about not really having much exposure early in life, but having a vested interest in it as well as being registered will prove that I'm not checking the box for an unfair advantage with no intention of ever dealing with the Native American population.

 

[halito1]

First of all, I want to commend you on your accomplishements so far. I went through that process in the mid 90's.

As you, I am American Indian that is 1/4 choctaw and like you does not look the part. I went through the procees during the height of the affirmative action in the mid 90's and was questioned about my Indian heritage in ways that really offended me, but overall, there were people that were truly there to help you succeed.

After residency I did work for the IHS for a payback scholarship which was what I considered a love/hate relationship. The bureaucracy was mind boggling. But I thoroughly enjoyed working with this population.

In short, follow your heart and do what is right and you will be better for it and the lucky patient that stumbles in your office one day will benefit immensely.

Halito1

 

[mouthwash4hobo]

I'm 1/8 Native American from the Nooksack Tribe WA and I asked the tribe about obtaining membership. They declined saying that I needed to be at least 1/4.

I plan on marking Native American, but if adm asks for a card, I don't have one! My dad is a member, I wonder if that counts..

 

[lovemesomeTJ]

...
As someone who has family living on the reservation, and receives scholarship money for school (not much, but enough), I feel like I definitely owe something back to the Cherokee Nation. I've also dealt with health issues typical of Native Americans, HBP, diabetes, alcoholism, heart disease, etc. Thank god I'm not afflicted with all of those, but the ones I do not have, definitely affect my family. What I'd like to do is spend some time after med school working for the IHS, as well as try and do clinical research on things that matter most to Native Americans, mainly those mentioned above. I'm also going to take a number of American Indian studies courses here (trying to get the minor, but we'll see) to try and learn what I can, as well as spend some time next summer or the summer after at the IHS to see what it is like (and if it truly is what I'd like to do).

My question being is that something that medical schools would see as worthy of being classified under Native American status or URM? I'm not trying to pretend I've lived the culture, but does have a vested interest in wanting to help the people (as well as being a registered 1/4 blood tribal member) constitute a good enough reason for "checking that box?"

I don't necessarily think the two correlate. Your desire to help Native Americans shouldn't have to do with listing on your application how you identify. I could be a Puerto Rican woman who has an interest in championing disparities that affect Native Americans, no? Or a black man interested in generational changes among Polynesians, right? You identify with who you identify and if you're not sure how you identify, you decline to state. I think the best way for you to show your interest in helping Native Americans is through your PS.

If you are interested in listing yourself as URM for the purposes of your application then I would state it (since you can back it up), and definitely follow it up with your goals in the PS. Otherwise, identify how you would identify if it were an application that didn't place as much emphasis on race and ethnicity as people seem to think the AMCAS application does.

 

[Dartmouth2005]

I was just wondering if there were any Indians out there who are premeds who have a blood quantum over 1/4.

It seems to me that many of the native premeds that I encounter are significantly something other than Indian like 7/8 non-Nooksack or 25/32 non-Oklahoma Cherokee. Just wondering. 🙂

 

[heyyouyouyou]

without a doubt, be sure to apply as a native american. if you can couple this with a descent GPA and MCAT, you will have many acceptances.

schools will use you in the URM percentages, and native americans are the least few in the URM bunch.

I've known of 3 other who were in similar situations. They were very, very, very distant from their respective tribes (and looked Irish). Both had good offers from top 10 medical schools.

Thus, don't pass up this opportunity, but be sure to pay something back (like you've talked about with the IHS).

 

[Dartmouth2005]

without a doubt, be sure to apply as a native american. if you can couple this with a descent GPA and MCAT, you will have many acceptances.

schools will use you in the URM percentages, and native americans are the least few in the URM bunch.

I've known of 3 other who were in similar situations. They were very, very, very distant from their respective tribes (and looked Irish). Both had good offers from top 10 medical schools.

Thus, don't pass up this opportunity, but be sure to pay something back (like you've talked about with the IHS).

This seems really wrong. You are telling people with no tribal affiliation or the ability to become affiliated with a tribe to apply as Indians and receive admissions benefits that should go to Indians who have the blood quantum to qualify for enrollment. If these people can't qualify as Indian for enrollment in a tribe, then they should not be allowed to benefit as Indians for medical school admissions. While they of course can check the box and get "good offers[,]" they may very well be taking the spot of someone who actually qualifies for enrollment and who has a much higher blood quantum. Not to mention the fact that most Indians on the reservation look something completely other than Irish.

 

[elektron]

OP: Sorry to hijack your thread, but I thought it was better to post here rather than start a new thread about the same topic.

I am also not sure which boxes to check on the application. Almost all of my family, including myself, has dark hair, brown eyes, high cheek bones, and slightly dark skin. Based on my family's oral history, I am somewhere between 1/8th and 3/8th Cherokee through my father's side, but I am not an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe. We never lived on or near a reservation, but we were very poor, and there was no indoor plumbing or telephone while growing up. We had access to drinking water through a natural spring near our dwelling. Our heat was provided by a wood-burning stove, and there was no A/C. Our only "luxury" was a small television set that picked up the 5 local stations.

My family has always identified amongst one another as being Cherokee, but we were never allowed to "check the box" on any kind of document because they were extremely paranoid about what the government might do to us. They thought there might be another forced removal, more boarding schools, or something similar and simply did not trust the government at all.

About two years ago, I finally ended up identifying on paper as Native. I was meeting with my academic advisor, and she told me about her family and her adopted brother being a Native American. I told her about my family's Cherokee ancestry, how we weren't a member of any federally recognized tribe, and how my family was afraid to identify on paper. Unbeknownst to me, she was also the director of a minority program at my school and pulled out an application, urging me to apply. Trusting her judgement, I ended up applying and getting into the program and have since volunteered extensively as a peer mentor working with other minorities in the program. I have also presented research at an AISES national conference.

Now, I'm not sure what to put on the application. I feel like I will be questioned about not being a member of a federally recognized tribe if I do identify as Native, and I feel like I will be questioned about my membership in a minority program if I don't identify as a Native.

Do you think I should identify only as White or as both White and Native American on the application? Should I discuss this in my personal statement? I don't want to misrepresent myself, and I feel like I need to give an explanation no matter which boxes I check. I want to do the right thing, and I'm interested in everyone's opinion.

 

[ChemEngMD]

OP: Sorry to hijack your thread, but I thought it was better to post here rather than start a new thread about the same topic.

I am also not sure which boxes to check on the application. Almost all of my family, including myself, has dark hair, brown eyes, high cheek bones, and slightly dark skin. Based on my family's oral history, I am somewhere between 1/8th and 3/8th Cherokee through my father's side, but I am not an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe. We never lived on or near a reservation, but we were very poor, and there was no indoor plumbing or telephone while growing up. We had access to drinking water through a natural spring near our dwelling. Our heat was provided by a wood-burning stove, and there was no A/C. Our only "luxury" was a small television set that picked up the 5 local stations.

My family has always identified amongst one another as being Cherokee, but we were never allowed to "check the box" on any kind of document because they were extremely paranoid about what the government might do to us. They thought there might be another forced removal, more boarding schools, or something similar and simply did not trust the government at all.

About two years ago, I finally ended up identifying on paper as Native. I was meeting with my academic advisor, and she told me about her family and her adopted brother being a Native American. I told her about my family's Cherokee ancestry, how we weren't a member of any federally recognized tribe, and how my family was afraid to identify on paper. Unbeknownst to me, she was also the director of a minority program at my school and pulled out an application, urging me to apply. Trusting her judgement, I ended up applying and getting into the program and have since volunteered extensively as a peer mentor working with other minorities in the program. I have also presented research at an AISES national conference.

Now, I'm not sure what to put on the application. I feel like I will be questioned about not being a member of a federally recognized tribe if I do identify as Native, and I feel like I will be questioned about my membership in a minority program if I don't identify as a Native.

Do you think I should identify only as White or as both White and Native American on the application? Should I discuss this in my personal statement? I don't want to misrepresent myself, and I feel like I need to give an explanation no matter which boxes I check. I want to do the right thing, and I'm interested in everyone's opinion.

I think it's something you should talk about in your personal statement if it is something that has affected why you want to be a doctor. You are most definitely in the "disadvantaged" category judging by your back story so URM status wouldn't necessarily help you any more than that. You could put down Native but they would want to know which tribe, which is why I don't put it as a Latino. I think whatever you feel most comfortable doing is the right thing to do.

 

[elektron]

I think it's something you should talk about in your personal statement if it is something that has affected why you want to be a doctor. You are most definitely in the "disadvantaged" category judging by your back story so URM status wouldn't necessarily help you any more than that. You could put down Native but they would want to know which tribe, which is why I don't put it as a Latino. I think whatever you feel most comfortable doing is the right thing to do.

Thanks for the advice. I'm not really worried about gaining an advantage. I just don't want it to look like I lied on my application. I will probably end up identifying only as white. It seems that it would be easier to explain why I didn't identify as Native than to try to justify the other way around.