Mixed-blood: Difference between revisions

The term mixed-blood in the United States and Canada has historically been described as people of multiracial backgrounds, in particular mixed European and Native American ancestry. Today, the term is often seen as pejorative.^[1] There are more than 30 million mixed-bloods in the United States.^[2]

Early History

The first instance of mixed-bloods in the United States would be the marriage between Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan, and John Rolfe, a planter, on April 5, 1617^[3]. This marriage resulted in a mixed-blood son named Thomas Rolfe^[4].

Another early Native American-European marriage would be that of Mary Kittamaquund, daughter of Kittamaquund, Tayac of the Piscataway tribes, to Giles Brent, Deputy Governor of the Maryland Colony (1643-44),^[5] in 1644^[6]. They went on to have many mixed-blood descendants^[7].

Many colonists men married the daughters of Native American chiefs to gain the rights to vast tracts of land. As a result, many Americans are descended from these mixed marriages.^[8]

As of the 2020 United States Census, 9.6 million Americans claimed Native American ancestry^[9]. That number does not include the millions of others who do not know they are mixed-bloods.^[10]

Later History

For centuries now, Native Americans and Europeans have been intermarrying.^[11][12] The fur traders and pioneers often married or had relations with Native American women, consolidating social standing on both sides^[13].

Many prominent Cherokee and Creek leaders of the 19th century were of mixed descent but, born to Indian mothers in matrilineal kinship societies, they identified fully and were accepted as Indian and grew up in those cultures^[14].

For most families who are intermarried with Native American mixed-blood heritage, they are unable to enroll with their ancestral tribes due to blood quantum laws and not being able to prove their ancestry.^[15][16][17]

Notable Mixed-Bloods

Throughout history, the heritage of many leaders and persons was Native American mixed-blood. However, due to stigma, genocide, and the destruction of documents, the exact number of them will never be known.^[18] Some examples of notable Native American Mixed-Bloods are:

• Charles Curtis, Vice President of the United States, who was half-Native American^[19].
• Edith Wilson, First Lady of the United States as wife of President Woodrow Wilson. She was a descendant of Pocahontas^[20].
• Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, recognized by the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame as the first Native American literary writer and poet^[21].
• Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, the son of Sacagawea^[22].
• Edward Norton, the actor, is also a mixed-blood descendant of Pocahontas^[23].
• Cameron Diaz, claims to be 1/8th Cherokee^[24]
• Bob Barker, was Rosebud Sioux through his mother^[25]
• Elvis Presley, was Cherokee through his mother^[26]
• Chuck Norris, is Cherokee through both parents^[27].
• Cher, is 1/16th Cherokee through her mother^[28].
• Jimi Hendrix, was 1/4th Cherokee through his grandmother^[29].

Metis

Metis is the term to refer to descendants of the First Nation peoples and French fur traders^[30]. They are distinct from the United States mixed-bloods.^[31] As of the 2021 Canadian Census, there were 624,220 who self-identify as Metis.^[32] Louis Riel was the first official Metis leader and the first Premier of Manitoba.^[33]

Mestizo

Mestizo is the contemporary term for Hispanic individuals (whether US-born or immigrant). The most recent Hispanic immigrants, who arrived during mid-century until today, have mainly identified as mestizo or Amerindian^[34]. It is estimated that there are more than 144 million mestizo.^[35]

Una Nation

Within the United States, unlike how Canada has the Metis people, there is no formal tribal structure for the mixed-blood descendants of Native Americans who do not qualify for enrollment with their ancestral tribes^[36]. They have simply been forced to assimilate through the generations^[37]. As such, in 2009, a family of mixed-bloods, led by Alexander Ziwahatan (formerly Richard B. Lake, III and later King Ziwahatan of the Una), started a tribal group for these descendants^[38]. The tribe is called the Una Nation^[39].

The Una Nation does not claim to be a federally recognized Native American tribe. However, in 2015, it sought to be state-recognized by the state of Oregon as the first mixed-blood tribe in the United States. However, the Oregon Legislature failed to vote on the bill, leaving the tribe unrecognized by the state^[40]. Unlike Native American tribes, enrollment with the Una Nation is open to all mixed-blood descendants of all Native American tribes,^[41] but do not require proof. As of 2019, the tribe had 35,000 enrolled members.^{[citation needed]} They are the ony city recognized tribe in the United States.^[42][43]

See also

• Biracial and multiracial identity development
• Chicano
• Half-breed
• Mestizo
• Multiracial people
• Person of color

Notes

References

• Journals of Lewis and Clark
• Colby, Susan (2005). Sacagawea's Child: The Life and Times of Jean-Baptiste (Pomp) Charbonneau. Spokane: Arthur H. Clarke.
• Kartunnen, Frances (1994). Between Worlds: Interpreters, Guides, and Survivors. Rutgers: Rutgers University Press.
• Lawrence, Bonita (2004). "Real" Indians and Others: Mixed-blood Urban Native Peoples and Indigenous Nationhood. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 9780803280373.
• Robert Dale Parker, ed., The Sound the Stars Make Rushing Through the Sky: The Writings of Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007
• Mary M. June, "British Period - Sault Ste. Marie Timeline and History", Bayliss Public Library, Bayliss, Michigan, 2000

External links

• Dave Stanaway and Susan Askwith, CD: John Johnston: His Life and Times in the Fur Trade Era, Borderland Records.
• The Una Nation, Official website.