Blackfeet Woman Talks

Oki, I’m Susan Webber and I’m a member of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana. I hope you find my blogs informative and entertaining.

Episode 1: A history of Blood Quantum

When I was growing up, my family did not think about being Indian. We were born and raised on the reservation. We had our place in our families and we were part of the Indian community.

My brothers and I were wrapped in the comfort and strength of our culture, traditions, and history. Our grandparents and great grandparents were still with us, and we enjoyed their company and especially their stories of the “old days.” We did not know it then, but they were passing on family and tribal history. To us, they were just wonderful stories of a time long past, full of laughter, sadness, and personal resilience. They were the stories of us.

At that time, we knew all our relatives. We paid them visits regularly which meant once or twice a year. We had to travel to see them because we did not live in the same geographical area.

My family lived along the Lower Two Medicine River near the bridge on Highway 89. Most of my extended family lived farther south along Badger Creek, at Old Agency and in Heart Butte.

Our “visits” were all day events and sometimes a couple of days, which meant sleep overs. Then we would go home, looking forward to our next visit to our relatives.

A group of Russell-Bull Shoe family descendants got together and told stories of our family. It soon became evident that in only two generations we had forgotten many of our relatives. I realized that I did not even know the name of my paternal great-grandmother. My grandmother, her daughter, never spoke of her.

Only one topic remained unspoken during our gatherings, our individual blood quantum. We danced around the subject but never really laid it out on the table. We would bring many family secrets out of the dark and into the light, but we were reluctant to talk about our “Indian blood.” This was perplexing.

Our small group always held back when the discussions turned to our individual blood quantum’s. I suppose we had our reasons. Some considered it private, or they were embarrassed because of our mixture of Indian and non-Indian blood, or we were just uncomfortable with it. Whatever the reason we stopped at that point in our conversations.

All I know is that we have known each other our entire lives. We grew up together, ate at the same table, attended Indian boarding school together, attended family picnics, attended horse races, went to social dances and yes, attended funerals. How can a mathematical fraction change that connection?

I have concluded that our blood quantum does not change anything. We remain family. The diversity of our Indian blood only shows how rich, far-reaching, and inclusive our family story is. That is what makes us strong and resilient.