This book is a compilation of numerous different Nation leaders & their varied opinions of one of the most complex Issues of what makes up a people in identity in relation to Tribal enrollment & blood quantum. The younger generation takes an idealistic stance of who they feel connected to & sovereignty as the important part. not seeing, or more importantly, living through, watching & hearing from others before them of the real dynamics behind that making it dangerous. Many feel that double edged swords have been placed over the heads of leaders & the Tribal members as a whole [already like traps to be sprung with varying degrees] that could undo decades to over a hundred years of law suit fights & dedicated work for rights. The childhood adoption situations as well as the Tribal legitimacy & status being large over looming issues that recently have been proven to be hooks than states & federal have wanted to aid others to delegitimize Tribal rights & citizenry. Another issue is the idea of DNA, which is still in it's infancy but good enough to tell if someone is related to someone tribally enrolled in the Tribe with Native blood. Considering the buying of roll numbers, theft of paperwork or erroneousness of paperwork, those tests straight from the Tribe [because apparently there was a case of someone using someone else's DNA & paperwork I heard of] should be mandatory. I love how detailed & all encompassing the authors were in getting so many different nuanced ideas & opinions of this issue. I personally love the way the Apache have taken care of a big part of the problem by acknowledging the blood of other tribes when proven to use with their own for individuals that have been put in another strange situation of being from multiple Nations but not being enrolled in any over quantum level. If the person has provable Apache line the other lines are looked at & put together then marked for tribal enrollment. Tribes have taken varied new approaches to deal with these problems & the potential ones that can come up with not dealt with. The Kiowa recently took the bull by the horns also when trump had BIA dismiss actual quantum of tribes with them. They made every enrolled citizen 100% Kiowa on their enrollment papers so future generations can get tribally enrolled. A lot of food for thought concerning the future, idenity & sovereignty in the Tribal as well as legal stance done in a manner that outside groups can't try to exploit or destroy.

This book I found this to be interesting in that the stories were fascinating and so was that like so many people that also a look into traditions and a way of life could and can be lost as well. I also found how it still seems disgusting that the government is the one making the rules and not the Native Americans but I should not be surprised there. A really good book.

The Great Vanishing Act
Blood Quantum and the Future of Native Nations
by Norbert S. Hill, Jr.; Kathleen Ratteree
4 stars

This is an absolutely fascinating book that should be read by all! I highly recommend it.

I loved this very much! The characters, the actions and even the plot itself! Very inspiring for my own book too!

I really enjoyed reading this book. The Great Vanishing Act is a collection of writings that work as a dialogue about the role of blood quantum, or quantifying the percentage “blood” required to be a member/citizen, in Native American communities. While I was not the intended audience as a non-native person, I still gained so much from this book. I walked in with a limited historical knowledge and almost no practical knowledge of how different tribes and reservations operate today. I can’t say I’m an expert now, but I have become more aware of the ways American policy has shaped the options available to Native Americans, limiting their abilities to define themselves to the point where they now risk having their cultures erased all together.

This collection starts with personal pieces reflecting the effects of blood quantum on individuals culturally, then pans out to trace the practice historically, biologically, and legally to reveal how it became part of American and Native policy. Lastly the book ends with a collection of pieces exploring the ways that Native Americans can adjust citizenship policy to better serve their communities. Personal favorite pieces were the excerpts from a play by Reed Borboff and the piece on the dangers of relying on DNA sequencing by Jessica Kolopenuk.

I found all of the writing in this book to be compelling and appreciated how it explored the issue from multiple perspectives. Pieces cover topics including dating, genealogy, education, and the meaning of citizenship. I found the writing to be accessible, yet not overly simplistic. The history of blood quantum is complicated, and the book doesn’t shy away from asking hard questions about the practice. I also appreciated how it struck a balance between the inclusion of personal narratives while not forgetting to contextualize it with well researched history and data. Almost every essay is accompanied by a list of sources as well, so this book is a great place to start if you would like to read further.

I am not an expert on the topic or a member of the community this book is about, but I still found it a valuable read for how it challenged my ideas about citizenship, community, and race. It also helped me understand the long-lasting effect racist American policies play in people’s lives and the limitations of Western thought on identity and community.

I feel like I learned a lot from this book, even though I was definitely not its intended audience. I especially thought the play was great for understanding modern Native experiences in the dating world. The order of the stories, essays, and other contributions was perfect, as every part built off each other. Overall, I feel like I have a better view on modern American Indian culture and struggles, even though I've never met a person from that group. In my opinion, it would be more beneficial to market this more clearly to American Indians, as it is written as a discussion of their issues, although I gained a lot from reading it as a white person.

Blood Quantum and Native identity is something that a lot of people outside of Native issues know very little about. The concept is interesting and how it affects native peoples is complex and multilayered - imagine needing to be concerned with the percentage of your potential romantic partner's genetic ties to your tribe and how it would affect your children's ability to be accepted into the tribe? Of course, as an outsider, it's easy to say whether you find that concern hard to swallow (I mean, isn't "love is love" our mantra these days?), but the realities of the disappearing native peoples throughout the world make this consideration a practical one.

This anthology of different writings from native peoples throughout the world helps to illustrate different perspectives about the identity issues facing these communities. There are views that span the whole spectrum, from those who are passionate about keeping their bloodline (but also frustrated as the bloodline gets smaller and smaller and the threat of inbreeding becomes larger and larger) to those who reject the idea of it, and everything in between.

This would be an excellent read for a college course but also for anyone curious about identity, identity politics, and/or Native issues. I highly recommend this book.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Fulcrum Publishing for allowing me to access a digital copy of this book to review. It took me a long time to work through this book, because identity issues are something that personally impact me. This is a collection (made up mostly of essays) related to the concept and practice of using blood quantum to define who we are as tribal citizens.
These essays discuss how the things that make up tribal nations aren't measurements of blood, but encompass a variety of other factors. Even though a lot of the time I struggle with not feeling "native enough", reading through these essays reinforced that my ancestors would be proud of me. Our culture isn't tied to blood quantum. It's tied to our languages, our creation stories, our shared histories, and our shared resilience.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

The Great Vanishing Act is a very interesting and comprehensive collection of mostly essays about the concept of blood quantum and the definition of Native people. It deals with questions and problems regarding Native citizenships and the preservation of Native cultures. Personally, I found it very informative, it definitely broadened my horizon and I can only recommend it.

This book is a series of documents that contain well referenced bibliographies. It is written and edited by Native Americans. I found this book the best reasoned approach to a real problem facing all tribal hovers governments in the U.S. We must define who our members are and citizenship requirements of risk continued loss of membership and extinction of recognition with loss of sovereign recognition as indigenous nations.

A wonderful read. I loved this book. I recommend this book on so many levels. The writings provides a Native American communal perspective, such as teachings shared by the writer's own tribal community, theory, criticism, plays, and history on the blood quantum.