Native American? URM status

[PTjay]

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I am part native american (Seminole). What percentage does someone have to be in order to claim URM status? Are there any official rules anywhere? I haven't been able to find anything through AMCAS.

 

[siempre595]

I THINK it is 1/32...that's info from another post somewhere on SDN in the past, but don't quote me. I believe you need official documentation (tribal certification card). I'd suggest calling AAMC or AMCAS and making sure, there is little to no information on this on their website, I remember looking last year (I am a very small fraction Native American, but did not pursue trying to get URM status since it is so small).
good luck!

 

[MacGyver]

This is a huge gray area. There is no MINIMUM blood amount you need to claim Indian status.

What you DO need are:

1. Bureau of Indian Affairs Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood

2. Tribal Citizenship Card

First you have to get the BIA CDIB card before you can do anything else. In order to get this card, you have to prove your lineage back to someone who is on the tribal rolls that were written up by the federal government over 100 years ago, OR prove lineage back to an ancestor which has a bona fide CDIB card.

After you get the CDIB card, then you apply for tribal citizenship. Each tribe is different. Some will recognize you if you have as little as 1/64 blood, some wont give you citizenship unless you are 1/2 or full blood. Each tribe is different.

Once you have the citizenship card, then technically you can apply as a URM. However, be very careful with this. Its easy to get burned during interviews if you dont "look" Indian. To apply as an indian URM you need to send all the schools a copy of your citizenship card--you dont have to send them the CDIB, so you dont have to "prove" how much indian blood you have.

med schools dont set rules on how much blood is required, they just require you to present a valid tribal citizenship card

 

[geldrop]

you can be 1/32 and be native american?? Seems like such a tiny percent, doubt even a geneticist could pick up on it...


On another note, how do they verify you if your 1/32nd?? What evidence could you bring to the tribe besides your word. Do the tribes understand all this URM business?? I wonder how thoroughly they backtrack it to verify it. I wouldn't be surprised if a benjamin franklin has made some catholic a verified native american...

But on another note, I think native americans are perhaps the only group that should deserve URM status. They were totally trashed and pushed to the fringe on these lousy plots of land, far removed from good educational systems.

I love seeing the indian casinos where they clean out the money from the non native americans, makes me feel warm inside, except when its my money they take...

 

[MacGyver]

Originally posted by geldrop
you can be 1/32 and be native american?? Seems like such a tiny percent, doubt even a geneticist could pick up on it...

true, thats why I recommend you dont use it unless you are at least 1/4 blood. But technically speaking, there is no "blood" requirement.

On another note, how do they verify you if your 1/32nd??

Thats what the CDIB card is for. YOu have to get that first before you can do anything else.

What evidence could you bring to the tribe besides your word.

You must have a CDIB card, and then you have to fill out paperwork and have birth and death certificates from your family line going back to someone on the tribal rolls.

IF you have all that, they MIGHT choose to give you tribal membership. It depends on the tribe and is different for all of them.

Do the tribes understand all this URM business?? I wonder how thoroughly they backtrack it to verify it.

The burden of proof is on you, not them. You MUST have birth and death certificates which prove your lineage and they wont give you the tribal card without it.

Once you give them the proper paperwork and they verify it, they dont need to do any "backtracking" because you have given them all the info they need to know whether you are legit or not.

AMCAS and the medical schools can only go by the tribal card that the tribes give out. They are not qualified to determine if someone belongs to a tribe or not, thats a tribal decision.

I wouldn't be surprised if a benjamin franklin has made some catholic a verified native american...

Huh?

I love seeing the indian casinos where they clean out the money from the non native americans, makes me feel warm inside, except when its my money they take...

Well honestly some of these smaller tribes that control the huge gaming casinos have gotten greedy. They refuse to accept any new members, even those people are bona fide 100% tribal blood. By expanding their pool of membership, they have to cut up the revenue pie into more shares, which means less money for everybody.

 

[PTjay]

thanks for the info, that was quite helpful.

jay

 

[geldrop]

So who actually in the tribe has authorization to say your a tribe member??? There are literally hundreds of native american tribes some very tiny. I feel like it would be very easy to find some unethical tribe member that is looking for a couple hundred dollars to vouch for you.

I wonder if the people that verify status understand how much of a benefit it is for a student applying to college or medical school or even getting a job....

On a side note, when I was telling someone that I feel really sorry for the native americans. They told me that some of the native americans were in fact savages and would fight with each of the tribes and even rape and pillage other tribes and steal their woman etc.... It was just the fact that the colonists had guns and became more populous that make people sympathetic to the indians... I dunno what to believe, but I know after seeing how some of them live (My aunt volutneers with them a lot and has like parties and things for the little kids on some reservation) that its impossible not to feel sorry for them..

 

[ironey]

Okie doke. I'll come out of the closet for this one. I really only know the rules for those who are enrolled in a tribe.

Each tribe makes its own determination of who is eligable for membership. Although some tribes go by blood quantum alone, in my tribe particularly, you are eligable for the rolls if one of your parents was enrolled. It is not ebough to be born to someone who says they are part of the tribe, each member has vital records tracing their lineage back to a tribesperson who was recorded on the Roblins Roll circa 1900.

In this particular instance, I come from a tribe that was not allowed a reservation nor land compensation by President Cooldige because we were "industrious, self-supporting and reasonably intelligent" (an exact quote from the land denial papers). Which meant that my great grandparents were still camping, fishing, and hunting on government land, farming for other people, cleaning other peoples' houses, and generally not violent. In this environment, the tribe managed to stay together through the hard work of tribal elders, etc. When the tribe was recognized (finally) in 2000, they used the same rules that a family would to designate who 'belonged'. There are about 1400 members and I am related at least once to most of them.

When applying for medical school, I checked two boxes: Native American and White. Even though I hold a little green card and receive health services through the IHS, my mother is short, blond and Polish. I was asked to fax a copy of my enrollment card to only one school after acceptance.

Having been raised in a family that was very active in the tribe (my father is a council member and elder), I have a dedication to the tribe and preserving what is left of the culture. My goal is to work for the IHS and someday be an instrumental part of my tribe's health clinic that is now just a dream on paper. I felt good about disclosing my Native heritage on my applications because of these goals.

And just for the record: yes, my scores are very good. >30; >3.5

 

[MacGyver]

Originally posted by geldrop
So who actually in the tribe has authorization to say your a tribe member???

Technically, the acting chief of the tribe. The tribal citizenship card has the chief's sig on it.

There are literally hundreds of native american tribes some very tiny. I feel like it would be very easy to find some unethical tribe member that is looking for a couple hundred dollars to vouch for you.

Sure, its possible. But I've never heard of any fraud with citizenship cards since the tribal rolls were finalized in the early 1900s.

I wonder if the people that verify status understand how much of a benefit it is for a student applying to college or medical school or even getting a job....

Who knows... all they have to go by is the paperwork you submit to them. They make a decision based on that.