Black Native Kinship with Amber Starks
Join Matika Wilbur and Dr.Dr. Desi for part two in this series, “Black Native Kinship”, a powerful conversation with Afro-Indigenous activist Amber Starks. Amber is a Black woman and enrolled member of the Miscogee (Creek) Nation. Her activism seeks to normalize, affirm and uplift multidimensional identities of Black and Native peoples.
Love in the Time of Blood Quantum
Hundreds of years ago when colonizers instituted the idea of “blood quantum” as a means of reducing the Native population, our Native ancestors probably did not envision a modern Indigenous world of Tinder, multi-billion dollar tribal enterprises and per cap payments, or a world where who we love might determine if our children are considered Indigenous at all. Last episode we talked about Blood Quantum through history, law, science, and policy. In this episode, we’ll approach the topic on a more personal level--how does it affect our love lives?
Beyond Blood Quantum
Blood quantum. The percentage of Native “blood” one possesses, the fraction listed on Certificates of Degree of Indian Blood, and a fraught concept that has its defenders and dissenters in our communities. Despite its colonial origins, many tribes still use blood quantum as a requirement for tribal enrollment, and these fictional fractions carry huge weight in the lives of Indigenous Peoples. In this episode we hope to parse out some of these complications around the topic of blood quantum—legally and interpersonally, as well as the ways these metaphors of blood have moved into genetic science.