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Blood Politics: Race, Culture, and Identity in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
Circe Sturm takes a bold and original approach to one of the most highly charged and important issues in the United States race and national identity. Focusing on the Oklahoma Cherokee, she examines how Cherokee identity is socially and politically constructed, and how that process is embedded in ideas of blood, color, and race. Not quite a century ago, blood degree varied among Cherokee citizens from full blood to 1/256, but today the range is far greater--from full blood to 1/2048. This trend raises questions about the symbolic significance of blood and the degree to which blood connections can stretch and still carry a sense of legitimacy. It also raises questions about how much racial blending can occur before Cherokees cease to be identified as a distinct people and what danger is posed to Cherokee sovereignty if the federal government continues to identify Cherokees and other Native Americans on a racial basis. Combining contemporary ethnography and ethnohistory, Sturm's sophisticated and insightful analysis probes the intersection of race and national identity, the process of nation formation, and the dangers in linking racial and national identities.
267 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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About the author
Circe Sturm
3 books2 followersAKA Circe Dawn Sturm
Circe Sturm is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma.
Circe Sturm is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 21, 2013
Though this ethnography by Sturm is specifically about the Cherokee, the general issues this book deals with could theoretically be applied to almost any group of people. With the Oklahoma Cherokee, there is simply magnification of said issues to a dizzying degree.
The book deals with a (seemingly) simple question: What is a Cherokee? The problem is, this is actually a sickeningly complex question.
The title of the book should give some hints as to the different aspects of that question. The (CNO) Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma is the institutional governmental body of the Cherokee nation. They require blood as a requirement for enrollment as a member of the tribe. Not blood quantum, just blood, meaning you can have less than 1/2000th of Cherokee blood in you, and you are eligible for enrollment as a member of the Cherokee Nation. This has led to the Cherokee Nation being the largest (by membership/citizenship) Native Nation in the United States; what's a possible reason? Political power, money, competition with other institutions... take your pick. Yet, the Cherokee Nation has to do some serious soul-searching. If you are descendant from the original Cherokee population pre-trail of tears, and never made it Oklahoma? Sorry you aren't eligible into the federally recognized organization of the Cherokee Nation, no matter your blood Quanta or cultural affinity. The Cherokee were also historical slave owners, yet what if you are the descendant of a Cherokee master and slave? Sorry, if you are descendant of a former slave (a "freedman") you aren't Cherokee, no matter if you are actually half-Cherokee by blood and may know the language; and if you have black skin? Forget about it. In this sense, white is an empty color category. It's like a bucket of paint: Add some red color to a bucket of white paint and it turns pink, or reddish. But, add some red to a bucket of black paint? It will always be black. A quote from a freedman in the book deals with pregnancy; being black is like being pregnant. Even if you are a little bit pregnant, you are considered all pregnant.
Which further begs the question of what makes a Cherokee. Language? Certainly language has a major role to play in how the Cherokee perceive what it means to be Cherokee. A person with a very low (or non) blood quanta yet who knows the language, would likely be seen by the Cherokee as being "more Cherokee" than someone who has very high-blood quanta, yet who doesn't know the language. What about phenotype? Someone of pale skin, with freckles isn't going to be seen as being "as Cherokee" as the person they are standing next to who has darker skin and darker hair, with high cheekbones; regardless what the actual genetic descent is (yet genetic descent, no matter how distant, is what the CNO uses to determine enrollment eligibility).
All of this is a bit more tangential than I was planning, but I was hoping to get your head spinning a little bit (don't worry, the book goes into further depth to further complicate the issue).
The point, ultimately, is what does it mean to "be" someone. We fit people into these cognitive categories, often unconsciously, without truly thinking about what it actually means. If you were walking down the street and saw a young women wearing a hijab, you might categorize her as one thing. But what if you heard heavy metal music coming out of her ear buds? What if you heard her greet a friend on the street by saying "Yo, what up, girlfriend?" This creates complications to our system of labeling people, and when people don't "fit" into the categories we have set, it makes people uncomfortable.
Sturm explores this issue of identity with the Cherokees of Oklahoma, to the point that hearing any labeling of them just makes you want to throw up. There's a charming scenario in this ethnography that highlights the issue perfectly: A full-blooded Cherokee women is at a Powwow watching a white, non-Cherokee friend of hers performing (with the dress garb and all). She is with her young son (also full-blooded Cherokee) who points to the man and says to her, "Look Mamma! A real Indian!" Her shocked response is, "But, You are a real Indian." "No I'm not," he replies "I'm Cherokee!"
The basic question: What makes a Cherokee
The Short answer: It's complicated
The longer answer: I don't freaking know
The longest answer: Blood Politics: Race, Culture, and Identity in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
The book shifts between ethnographic anecdotes and extensive historical records, but it is a very thorough exploration of how we label people, how we associate (or claim) identities, and how no matter our method of doing so we will fail to be adequate in our efforts.
The book deals with a (seemingly) simple question: What is a Cherokee? The problem is, this is actually a sickeningly complex question.
The title of the book should give some hints as to the different aspects of that question. The (CNO) Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma is the institutional governmental body of the Cherokee nation. They require blood as a requirement for enrollment as a member of the tribe. Not blood quantum, just blood, meaning you can have less than 1/2000th of Cherokee blood in you, and you are eligible for enrollment as a member of the Cherokee Nation. This has led to the Cherokee Nation being the largest (by membership/citizenship) Native Nation in the United States; what's a possible reason? Political power, money, competition with other institutions... take your pick. Yet, the Cherokee Nation has to do some serious soul-searching. If you are descendant from the original Cherokee population pre-trail of tears, and never made it Oklahoma? Sorry you aren't eligible into the federally recognized organization of the Cherokee Nation, no matter your blood Quanta or cultural affinity. The Cherokee were also historical slave owners, yet what if you are the descendant of a Cherokee master and slave? Sorry, if you are descendant of a former slave (a "freedman") you aren't Cherokee, no matter if you are actually half-Cherokee by blood and may know the language; and if you have black skin? Forget about it. In this sense, white is an empty color category. It's like a bucket of paint: Add some red color to a bucket of white paint and it turns pink, or reddish. But, add some red to a bucket of black paint? It will always be black. A quote from a freedman in the book deals with pregnancy; being black is like being pregnant. Even if you are a little bit pregnant, you are considered all pregnant.
Which further begs the question of what makes a Cherokee. Language? Certainly language has a major role to play in how the Cherokee perceive what it means to be Cherokee. A person with a very low (or non) blood quanta yet who knows the language, would likely be seen by the Cherokee as being "more Cherokee" than someone who has very high-blood quanta, yet who doesn't know the language. What about phenotype? Someone of pale skin, with freckles isn't going to be seen as being "as Cherokee" as the person they are standing next to who has darker skin and darker hair, with high cheekbones; regardless what the actual genetic descent is (yet genetic descent, no matter how distant, is what the CNO uses to determine enrollment eligibility).
All of this is a bit more tangential than I was planning, but I was hoping to get your head spinning a little bit (don't worry, the book goes into further depth to further complicate the issue).
The point, ultimately, is what does it mean to "be" someone. We fit people into these cognitive categories, often unconsciously, without truly thinking about what it actually means. If you were walking down the street and saw a young women wearing a hijab, you might categorize her as one thing. But what if you heard heavy metal music coming out of her ear buds? What if you heard her greet a friend on the street by saying "Yo, what up, girlfriend?" This creates complications to our system of labeling people, and when people don't "fit" into the categories we have set, it makes people uncomfortable.
Sturm explores this issue of identity with the Cherokees of Oklahoma, to the point that hearing any labeling of them just makes you want to throw up. There's a charming scenario in this ethnography that highlights the issue perfectly: A full-blooded Cherokee women is at a Powwow watching a white, non-Cherokee friend of hers performing (with the dress garb and all). She is with her young son (also full-blooded Cherokee) who points to the man and says to her, "Look Mamma! A real Indian!" Her shocked response is, "But, You are a real Indian." "No I'm not," he replies "I'm Cherokee!"
The basic question: What makes a Cherokee
The Short answer: It's complicated
The longer answer: I don't freaking know
The longest answer: Blood Politics: Race, Culture, and Identity in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
The book shifts between ethnographic anecdotes and extensive historical records, but it is a very thorough exploration of how we label people, how we associate (or claim) identities, and how no matter our method of doing so we will fail to be adequate in our efforts.
September 26, 2018
A decent examination of race and culture and its effects on contemporary Cherokee identity. A lot of good information about blood quantum and the damage it causes on many levels.
August 24, 2018
I learned a lot from this book, but maybe not what I thought I was going to. The real purpose underlying the topic of this work is how we think about and treat the Cherokee Freedmen--a topic that was treated respectfully, yet is perhaps too narrow a basis for this type of conversation. I was looking for something that involved even those who can prove Cherokee descent, but have no family on the Dawes Rolls. I later learned that her book, Becoming Indian, explores this topic, which I will be reviewing in the future.
What I found most interesting in this book is that...
Read the rest at: https://blackandwhitepandaduh.wordpre...
What I found most interesting in this book is that...
Read the rest at: https://blackandwhitepandaduh.wordpre...
January 13, 2008
Amazing! It looks to have been a PhD thesis from a Berkeley grad student and they did an amazing job of dissecting the difficulties of identity in the Native world and then in the Cherokee Nation. The book demonstrated to me what I had come to begin to learn in that it is not blood quantum that makes you Native or Cherokee but how you keep the identity in culture, relationships and language. More reason for me to coninue language lessons and make it to Tahlequah and Keetowah at some point in the near future.
March 23, 2011
I love learning and reading this book the only problem I had with it was that the Author quoted way too much!
October 10, 2015
The content was really interesting, but the writing was just so boring.
March 12, 2008
To be posted...
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews