Enrollment vs Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood: How to Prove Your American Indian Ancestry on Paper

So you’ve discovered you have a Native American ancestor and you want to prove on paper that you are descendent of a member of a federally recognized tribe. How do you go about doing it?

There are two avenues to proving that you are a descendant of a member of a federally recognized tribe. The first is proving to the Bureau of Indian Affairs with the appropriate documents that you are a descendant, the second is proving to your tribe that you have enough blood quantum to qualify for enrollment. One thing that many people do not know is that each tribe is different when it comes to the amount of blood quantum you must have to be an enrolled member of a tribe. For example to be an enrolled member of the Nez Perce tribe in Idaho you must be able to prove ¼ blood quantum, however, the Cherokee in 1976 decided that anyone who could prove they were a direct descendant from someone on the Dawes Rolls could become an enrolled member. So, it’s important that you do the research and find out what the lowest blood quantum percentage is for your tribe. It may be that you do not have a high enough blood quantum to be enrolled, however don’t let that discourage you, you can still receive a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood through the Bureau of Indian Affairs which is also proof on paper.