# Effects of US Native American tribal membership?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effects-of-us-native-american-tribal-membership/583500>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [May 27, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effects-of-us-native-american-tribal-membership/583500 "2011-05-27T22:52:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effects-of-us-native-american-tribal-membership/583500/1 "2011-05-27T22:52:20Z")

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I have been researching my genealogy and have discovered the possibility that one of my distant ancestors may have had some Native blood. Nowadays, the tribe in question has a One Drop policy with regards to membership, so if I can prove any blood at all to the satisfaction of the tribe (right now, not a certainty at all, and I may on the other hand disprove a Native origin as I or one of my relatives researches further). Almost all of my ancestry is White, as far as I can tell.

To give you a perspective, based on the documents I came across, the maximum percentage based on this ancestral line would be no more than 1/64 on my part, which, since the tribe in question has a one drop policy, is apparently enough for me to “be” one of them.

What are the practical effects of gaining and maintaining membership in a Native American tribe that you don’t culturally connect with? Could it affect legal rights or responsibilities in any way?

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**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effects-of-us-native-american-tribal-membership/583500/2 "2011-05-30T00:04:49Z")

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What legal rights an responsibilities? If you are referring to rights an responsibilities as a tribal member? Ask the tribe. If you are referring to rights an responsibilities as someone before they knew about tribal affiliation? Probably zero.