Today the National Museum of the American Indian in DC is hosting a panel discussion entitled Quantum Leap: Does “Indian Blood” Still Matter?
The panel is 2-4:30pm (EST), and will be web-casted here. If you want some background, Dennis Zotigh posted an article yesterday to give some of the basic history and start the conversation, it's definitely worth a read.
I'll be watching, and attempting to live-tweet over at the Native Approps twitter (@NativeApprops), and then tomorrow I'll probably post a summary/discussion on the blog.
I'm interested to hear the current "academic" perspective on the issue, and interested to see if the discussion goes outside of the typical dichotomous conversation on Blood Quantum (i.e. one side saying "it's good!" and the other "it's bad!"), clearly it's a lot more complicated. The panelists all come from the academic world (and there are two Stanford affiliates--go Card!), so it'll be interesting to see how the conversation flows:
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Gabrielle Tayac, national Museum of the American Indian
The Meanings of “Indian Blood”: Perspectives on Race and Identity
Eva Marie Garroutte, Boston College
The Consequences of Blood Quantum Policy for Federal Recognition
Malinda Maynor Lowery, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
A Sociological Look at Blood Quantum
C. Matthew snipp, stanford University
From Blood to DNA, from “Tribe” to “Race” in Tribal Citizenship
Kimberly Tallbear, University of California, Berkeley
Question and Answer Session
Gabrielle Tayac, moderator
For more information about the panel and panelists, check out the NMAI website here. If you're in Boston and want to watch it, we're hosting a viewing at the Harvard University Native American Program--email me for more details.
Links:
NMAI Events page on the panel
NMAI webcast page
Will current blood quantum membership requirements make American Indians extinct?
Native Appropriations Twitter (for the live tweet feed...hopefully)