Beyond Blood Quantum

Refusal to Disappear

Edited by Norbert S. Hill, Edited by Megan M. Hill, Edited by Desirae Louise Hill

0-3

POLITICAL SCIENCE

288 Pages, 6 x 9

Formats: Trade Paper

Trade Paper, $24.95 (US $24.95) (CA $33.95)

Publication Date: March 2025

ISBN 9781682754627

Rights: WOR

Fulcrum Publishing (Mar 2025)

Price:	$24.95

Overview

In the second volume of The Great Vanishing Act, voices from Indian Country convey the insidious impacts of the Indian Reorganization Act confronting the existential and pragmatic questions facing many Native Nations to determine who is—and who is not—a citizen. The voices of poets, parents, academics, activists, educators, young adults, and elders prompt conversations in consideration of shared cultural values and lived realities outside of the limited confines of blood quantum.

Both informational and poetic, Beyond Blood Quantum: Refusal to Disappear is a guide for conversation in-community and a songline of voices grappling with contemporary Native identity and the sovereignty inherent in defining citizenship with analysis softened by appreciation for kin, land, and promises to future generations from the descendants of generations who continue to resist, who refuse to disappear.

Reviews

“The tough issues of Native American identity come from within our communities as well as the harmful legacy of oppressive federal Indian policy. From the rise in “pretendians” to the fetishization of Native culture, contributors allow readers to explore the complexities of what it means to belong to a Tribe/Native Nation, according to their own customs and governance." —Karen Diver, Senior Advisor to the President for Native American Affairs at the University of Minnesota, Former Chairwoman, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and Former Special Assistant to President Obama for Native American Affairs

Our elders teach us that no man, or government, not even the most powerful nation in the world can take away all that defines who we are as Indigenous people—that the Creator gifted to our foremothers and forefathers at the time of Creation—but ourselves. They say that if we are not mindful of our past experiences of our foremothers and forefathers surviving every conceivable policy and laws imposed upon our people, generation after generation, we can at some point in our journey be capable of becoming our own worst enemy. When we internalize the oppression as exhibited by this nation upon our people, and internalize that oppression, we can become the oppressors. The elders warn and prophesied that when that happens, it will be the beginning of the end of us. It is deviating from our core values as gifted to us by our Creator as the deepest expression of love for us. Blood quantum is the epitome of this departure from the Original Instructions of embracing all sacred beings that our children represent so that our lifeways will continue and thrive. The elders say, they are the sacred beings, gifts from the Creator so that we shall continue as a People. The use of blood, our lifeline, to define our relations and our connections ironically in this time of self determination could be the cause of our end. What the government designed, we shall complete. This cannot be the end of our journey.” —Regis Pecos

“A testament to the refusal to disappear and inherent Indigenous sovereignty, Beyond Blood Quantum offers profound insights and reflections on the path forward.” —Wayne Ducheneaux

“Tribal citizens must become informed of where we are and where we are going on the explosive issue of blood quantum. The chapters in this book are a tool for self-education and constitute possible road maps for the future of Indian nations.”—Henrietta Mann

“Blood quantum is an issue that all tribes need to be aware of as they exercise their sovereign right to set their membership standards.” —John Echohawk

Author Biography

Norbert Hill, Oneida, is the former Area Director of Education and training for the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. Hill’ s previous appointment was Vice President of the College of Menominee Nation for the Green Bay campus. Hill served as the executive director of the American Indian Graduate Center (AIGC) in New Mexico, a nonprofit organization providing funding for American Indians and Alaska Natives to pursue graduate and professional degrees.

Megan M. Hill is the Senior Director of the Project on Indigenous Governance and Development and the Director of the Honoring Nations program at the Harvard Kennedy School. The core mission of the Project is to arm Indigenous people with the tools needed to (re)build their nations and govern effectively through research, teaching, leadership development, policy analysis, and pro bono advising for and with Native nations and communities. Its flagship program, Honoring Nations, is a national awards program that identifies, celebrates, and shares outstanding examples of tribal governance.

Desirae Louise Hill (she/her) is the co-founder and managing creative director and strategist at Three Track Mind— a design studio and consultancy supporting startups, small businesses, and nonprofits doing purposeful work related to the arts, culture, education, environment, and wellness. She is also co-founder of Storywell and editor at Minoka Press. She earned a BA in Business Administration with concentration in marketing while also studying literature at Western Washington University.

Philip J. Deloria, a Dakota descendant, is the son of Vine Deloria Jr. (author of God Is Red). Philip currently serves as the Leverett Saltonstall Professor of History at Harvard University and received his PhD in American Studies from Yale University in 1994. He taught at the Universities of Colorado and Michigan before joining the faculty at Harvard in January 2018. He is the author and co-author of many books and was a long-serving trustee of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI).

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