Draft:Native American definition

Scope

Native Americans, for this purpose, are Indigenous people from the United States. Native Americans in the United States, includes Native Americans, American Indians, Native Hawaiians, and Alaska Natives.

Native Americans is sometimes used for Native people from Canada, but can be insulting. Indigenous peoples in Canada is an inclusive term for First Nations in Canada, also called First People, Inuits, and Métis in Canada. Native Americans could also include Indigenous people from Central and South America, but Indigenous peoples is more common.

The scope of the document is to define who is a Native American. For citizenship (also membership), see MOS:CITIZEN.

See also: Native Americans and Native American name controversy

For the United States

Research

• The Office of Tribal Justice (OJP) of the U.S. Department of Justice states: "As a general principle, an Indian is a person who is of some degree Indian blood and is recognized as an Indian by a Tribe and/or the United States. No single federal or tribal criterion establishes a person's identity as an Indian. Government agencies use differing criteria to determine eligibility for programs and services. (Citizenship and membership) Tribes also have varying eligibility criteria for membership. It is important to distinguish between the ethnological term 'Indian' and the political/legal term 'Indian.' The protections and services provided by the United States for tribal members flow not from an individual's status as an American Indian in an ethnological sense, but because the person is a member of a Tribe recognized by the United States and with which the United States has a special trust relationship."
• The Native American Rights Fund states in response to the FAQ, who is a Native American: "As a general principle an Indian is a person who is of some degree Indian blood and is recognized as an Indian by a tribe/village and/or the United States. There exists no universally accepted rule for establishing a person’s identity as an Indian. (Citizenship and membership) The criteria for tribal membership differs from one tribe to the next. To determine a particular tribe's criteria, one must contact that tribe directly. For its own purposes, the United States Census Bureau counts anyone an Indian who declares to be such."
• The Bureau of Indian Affairs states: "As a general rule, an American Indian or Alaska Native person is someone who has blood degree from and is recognized as such by a federally recognized tribe or village (as an enrolled tribal member) and/or the United States. Of course, blood quantum (the degree of American Indian or Alaska Native blood from a federally recognized tribe or village that a person possesses) is not the only means by which a person is considered to be an American Indian or Alaska Native. Other factors, such as a person’s knowledge of his or her tribe’s culture, history, language, religion, familial kinships, and how strongly a person identifies himself or herself as American Indian or Alaska Native, are also important. In fact, there is no single federal or tribal criterion or standard that establishes a person's identity as American Indian or Alaska Native."
• The U.S. Department of the Interior states that there are two different ways to establish Indian ancestry: "When establishing descent from an Indian tribe for membership and enrollment purposes, the individual must provide genealogical documentation. The documentation must prove that the individual lineally descends from an ancestor who was a member of the federally recognized tribe from which the individual claims descent. When people believe they may be of American Indian ancestry, they immediately write or telephone the nearest Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) office for information." See Bureau of Indian Affairs definition
• Other definitions:
  • From Merriam-Webster, Native American is a "member of any of the Indigenous peoples of the western hemisphere", "especially a Native American of North America and especially the U.S."
  • From Cambridge Dictionary, a Native American is "a member of one of the groups of people who were living in North and South America before Europeans arrived".
  • From Brittanica, "Native American, member of any of the aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere, although the term often connotes only those groups whose original territories were in present-day Canada and the United States."
  • From Cornell Law School, "The term 'Native American' means an individual who is of a tribe, people, or culture that is Indigenous to the United States," from 20 U.S. Code § 1059f - Native American-serving, nontribal institutions.
  • From the UCLA Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, are: "Indigenous Peoples refers to a group of Indigenous peoples with a shared national identity, such as 'Navajo' or 'Sami,' and is the equivalent of saying 'the American people.' Native American and American Indian are terms used to refer to peoples living within what is now the United States prior to European contact.
  • White House Office of Management and Budget, "According to OMB, “American Indian or Alaska Native” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment."

Program eligibility for comment

• As an example how a definition may vary for specific programs, the Indian Arts and Crafts Act: "Indian is defined as a member of a federally or officially State recognized tribe of the United States, or a certified Indian artisan; Certified Indian artisan means an individual who is certified, in writing, as a nonmember Indian artisan by the governing body of an Indian tribe from which the individual is a direct lineal descendant."

Key points

• The definition can vary but mainly means that a person is recognized by a tribe, village, or the United States, which varies by tribe or entity.
• Some degree of Native American blood. A blood degree away from (I am assuming a citizen or member of a tribe) and other factors.
• There exists no universally accepted rule for establishing a person’s identity as an Indian.
• There are other definitions in the Research section for Native Americans that are inclusive of people who are citizens and people of Native American heritage, but the definitions vary. Cornell Law School states that "The term 'Native American' means an individual who is of a tribe, people, or culture that is Indigenous to the United States," from 20 U.S. Code § 1059f - Native American-serving, nontribal institutions.

Comments

• The United States Census Bureau counts anyone who says that they area an Indian. This may helpful, beyond the guideline, to describe the discrepancy in statistics and that this group likely includes people who identify, but may not actually be, a Native American.
• As a general comment, the definitions may vary by federal program eligibility, etc. For instance, the Indian Arts and Crafts Act has its own definition.

Definition and draft for guideline

This is what would be used for the guideline. The other sections are just work-sections.

Native Americans is a term appropriate for Indigenous people of the continental United States. Another term is American Indian, which is used by the United States Census Bureau. It's better to use Native Alaskans and Native Hawaiians for Indigenous people from Alaska and Hawaii. Bear in mind that Native American could also be used for Indigenous people from Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America, but they are more likely to be called Indigenous peoples than Native Americans.

Within the United States, Native American primarily means a person is recognized by a tribe, village, or the United States, which varies by tribe or entity. It means a person with some degree of Native American blood. There exists no universally accepted rule for establishing a person's identity. For people with Indigenous ancestry who are not citizens of a tribe or village, they are commonly called American people of Native American descent, and are also called Native Americans.

If someone is not of Native American descent, they cannot be called Native American.

Sources

More to look at?

• Bureau of Indian Affairs  Done
• Office of Tribal Justice  Done
• US Department of the Interior  Done, see also Bureau of Indian Affairs
• Indian Arts and Crafts Act  Done, an example for comments that definition can vary for program eligibility.  Done
• Native American Rights Fund  Done
• Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
• Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
• Assembly of First Nations

Discussion

• If someone is not a citizen, can they still be Native American? Regarding "No single federal or tribal criterion establishes a person's identity as an Indian." I think so based upon "There exists no universally accepted rule for establishing a person's identity as an Indian." What do you think?–CaroleHenson (talk) 16:37, 26 May 2024 (UTC)
• This should be renamed to Native American in the United States, with a comment about where "Native American" could also apply, but is generally Indigenous peoples with subgroups that vary by country.