Reservation Math: Navigating Love in Native America

Sidedoor

If you’ve heard the phrase, “full blooded,” you’re already familiar with the concept of blood quantum. But Native Americans are the only peoples in the United States whose identity is defined by it. Through the photography of Tailyr Irvine, displayed at the National Museum of the American Indian, we take a look at the colonial origin story of blood quantum: where it came from, why it endures, and how it continues to impact the most personal decisions many Native Americans make about love and family today.

Guests:

Tailyr Irvine, photojournalist; member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes; additional interviewer for this episode
Michael Irvine, member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and Nizhóní Ajéí's father
Cecile Ganteaume, curator at the National Museum of the American Indian and author of Officially Indian: Symbols That Define the United States
Ruth Swaney, Tribal Budget Director for and member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
Leah Nelson, member of the Navajo Nation and Nizhóní Ajéí's mother
Desi Rodriguez-Lonebear, social demographer and assistant professor of Sociology and American Indian Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles; citizen of the Northern Cheyenne Nation and Chicana
David Wilkins, political scientist and professor of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond; member of the Lumbee Nation