Blond hair, blue eyed boy claiming to be Native American for college admission

[Anonymous]

My neighbor of many years has blonde hair and blue eyes (though her hair has darkened over the years, so she highlights). She is a documented Native American. She owns 51% of the company she runs with her husband so they can be awarded contracts because the company is owned by a “minority woman.” He skin is white, though she does tan easily. Her kids are all blonde/blue-eyed.

Having said that, I believe there is a cut off to be considered officially Native American - maybe 1/8th? She is the cut-off, so her children would not qualify for scholarships, for example. She is very proud of her heritage and shares information about her tribe on FB occasionally. I have learned a lot from her about Native American issues over the years. She identifies as Irish/Native mixed. So it can happen.

I have seen pictures of her mom and there is much more of an obvious Native American heritage in her coloring. My friend resembles her Irish father.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they have the tribe registration papers, he'll be good to register and claim scholarships, etc.

This. If his ancestor is on the tribal rolls, and he has a certain percentage of native American ancestry, he is eligible.

I worked in a genealogy collection, and lots of parents and children do their genealogy to see if this is possible. Not surprising. Here's a summary of the process:
http://www.gocollege.com/financial-aid/scholarships/minority/native-american-scholarships.html

Having blond hair and blue eyes doesn't mean you are 99% European.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Now you see why doing everything based on race instead of SES (socioeconomic status) is fraught with issues. Even moreso now that so many people are multiracial. What % do I need to be, of which race, for special treatment?

That’s not what I see.

A lot of people try to pull shenanigans like this. Schools are good at sniffing it out.

[Anonymous]

My grandfather is full blood Cherokee. He and my mother have tribal enrollement numbers. My kids are blonde haired and blue eyed. We never had the paperwork processed for me or my siblings, although we could do so with simply a copy of their papers and my birth certificate...so my kids and I aren’t enrolled. We just haven’t needed it as we don’t have any family on the reservation. My kids got into college just fine under their mostly Caucasian heritage.

[Anonymous]

Different tribes determine their eligibility differently. So in some cases, someone might need to be 1/8th, but in other cases, there might not be an official percentage required.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC is blonde haired and blue eyed and is 1/4 Chinese. Genes are weird.

Absolutely. AA families are used to this.

Exactly.

Obama is full AA yet some people say he had a white mother.

#haters

[Anonymous]

My blond haired blue eyed Jewish family gets this a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My neighbor of many years has blonde hair and blue eyes (though her hair has darkened over the years, so she highlights). She is a documented Native American. She owns 51% of the company she runs with her husband so they can be awarded contracts because the company is owned by a “minority woman.” He skin is white, though she does tan easily. Her kids are all blonde/blue-eyed.

Having said that, I believe there is a cut off to be considered officially Native American - maybe 1/8th? She is the cut-off, so her children would not qualify for scholarships, for example. She is very proud of her heritage and shares information about her tribe on FB occasionally. I have learned a lot from her about Native American issues over the years. She identifies as Irish/Native mixed. So it can happen.

I have seen pictures of her mom and there is much more of an obvious Native American heritage in her coloring. My friend resembles her Irish father.

The federal government has a cut off, but tribes are sovereign nations and can determine membership as they please. The Seminoles chose to disenroll many Black Seminoles once the tribe’s finances changed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My neighbor of many years has blonde hair and blue eyes (though her hair has darkened over the years, so she highlights). She is a documented Native American. She owns 51% of the company she runs with her husband so they can be awarded contracts because the company is owned by a “minority woman.” He skin is white, though she does tan easily. Her kids are all blonde/blue-eyed.

Having said that, I believe there is a cut off to be considered officially Native American - maybe 1/8th? She is the cut-off, so her children would not qualify for scholarships, for example. She is very proud of her heritage and shares information about her tribe on FB occasionally. I have learned a lot from her about Native American issues over the years. She identifies as Irish/Native mixed. So it can happen.

I have seen pictures of her mom and there is much more of an obvious Native American heritage in her coloring. My friend resembles her Irish father.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC is blonde haired and blue eyed and is 1/4 Chinese. Genes are weird.

Absolutely. AA families are used to this.

Exactly.

Obama is full AA yet some people say he had a white mother.

#haters

What is wrong with you? Why are you so triggered that a man with a white mom identifies as AA. For many biracial people, mixed is AA. Most AAs have somewhere between 15-25% European ancestry. There’s virtually no chance of being 100% African if your ancestors were here antebellum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC is blonde haired and blue eyed and is 1/4 Chinese. Genes are weird.

Absolutely. AA families are used to this.

+1. One time a guy was rendered speechless when I revealed that I was black, lol. I have blue eyes, fair skin, and often straighten my hair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My neighbor of many years has blonde hair and blue eyes (though her hair has darkened over the years, so she highlights). She is a documented Native American. She owns 51% of the company she runs with her husband so they can be awarded contracts because the company is owned by a “minority woman.” He skin is white, though she does tan easily. Her kids are all blonde/blue-eyed.

Having said that, I believe there is a cut off to be considered officially Native American - maybe 1/8th? She is the cut-off, so her children would not qualify for scholarships, for example. She is very proud of her heritage and shares information about her tribe on FB occasionally. I have learned a lot from her about Native American issues over the years. She identifies as Irish/Native mixed. So it can happen.

I have seen pictures of her mom and there is much more of an obvious Native American heritage in her coloring. My friend resembles her Irish father.

In the DMV, this is seen as remarkable. Out west and in Canada, it is not.

[Anonymous]

MYOB. Tribes get to decide who counts and it's not based on eye color.

[Anonymous]

Being Native American isn't like other minority groups. It's a legal status based on tribal membership. The person must have a documented ancestor who was a member of a certain tribe. Then they must apply to the modern day tribe and be accepted. Depending on specific membership requirements, they can still be rejected if their last ancestor who was a tribal member was too distant. For some tribes, the requirement can be as recent as a grandparent.

[Anonymous]

23 and me affirmative action game changer