Hot Topics in Tribal Governance: Tribal Enrollment, Citizenship and Blood Quantum

Keith Doxtator, current Director of Finance and Investments at the Ho-Chunk Nation and former Chief Financial Officer for the Oneida Nation, breaks down the process and data behind the Oneida Nation's efforts to evaluate and reform its enrollment criteria via constitutional amendment. The result is one of the most compelling arguments about the perils of relying on blood quantum to determine eligibility for citizenship, as well as something of a playbook for uncovering the necessary data and presenting that information to the citizens of any Native nation. As the Director of the Oneida Nation's Trust Enrollment Department, Doxtator used the skills he honed as a financial analyst to examine the current state of the nation's enrollment criteria and illustrate what that meant for the future of the Tribe. Since Oneida was still relying on Blood Quantum (BQ) to determine enrollment eligibility, the future of the nation's enrollment numbers looked grim. The unfortunate reality was that, if nothing was done to amend the nation's enrollment criteria and make them more inclusive, it would mean the extinction of the Oneida Nation in just a few generations. In this presentation, Doxtator uses population pyramids and a very impactful animation to explain the issue with BQ as a determinant for enrollment -- a lesson that could benefit any Native nation wrestling with questions about BQ and enrollment.