The author of this work belongs to the Lumbee Tribe in North Carolina, but was raised in a different state. She uses her experience and in-depth interviews with members of several other Tribes to discuss the contradictions that exist with formal classification/quantification systems created to define who is and isn't Native. She also uses archival research, including censuses and the history of censuses, to examine this topic.

There were many topics covered in this work. This included details about the Indian Removal Act and the manipulative language used to "other" and cheat natives while looking benevolent. Or how the initial and typical creation of reservations were set up for failure from the beginning (not enough land for typical subsistence practices, close quarters for easier spread of diseases, introduction of unhealthy foods, locations with minimal employment opportunities, just to name a few aspects). There was also some really good contextual information that the author used for examples, such as how Natives born in the late 1800s would have lived through several different major pieces of U.S. legislature that each drastically changed (and often contradicted) other laws, making Natives alive during this time constantly in flux in relation to their federal recognition, tribal status, and/or perceived identity. Not to mention the countless children forced to attend boarding/assimilation schools at this time. And how the requirements for federal recognition of tribes has almost impossible requirements considering that many of tribes' members were forcefully relocated and/or literally had their culture beaten out of them. The author also talks about how some tribes disenroll members for various reasons that usually come down to power and greed (per cap payments increased if fewer tribe members).

I appreciated that the author included the disclaimer that while she tried to interview a variety of people from a variety of tribes, this work is by no means exhaustive or representative of the experiences of all Natives. That being said, the amount of information and discussions included was great, and the author did a wonderful job incorporating her research and making it accessible and interesting.

I knew about some of these things going into this read, but after having finished it, I can't believe (actually I can, it's just dismaying) how contradictory and absurd the government policing of Tribal identity is, and honestly even within the policies of some Tribes. And of course, not all the reasons behind the policies are negative, and there are some positive aspects that the author discusses. The author quotes an episode from a TV show to emphasize some of the absurdity of blood quantum policies that are still used today: "the U.S. government only quantifies three things by blood: dogs, horses, and Indians."

I can't recommend this work enough for people who are interested in nonfiction reads relating to Native experiences in the U.S. relation to identity, both personal and tribal, throughout recent history. Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The Indian Card by Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz is a very well researched and informed audiobook which will give listeners an indepth look at this part of history. Looking not only on the historical background, but also on what it means to Indigenous people today, this book covers both the past and the present. Filled with personal stories and narratives as well as historical policy, this non-fiction book gives a look at what the government was trying to impose as well as the actual impact. I appreciated learning about the US history as I am Canadian and am interested about what happened on the other side of the border and how it compared to what happened here. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who wants to know more about not only the history behind the Indian card, but also the impact on Indigenous peoples' identities today. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to listen to and review this audiobook.

- THE INDIAN CARD is stuffed full of research, information, and deeply personal stories.
- I was familiar with the idea of blood quantum, but this book showed me all the nuances, loopholes, pitfalls, and contradictions that such a system gets stuck in.
- Lowry Schuettpelz gets deep into both what it means historically to be Native, and what it means in practice today.

Since I started reading more about 5 years ago, I have made a conscious effort to read diversely, including books by Native or Indigenous authors. American public schools fail to teach pre-colonial history and culture. And I have taken it upon myself to learn more about Native culture and issues. When I first heard about The Indian Card, I knew it would be an excellent book to build knowledge about current tribal issues.

The Indian Card provides an in-depth look at modern Native identity in the U.S. In this narrative nonfiction book, Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz blends investigative research and personal narratives about the process by which individuals are identified and recognized as “Indians” by individual tribes.

Lowry Schuettpelz has taken the expansive, complex topic of who is able to claim Native heritage and how that process has affected Native communities and tribes and organized it into an interesting, informative, and readable book. Lowry Schuettpelz grounded historical and policy research with personal stories and interviews to provide a complete picture of the topic. And more importantly, the connection between the two inculcates readers with emotional ties to the issue. Consequently, readers are given a glimpse into real peoples’ struggles with Native tribal enrollment and identify—and the fallout of the complicated process and strict parameters embedded with colonialism dating back to 1776.

If you are looking for an opinion about how tribes should handle enrollment, you will not find one in The Indian Card. Instead, Lowry Schuettpelz lays the ground work for you to make a determination based upon a complete understanding of history, facts, and cultural context. Along the way, she also calls out practices that are based upon colonialism and hurt Native people. While the book does not claim to be an exhaustive examination of the issue, it is a great primer for understanding how the practice of tribal enrollment dictates the identity and lives of millions of people with Native heritage.

Because I listened to The Indian Card as an audiobook, it is difficult for me to comment on the book’s writing. I did find it easy to follow and listen to without the issue being oversimplified. I imagine the same can be said for the text.

Overall, The Indian Card is an emotionally impactful examination of how racism and colonization continue to affect who is able to claim their Native identity in America. I highly recommend this book and think it would be great as a nonfiction pairing for books like Fire Exit by Morgan Talty or There, There by Tommy Orange.

A fascinating history of Native identity in North America. Schuettpelz investigates what it means to be Native, to be allowed to be Native, and what it means to belong. Interspersed with the history of legal identity matters are personal narratives from both Schuettpelz unpacking her own identity and a variety of other Native people discussing theirs. It was a little bleak, with the government's long history of trying to erase Native identity, but was also pretty hopeful. I really enjoyed it. It was really interesting and very informative.

“The Indian Card” by Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz is a compelling and thought-provoking examination of Native American identity, belonging, and the complexities of heritage. I was immediately drawn to the audiobook upon recognizing the author’s maiden name, Lowry— a familial name confirming our shared connection to the Lumbee tribe. Like Schuettpelz, I grew up away from "Lumbee territory" and present as white, making her story particularly relatable.

While Schuettpelz shares her own personal experience as a Lumbee, she goes beyond her own journey, offering a broader perspective by interviewing members of multiple tribes across the U.S. She captures the diversity of Native experiences, showing how each tribe and individual navigates the complicated terrain of identity, belonging, and cultural connection. Through these interviews, she provides a rich, multi-faceted view of what it means to be Native in today’s world.

One of the most impactful aspects of “The Indian Card” is Schuettpelz's challenge to the concept of "blood quantum"—the arbitrary measure used to determine Native identity. She questions why this standard is applied to Native communities when no other ethnic group relies on such a rigid criterion for proving their heritage. This call into question of blood quantum is an essential part of the book’s deeper exploration of how Native identity is defined and validated, often in ways that don’t fully reflect the lived reality of Native people.

Schuettpelz’s writing is not only personal and heartfelt but also insightful and meticulously researched. She thoughtfully examines the complexities of Native American identity, emphasizing that Native tribes are diverse and cannot be reduced to a single category or experience. This is a must-read for anyone seeking to better understand the intricacies of Native identity—whether they share a similar background or are new to the topic.

“The Indian Card” is a powerful, well-rounded exploration of a topic that is often oversimplified or misunderstood. Schuettpelz has created an essential and accessible resource for anyone interested in Native American heritage and the ongoing challenges faced by Native communities. An excellent and deeply impactful read.

Amy Hall does a fantastic job narrating the audiobook, bringing Schuettpelz’s powerful story to life with a thoughtful and engaging performance that truly enhances the emotional depth and authenticity of the narrative.

this was excellent, lots of history and using her personal experience and exposure to emphasize that history was well done.

This work of nonfiction educates without over-explaining and without holding back. The author uses her own journey of understanding her Native identity as a framework to explore the ways U.S. colonization continues to affect Native people today via tribal registration rules, family separation, and more. As always with nonfiction, IMO, it's the personal stories and interviews that really shine. It's incredible and heartbreaking to hear stories of people who were sent to boarding schools or adopted into white families, cutting them off from their heritage for years or, sometimes, forever. I'd recommend this especially to white people, extra especially if you've been told you have Native connections deep in your family tree.

“What routinely fails to show up in the textbook though is the modernity of Indian-ness. Native people still live and breathe. Still belly laugh and ugly cry, binge watch and cosplay, ride in ubers and doordash sushi. Native people walk over the same bones of settler colonialism as everyone else. We’re asked to bring a covered dish to Friendsgiving or to go in on a cabin airbnb over Columbus Day weekend.” - Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz

This book fills in the gaps where textbooks fail. The Indian Card: Who Gets to Be Native in America is an exploration of the history of indigenous identity in the United States. Lowry Schuettpelz describes both her own relationship with her tribe and the historical context that created it. This book is a satisfying blend of policy description, history, and personal anecdotes. Most importantly, it highlights just how important seemingly small distinctions in rules and policies can have generational impacts, a timely message for those in the US.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for this audiobook for review purposes.

The world needs more books like this that blend history with contemporary personal story. This is an accessible and interesting addition

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Publishers for providing this audiobook for review.
Books like this one is so important in helping people know about native experiences not only of the past, but of current day experiences. This one I can relate to as someone who's far removed from my native ancestry. Something that I thought was myth that my relatives could claim to be something other than black. But tracing my genealogy has identified a possible truth to their stories. But what would be next, according to the authors own experience, I could identify the tribal heritage and hope that the great grandmother I never knew was a registered tribal member. And would I be able to meet the criteria to prove my heritage. Would I have to register annually to claim my heritage as I do my vehicle with the state. Would I now check another box other than black/African American. What other nationalities in this country have to prove their heritage and carry a card to say yes, you've met our standard of what we think you are.
This was an amazing, well researched, personal book that not only did I love but highly recommend especially if you've lost touch with your heritage whether it was through colonialism or generational distance.

It was interesting to listen to how the definition of Indian is not black and white, and depends from tribe to tribe.

The Indian Card by Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz is a fantastic, must-read for those in the US who want to understand the way native identity has been shaped by our history and policies. Threading the needle so perfectly, blending personal narrative with in depth research and analysis, Lowry Schuettpelz provides the reader with a perspective on belonging and identity that is nuanced and carefully considered. I have tried to read a lot of native history in the past few years but The Indian Card is especially effective at making it's point by using the personal narrative. As a reader, I really felt a shift in my perspective on native rights.

Great writing but great audio production as well in the audio version I listened to. Amy Hall does a great job with the topic. Just in time for the holidays, this would make an excellent gift for the non-fiction lovers in your life.

Personal narrative interwoven with the history of identifying Natives—how the US whipsawed from trying to destroy tribes to protecting them, but only if they’d somehow survived the earlier devastation while retaining traditions, governance, a compact enough territory, and a tribal identification system. Not all tribes use a blood quantum definition to identify members, but those who do tend to face resource demands that force difficult decisions. Children of parents from two different tribes may lack the blood quantum necessary to allow them to be enrolled members of either, even though pan-Indian movements have made such relationships more common. And the history on which blood quantum determinations are made is corrupt: the censuses the author examines assign racial classifications apparently arbitrarily and changeably; one ancestor she discusses was given three different labels in three different decennial censuses. One key metric, the Dawes list, included full siblings whose claims to Indianness were treated differently. (The unsurprising constraint on arbitrariness: people who looked white were often allowed to claim Indianness, but people who looked Black were often not.) But the book is not about alternatives—there may not be good ones—it is rather about sitting in the contradictions of using descent to manage identity in the context of Native life.

Many thanks to Netgalley and MacMillan audio for an advanced listening copy of the book. An absolutely eye-opening, fascinating, and reflective primer on looking into the complexities of Native American identity and the many layers of the U.S. Census. Schuettpelz uses her own personal story as a jumping off point to explore the thorny issue of "blood quantum". I had no idea that each tribe/nation has their own policy when it comes to enrollment nor the fact that membership needs to be renewed after a certain amount of years. Schuettpelz does not have the answer to the questions that we have regarding identity and belonging, but gives us a lot to think about. This is going on my staff favorites list of this year.

The audiobook narrator is wonderful and very easy to listen to. You can tell they were interested and passionate about the topic. I will definitely suggest to purchase the audiobook for my library.

Given recent *goings on* in the bookish community, this was a particularly interesting read. It provides great insight into an aspect of "belonging" that I wasn't aware of. The author does a great job of explaining and also delving deeper into the reason that some of these policies are in place. In addition to talking about policy and history, this book also does a great job at connecting to people's lived experiences and stories as well, which makes reading this book even more approachable,

The Indian Card provided great insight to the "right" of making the claim of Native American identity, ancestry, and tribal enrollment that has been so heavily complicated due to the US government and the various rules of the different tribes. It was good to hear this as the author went through her own identity journey and how she navigated the system for herself, while telling the stories of others who met obstacles along their lives. Additionally, it did dive into the horrific history of how the US government colonized and prevent-ed (saying it this way because those laws still have effects today) Native Americans from obtaining their full rights, heritage and land.

I do recommend this book to all. 5 out of 5.

Thank you Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and the author for the opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

I will be posting to socials.

I have native siblings, and nieces and nephews. They only know they are native due to DNA, as their connections to these tribes have been severed. (some of them are more than 50% native and know which tribe). The book does cover some of these instances. There are portions about the racist tests to determine if people were native. It feels gross knowing that our country did this but they did so we need to sit with those feelings.

In my family we do sometimes talk about the history and enrollment. I knew that there were different rules for enrollment for each tribe and that the tribes themselves may not be in charge of how those are enforced. I knew it was racist and exclusive. I knew it was basically crap.
I did not know a lot of other information in this group. Although, I do not have native DNA I do like to know more about how these things affect people in our country and especially my family.
I am so grateful for this book.

The narration was wonderful.

This book feels like essential reading to better want understand when someone talks about tribal membership, blood quantum, and tribal identities. The audiobook experience specifically was powerful—the narrator did a fantastic job bringing this book to life. It was informative but compulsively readable and easy to understand (perhaps at least in part by the way the audiobook narrator read it). I love how the author wove in storytelling (her own and other people who identify as native) to illustrate the reality of the multitude of nuances and specifics involved in this topic. I cannot reccomend this enough and absolutely need to get a physical copy. TYSM Netgalley and the publisher for the audio arc!

Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz has written a fantastic book. She explores the idea of Native identity and what that means. She discusses recognition, blood quantum, tribal roles; and the role each has played in denying some Native Americans their rights and allowing white people to continue to take from Native tribes.

One thing I really liked about this book was that while she discusses these difficult and technical topics, she presents them in terms of the people they affect. She brings the bureaucratic nature of the government's attempts to eradicate Native Americans to the average person. She tells stories and discusses the affects of these policies on her family and other families. She talks about how blood quantum is only used to determine breed/family in cows, dogs, and Indians. Indians are the only people subject to this. She discuss tribal recognition in that her tribe is not federally recognized and if it were, they would open a casino on I95 which would take away business from other Native casinos. The politics behind every single policy decision the U.S. government has made regarding Native Americans is made to shine under Ms. Schuettpelz's spotlight.

This was an excellent book and I learned so much from it.