Mixed & Pure Blood?
What percentage of my ancestry must have been Native American in order for me to also be considered Native American?
I guess that depends on what you are specifically referring too. If you are talking about law wise, like getting grants and such, I believe its a 16th, but I'm not sure. I do know that Native Americans in general tend to have pet peeves about being "part indian". You either are or you aren't, their culture doesn't allow for partial induction into their culture. Here is a great story I read about this, I don't know if its true or not.
https://www.snowwowl.com/gwritpartindian.html
Well you see, you have to know who the LAST full-blooded native in your ancestral line was to figure it out.
For example, if my grandmother was the last full-blood Cherokee in my line, that means she was 100% Cherokee. So that would make my dad half Cherokee, 50%. If my dad is 50% Cherokee, that makes me 25% Cherokee. It's all in the math.
Of course when you have mixed blood, that's when things get tricky.
So let's say I'm 25% Cherokee, but I also have Creek blood. If my great-great grandfather was the last full-blooded Creek in my family, he was 100% Creek. That means his son, my great-grandfather, would be 50%. His son, my grandfather, would be 1/4, 25%. His daughter, my mom, would be 1/8 Creek, and that would make me 1/16 Creek.
So then I would add those together to figure out what percentage of native blood I have in me.
1/4 Cherokee+1/16 Creek=5/16 Native American.
It's confusing, but easy to figure out once you know how. But like I've said before, blood quantum and percentages don't really matter that much.