Elizabeth Warren "Dances in Circles" and How to prove/claim Native American heritage on college applications.

Elizabeth Warren "Dances in Circles" and How to prove/claim Native American heritage on college applications. (DC).A prominent Native American group says Massachusetts Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren had “better be able to defend” her past claims of being an Indian-American minority.
The Democratic candidate is facing questions about her heritage following the revelation on Friday that she described herself as a Native American minority in professional law school directories during the 1980s and ’90s.
“Once you put that down, you better be able to defend it,” Ray Ramirez of the Native American Rights Fund told The Daily Caller on Monday.
Warren, who no longer publicly refers to herself as Native American, has disputed that she claimed Indian-American minority status then to give herself a professional advantage.
Asked for evidence of her ancestry to back up the candidate’s past statements, a Warren spokeswoman told TheDC on Monday that the campaign is “working on digging up some sort of evidence to appease” inquirers.
But the campaign hasn’t been able to immediately provide any documentation. The Boston Herald reported Friday that the Warren campaign said the “tales of Warren’s Cherokee and Delaware tribe ancestors have been passed down through family lore.”
Ramirez said anyone who claims in writing to be a Native American should have some sort of supporting documentation. “If you’re a member of a federally recognized tribe, then that means you would have a tribal enrollment number,” he said.
So how do you get or proof this heritage?
How to prove/claim Native American heritage on college applications?

Answer: Definition and origins of Native Americans:

Definition. As described in DoD Directive 1350.2 a Native-American or Alaskan Native is a person having origins in the original peoples of North America, AND who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition. (emphasis mine)

There is no one contemporary majority definition that establishes a person’s identity as a Native-American. The Bureau of Census states that “anybody who claims to be a Native-American” is a Native-American. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), which is the organization responsible for monitoring Indian affairs and issues, general definition to be a Native-American, you must:

Be 1/4-1/2 Native-American blood at a minimum. 


Live on or near trust lands/reservations. 


Be on a tribal roll recognized by the federal government. 


Trace ancestry back three generations. 


Be approved by BIA officials. 

Enrollment in Native American heritage varies from tribe to tribe, but two requirements are the usual standard for claiming your tribe.
First, you must be a descendent from someone listed on the tribe's base roll or be a descendent of someone married to a Native American on the base roll.
Secondly, tribal residency or contact with your tribe are fairly common requirements.Read the full story here.