TULSA – People from across Tulsa attended a recent discussion at the University of Tulsa on one of the most controversial topics in Indian Country: blood quantum. The Sept. 11 event at 101 Archer, titled “Beyond Blood Quantum: Sovereignty and Tribal Enrollment,” featured a talk with author Norbert Hill Jr. (Oneida); Jennifer Hill-Kelley (Oneida, Kiowa, Comanche), former judge for the Oneida Nation’s Court of Appeals; and Jim Gray (Osage), former Chief of the Osage Nation. Wilson Pipestem moderated the free, public conversation.
Hill, the author of the edited volume “Beyond Blood Quantum: Refusal to Disappear,” spoke of how the issue of blood quantum is, in his opinion, the most important issue that Indigenous people will face in the 21st Century.
“I published two anthologies about blood quantum. It’s a complicated issue. I’ve been in education for a long time, so the books were about community education to try and get people to understand the complexity of this issue.” Hill said…