So, I’m trying to figure out how to apply for colleges and scholarships. It’s not going so well. I’ve been told under the impression that my biological mother’s father was 100% Native American. Sadly since I got adopted and don’t have contact with that part of my family, I don’t know how to prove if I’m 1/4 Native American or not. Would it be wrong to say I am??
It’s not wrong to say you are Native if that’s how your family’s heritage was presented to you and that’s how you think of yourself. If you are applying to Native-only scholarships, they might want proof, but you wouldn’t be in the wrong since you’re the kid and adopted. It would be different if you were 100% not-Native and you knew it but still told people you were.
My DNA test that I did through one of the popular kits you can order online showed my native background.
Being that you were adopted you may find it interesting and it’s pretty cheap. It could give you peace of mind in relation to filling out ethnicity questions on applications.
You will need the official proof for any benefits which are specifically for Native Americans, like those provided by Dartmouth. For that, you’ll need to have genealogical proof that your grandfather was indeed the member of a Native American tribe, and then you need to contact their tribe with that information, enroll, and be accepted as a member.
It is not a bad idea to take the Ancestry test and see if, indeed, you are about 25% Native American. It will not be enough to get you tribal membership, but it will be enough to help you identify A, whether it is true, rather than a story, and B, it will help you find relatives, and allow you to collect the genealogical evidence you will need to argue your case with the tribe to which your grandfather belonged.
However, most colleges do not require proof of any racial group which you claim. Until now, the general advice was that there wasn’t any legal recourse, but acceptances would often be rescinded if an applicant falsely claimed to be an URM on their application. However, recently a mother who falsely claimed that her son was African American and Hispanic on his colleges application was convicted of mail fraud as part of the college admissions scandal. So lying about race can indeed not only lead to rescission of acceptance but to actual federal charges.
I expect that somebody who has DNA evidence that they are 1/4 Native American, but do not have a tribal membership, would be able to check that box without fear of rescission or legal charges, but to apply for native American specific scholarships or other benefits they require tribal membership, as I mentioned above.