<p>I'm a registered member of the Cherokee tribe, although only with about 1/100. This is mainly due to the fact that the Native American ancestry is on my mom's side and she had a closed adoption and there have also been many divorces within her family. My grandmother believes I could potentially be almost twice what I am listed as. So about 1/50. </p>
<p>I know I am not numerically that much Cherokee Indian, but I do have many of the physical feature typical of the tribe despite my blond hair and green eyes. (I actually tan easily by the way, I'm not pale in spite of the other origins of my ancestors who were european)</p>
<p>Although I was not raised in a Native American culture, I have read many books about the Cherokees and have always identified and had a lot of interest in them. Is this enough justification to list myself as Native American, especially for college applications? I think of myself as a White Native American.</p>
<p>Yale wants justification, but it’s one of the few. Honestly if you’re torn over it you can just check both “Caucasian” and “American Indian” and list your enrollment number. One guy in my tribe never showed up to Powwows and he ended up being fine just listing himself as Native American, though, so I think the only real proof you need is just your enrollment number.</p>
<p>What about when I take the SAT in the Spring? Aren’t you only allowed to check one? I put Native American on my PSAT and Plan test… Don’t they need to match? I will be applying to top schools, so I assume it’s more likely they’ll want justification.</p>
<p>Just check the box on your tests if you plan to check it on your applications. Also, you’d be very surprised at the amount of schools that don’t want you to justify your racial status (most say it’s because they don’t want applicants to think race is important enough in admissions to need a supplement, and all Ivies excluding Yale support that).<br>
Anyway, nobody has to give particular reasons as to why they consider themselves Hispanic or African-American, and though it’s a little different in your case it’s still the same end. If your mother is enlisted, you could technically even argue (don’t) that you’re 50% by blood; at least, that’s the way it works for Creeks.</p>
<p>You should go to the Race FAQ sticky thread at the top of this forum and read the first few informational posts. They would help you to understand the difference between race and ethnicity.</p>
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<p>NA is not an ethnicity, it’s a race (see the CA categories); the only ethnicity of interest for college admissions is Hispanic.</p>
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<p>White and NA are both races, so your are not a white NA, you are white & NA (mixed race).</p>
<p>I interpreted the “But really, are colleges going to want me to provide my certificate of membership or explain why I identify myself as Native American?” as if the OP was asking about documentation or reasons outside of the tribal enrollment card. I’ve used my card on several applications through the Common App, but not one school has contacted me with a request for more information like “How many tribal events do you attend annually?” or something to that effect. I know for a fact that a few schools use supplements (again, only Yale does of the Ivies), but you shouldn’t let that deter you from checking both boxes as long as you’re on a tribal roster. If you can only choose one, it’s likely the organization doesn’t care about race to begin with and you can just go with Native American for data purposes if you so desire.</p>