<p>Over the holidays I had a father and daughter come right out and say that they were claiming she was a Native American to enhance her acceptance chances. She is 1/32 Native American with no official tribe status nor has their family claimed tribal status for at least 3 generations. They boldly stated that "The colleges will never check, and with our last name they will never question it." (Assume their name is something like "Buffalo".) They were filling out applications to both XXX and YYY. Since last year at our high school, a "Native American" who was 1/16, whose family had gone to the trouble of registering her, was accepted to Harvard with very modest credentials.....I am wondering...."Is this fair?" Has anyone else heard of this? Is this father/daughter duo correct in what they are asserting? I must admit that I was flabbergasted and appalled by both situations. In my opinion, in both cases, these young women are no more "Native American" than any of the rest of us in this melting pot.
As I try and wrap my head around this...I would appreciate any concrete examples or policies anyone is aware of...other than that....I am not contacting the schools in question....but I am discouraged at the what this says about the status of diversity initiatives in our higher education system.</p>
<p>Well, I believe as long as your 1/8 anything, you can put it down on your application and its not considered lying. However, with N.A., it goes to 1/32 from what I understand. Is it unethical? Well, yes from an outsiders (aka white persons) point of view. Maybe not for them. I know a kid in my class who went to harvard for football - didn't even have what I would consider "modest" grades and SATs. Is it really any different? Not as if Harvard is looking to bring its football team to national prominance. All in all, being N.A. is just another hook. And remember, so she gets into a good college - after that, her N.A. isn't going to help her in life. Say she goes to harvard and graduates with a 2.0. Shes no better off than anyone else really. If she can do well there, or whereever she chooses to go, power to her. But I feel bad for the kids spot she took.</p>
<p>Really? 1/32 qualifies as Native American? My kids might have been able to claim it then. However, they wouldn't have. Ridiculous...</p>
<p>This - right from CC itself</p>
<p>How Do Admission Officials Define "Native American"?
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Question: My Grandmother was Cherokee. What is the definition of Native American for admission purposes and what documentation do colleges request?
The Cherokee Nation has been terrific but unable to provide a CDIB.</p>
<p>Colleges approach this issue in a number of ways. Some require a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB), issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, or other type of documentation. Many, however, rely only on your self-report and may do no follow-up whatsoever to verify a claim. Last year, when I queried a Yale admission official about how they define Native Americans for admission purposes, I received this reply:</p>
<p>If students check the Native American box on our application, then we send them a Native American form to complete. The form inquires about their Native American background including whether they are an enrolled member (if yes, we ask for their registration number, and we ask about their tribal affiliation). We also ask them to describe their involvement with or their ties to their native background. So, yes, we do follow up. We often get people who end up being 1/116th Native American and other times, we get people who might not be enrolled but who very much identify with their background.</p>
<p>It's not uncommon for candidates who have no enrollment number but who have demonstrated ties to a Native American heritage to still get a "hook" in the admission process. </p>
<p>College that are interested in truly diversifying their student body will give the most advantage to applicants who seem to be involved with their Native American culture. Many schools, however, simply want to boast of a growing Native American student population and are willing to take your word for it and "count" you, regardless of whether or not you present written proof of your background or demonstrate active engagement.</p>
<p>So it sounds as tho it will depend on the schools this gal has applied to. They may luck out - but may not as well - may get caught in their lies. It would sure bother me tho if accepted with the lie and then be awarded any financial aid based on native american heritage. But if unquestioned and is deserving - then different story for me.</p>
<p>Was just curious myself cuz of family history ancestors also.</p>
<p>the claim for Native American goes a lot further than most ethnic groups, as in you have to be less percent NA to make that your ethnicity. I believe as well, that the number is 1/32.</p>
<p>On one hand, you can say it's unfair, but on the other hand, do you really blame someone for using everything they can to make their chances of acceptance as high as they can?</p>
<p>I couldn't really imagine my platinum-blond blue-eyed son claiming his 1/32 Cherokee ancestry on a college app. Good thing he never even considered it. (Although his younger blond brother did appear in an "Our Heritage" assembly at school when he was about 8 clad in buckskin and representing his Native American ancestor. People thought he was joking.)</p>
<p>When it comes to claiming a native american heritage, the percentage is kept pretty high, but may not be the most relevant check. Without verifiable tribal affiliation and activity, the student will be out of luck. On the other hand, other ethnic or racial groups do nothave limitations on percentage of URM blood in admissions. Some limitations exist for scholarship purposes, including Scholar recognition for the PSAT.</p>
<p>My kids have a distant Cherokee ancestor, too, but we would never add that to an application. If we all look hard enough and produce our great-great-great-grandmothers' family bibles (probably the only written document of birth back then), many of us might have a NA ancestor somewhere.</p>
<p>My husband's father was born in Egypt and lived there until he came to the US to attend university. Our joke was that the children, who in fact are true American mutt, were African-American, therefore...</p>
<p>I think as is true with EC's...having something on a list, or checking off a box, should only be 'meaningful' (ie, count for something) in admissions if it is somehow meaningful to the person completing the application...and the oweness is on the person checking off the box to identify the meaning, and make it resonate...</p>
<p>I can't really see how being 1/32nd anything makes you a more substantial contributor to a school environment unless it is manifested in your daily life. But, I think there are other issues at play, of course...see the thread on diversity at small LAC's for the wrath of statistics...</p>
<p>I can't help but think of Donald Trump's antagonistic statement made when members of a Connecticut tribe sought a casino license; "They don't look like indians to me!" To some resentful folks, if you're not waving a tomahawk, wearing a feathered headress or have a complexion not as dark as Chief Sitting Bull, you're not a Native American in their eyes. Nonsense.</p>
<p>To the upset parent, I say that you must realize that there may be more elements to the "Native American's" motivation to ethnically identify herself on her college application. As census reports have demonstrated, the American Indian population has grown substantially of late. Not in absolute numbers, but because many more folks with native heritage now choose to report it. And I don't believe they do so for any extraneous advantage. Sure, tribes that own casinos have new found wealth, but they are starkly in the minority. Take a look at nearly Indian Reservation, particularly in the northern tier of America (the Dakotas, the Yakima Valley, New Mexico) and all you'll see in abundance is poverty; and no one brags about that.</p>
<p>Apparently, your neighbor is neither poor nor undereducated. Your neighbor may be gaming the system, which sadly seems to be the motivation for a lot of folks who come to this website. But she may also become interested in re-establishing a part of her ethnic heritage.</p>
<p>I guess I have to agree, and I have always thought it was unfair to admit somebody based on their ethnicity. Having said that, my great grandmother was full american indian, but we have no idea how to "register" that or prove it. I mean, are african americans required to "register", or any other ethnicity that would presume diversity. It bothers me that I can't put it down because we don't have the papers to prove it, and have no idea how to. We have always been interested in our american indian heritage, and tried to save and establish that contact, but prove it? No more than I can prove I am irish and scottish, except for my red hair and freckles.</p>
<p>jags86 - seriously, 1/8 "anything" ? My mom is 1/4 Mexican, so that allows me to check the box, "Mexican-American"? That doesn't seem right.</p>
<p>^^ I would like someone to answer that as well.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The largest Indian tribe in the US is clearly The Wannabes - white people who for either college, casino, or other advantages suddenly remember some distant Indian ancestor.</p></li>
<li><p>Ever notice that when some white person claims to be part Indian that it is almost always Cherokee? They are usually depicted as an advanced and noble tribe with their own written language. They must have been a really randy bunch as well to have spread their genes so far and wide. No one ever claims to be descended from some tribe of backwards root-diggers.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>^^ So true.</p>
<p>Roseland....I recall a similar thing with a local family I know. They told me they were checking off Native American because it would help the application and they were 1/32 NA. It was clearly a gaming reason, not any heritage or active affiliation in any way. Blond blue eyed daughter has never mentioned this heritage but the parents related it to me as something they were going to do to "help" her application. And yes, I do find that irritating. Turns out, child wanted to go to UVA but is now at our state university where she would get in without any gaming as she was a strong candidate there. Personally, I can't see ever doing this unless a parent or grandparent was that heritage and the child identified with the culture or was brought up in it. Otherwise, it is "using" it for advantage and pulling at straws. I find it unappealing.</p>
<p>No, NOT "so true". I'm white but also 1/64 Otoe and (we think) 1/64 Osage. Not enough to be registered, and I've never been very exposed to the culture. But your statements, at least to someone who grew up in Oklahoma, are not only ignorant but offensive. "Backwards root-diggers"? Nice.</p>
<p>If somebody is 1/32 native american, then they are 31/32 something else. I bet that if european ancestsry became "valuable", applicants would speak to the 31/32 and never mention the 1/32 again.</p>
<p>But, some folks really DO have some NA ancestor, and it is just as interesting to those researching their family tree as any other heritage. Maybe the increased numbers of people claiming some NA ancestry is connected to the recent fascination with genealogy. My kids both had to do a family tree project at one time, and they were very interested in the whole thing as it made them feel more connected to history.</p>
<p>Should this tiny portion of ancestry be exploited for college admissions? Of course not!</p>
<p>This issue is not isolated to the Native American minority (with at least some corroboration with tribe registration, etc.), but is perhaps even more common with other minority groups and impossible to "police". E.g., 1/32 Hispanic or 1/32 African American. And colleges WANT to buy into this lock, stock, and barrel. Although I do believe that colleges have a genuine interest in diversity in the true sense of its meaning, I also believe that it benefits colleges to offer boatloads of merit money to blond-haired, blue-eyed 3rd generation Americans with high SAT scores who just happen to have a Hispanic great grandmother and a surname to match.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>But your statements, at least to someone who grew up in Oklahoma, are not only ignorant but offensive. "Backwards root-diggers"? Nice.<<</p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>I apologize. I wasn't calling any Indian tribe names. I wasn't meaning to disparage any REAL Indians at all. My point was that white people, when claiming either real or imagined distant Indian heritage, almost always choose the one tribe that is famous for being the most culturally advanced as measured <em>in white man's terms</em>. </p>
<p>It's sort of the same phenomenon as those people who claim to reincarnated from past lives - they almost always are "reincarnations" of someone famous -- Caesar or Pharoah or Mary Queen of Scots, or at least someone who was present at some great event. Never some nameless peasant or slave who lived and died in obscurity.</p>