Blood matters : the five civilized tribes and the search for unity in the early twentieth century /

"How much Indian are you?" This question has mattered since the US applied the racist doctrine of inherited traits to Indians, especially as Indians embraced the notion that the more Indian blood, the more Indian one was. Zissu explores the issue of blood as it affected "The Five Civilized Tribes" (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Seminole) from about 1830 to about 1930. The essential variables were the American-imposed crises (removal, allotment, Oklahoma's plundering of the tribal estates) that exacerbated tribal divisions over responses or convinced full bloods and mixed bloods to unite as Indians, regardless of blood quantum. Along the way, Zissu illuminates tribal governments at different times, distinctions among tribal societies based on blood and behavior, acceptance of American racism by Indians, and the brutal immorality of Oklahomans determined to take the Indian estates. Revealing the use of blood to create an Indian image akin to a romanticized "one-drop rule," this distinct contribution is enhanced by acknowledgement of the function of mixed bloods as protectors of tribal cultures and rights. Despite the price, this is recommended for Indian studies collections. Upper-division undergraduates and above. G. Gagnon University of North Dakota