Below is what Paul Adams, BBC News correspondent, found out and reported on about blood quantum.

In his column Adams breaks down where the concept came from and how it’s employed by different tribes today. Adams writes that most tribes require between 12.5 percent and 25 percent blood quantum for people to qualify for enrollment and benefits.

Scott Davis, executive director of the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission, told Adams he doesn’t believe in the quantum system. Instead, Davis said, tradition and preserving the Native way of life.

What do you think?

Blood quantum might sound like an action movie, but to the country’s Native Americans it’s all about identity.

First introduced in colonial Virginia in the early 18th Century as a means of restricting the rights of anyone deemed to be more than 50% Native American, the term only became widespread after the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.

By then, it had become a mechanism for calculating the amount of federal benefits a tribe could expect to receive, based on its population.

Over time, different tribes have adopted different levels of blood quantum.

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Story and photos by Ernestine Chasing Hawk, Native Sun News Managing Editor:

CRAZY HORSE — Wafts of the earthy aroma of wild sage filled the air as Oglala Medicine Man Roy Stone offered a prayer, blessed the South Dakota National Guards newest aircraft, the UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter, then tied an eagle feather onto it.

Native American Veterans groups from across the state stood sentry as more than 600 people watched the dedication ceremony that was held in sacred He Sapa (Black Hills) with the image of Crazy Horse one of greatest Lakota warriors to ever walk Ina Maka (Mother Earth) as a backdrop.

During the ceremony the new Delta Company, 1/112th Aviation Company of the National Guard unveiled an official patch that also honors the heritage of South Dakota Native people.

The motto for the unit patch is the Lakota words “Wiconi Un Kiya” which translates to “fly for life” or “life flight.” The patch symbolizes a Native American medicine circle representing the four winds and the sacred nature of life inscribed with the units motto and designation.

Within the circle rests a Red Cross which symbolizes saving a life while the colors white and blue represent purity, the sky and water. An image of the UH-72A rests upon the Red Cross in profile along with two eagle feathers, one red and one white which represent honoring and protecting the injured. Two more eagle feathers on outer edge of the emblem bring the total to four eagle feathers representing Delta Company’s four UH-72A Lakota aircrafts.

“It is my honor to be here on this sacred ground with all of you,” US Congresswoman Kristi Noem (R-SD) said. “It is my pleasure to share all the rituals and the culture and the bonding and the relationships that we will build through this ceremony.”

She said she believed that the spirit of partnership between the National Guard and the Lakota Nation when naming the aircraft is going to bring honor to everyone involved. “It’s going to build and strengthen many relationships over the years. It’s going to be a testimony to our children and to our grandchildren of what we can do and what we can accomplish in the name of our great nations.”

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One hundred and twenty years ago yesterday, the Lakota people made the deadly ride to Wounded Knee that ended in massacre.

For the past 23 years, those wishing to remember their ancestors sacrifices have also made the ride. The commemoration is now taking on another element, with young members, most under 30, making the ride.

The Big Foot Memorial Ride is a way to connect the youth to the past and build a “bridge to the next generation,” as the Rapid City Journal reports.

Participants travel on horseback from camp to camp, braving the cold – and sometimes worse, like last week’s ice storm or last year’s Christmas blizzard.

Jeremiah Young Bull Bear said the weather only highlights the spiritual aspects of the ride.

“Like the elder riders always say, if you’re not suffering in some way – if you’re hungry, you’re sore, you get sick – if you’re not feeling any of those things, you’re not feeling the spirituality of the ride,” he said. “Anything spiritual, there’s always a sacrifice.”

“I don’t think of the coldness when I ride,” Lip said. “I think of our ancestors and how they rode.”

The entire Native community participates in one way or another. Phyllis Wilcox of Wanblee couldn’t ride this year, so she spent two days cooking – 15 turkeys, five gallons of mashed potatoes and 25 pounds of flour for frybread – for 90 hungry riders who arrived in Kyle on Christmas.

Jenna Cederberg

Actor Chaske Spencer (Lakota Sioux tribe, and raised on Indian Reservations in Montana and Idaho) has found success in Hollywood.

The actor is currently starring as a Native werewolf in the vampire love story series, “Twilight,” which is hyped and popular. The role is “huge” he admits. His plate is full too in the upcoming months: He’s going to do “Winter in the Blood,” the Montana author James Welch novel, among other movie projects.

With the foundation of the success coming after an all-too-familiar notorious ride to Hollywood – he’s says it was and is his traditional beliefs that need to be the constant.

Because “Hollywood has a very short memory,” he says, and predicts that as a Native American, securing roles will continue to be a struggle. His conversation with Racebending.com contributor Gabriel Canada focuses on how his career path is never too far from his roots.

He also with Racebender addresses poverty, his astonishment at being “here” coming from a reservation and his production company, Urban Dream.

RACEBENDING.COM: In previous interviews you’ve talked about the fact that statistically, you shouldn’t be “here.” Can you elaborate for those unfamiliar with life on a reservations what those statistics are, and what you meant by that?

CHASKE SPENCER: Coming from a reservation, the chances of people getting out and becoming successful are pretty rare. The people who do, it’s almost like jumping off a waterfall: you just jump and see if you land, and we will see if you’re okay, but at least you made the jump.

When I talk about giving back to the community, I think it’s a responsibility for myself to do that. I’ve experienced a lot, living on reservation. There is poverty and abuse–physical, domestic and sexual. A lot of people don’t know that.

It’s not just to raise an awareness, but also I can’t do it alone–some actor getting on a stage as a PSA. The people in the family structure, in their own homes, have to take up for themselves, take responsibility. I could just be a broken record playing over and over again.

I had people like that come to my school when I was growing up, and it did have an influence on me, but it’s really up to the people themselves to do something about it. There is only so much someone can do to raise awareness, but if I can inspire someone to do that–to maybe make a change in their life–then I think I’ve done my job. But it’s not easy.

Being in the spotlight as a Native American actor, you’re already being put on a pedestal as being a role model, which I don’t think anyone really ever wants. You’re thrust on there anyway, so you might as well make do with it what you can. But I’m not a perfect angel.

The Rapid City Journal has this story about South Dakota’s Native Americans’ Day celebration. Click on the link to see a schedule.

CRAZY HORSE, S.D. — “The Lakota Music Project” presented by the Porcupine Singers [see video above] and South Dakota Symphony Chamber Orchestra will highlight the 21st Native Americans’ Day celebration at Crazy Horse Memorial on Monday, Oct. 11.

Also, Jim Shaw of Rapid City will emcee the 10 a.m. program that will feature the Crazy Horse Educator of the Year, American Indian singers and dancers and recognition of the “Year of Unity” effort in South Dakota.

Native Americans’ Day is special at the nonprofit Crazy Horse Memorial that honors North America’s Indian people.

The 1990 South Dakota Legislature established the holiday, now the oldest official observance of its kind in the country. State lawmakers, at the urging of several citizens, replaced Columbus Day for “the remembrance of the great Native American leaders who contributed so much to the history of our state.”

Dollmaker focuses on portraits of Alaska Native people
Alaska’s Mary Ellen Frank is in Sitka this weekend for the 2010 International Conference on Russian America. Frank’s contribution? She’s a dollmaker, whose work, along with that of other dollmakers on both sides of the Pacific, is featured at the Sitka Historical Museum. As the Anchorage Daily News writes, Frank walks a fine line because she is not Native, but her internationally renowned dolls are portraits of Alaska Native people. It’s important, she says, to get permission from both individuals and tribes before making each doll. See more of her work on the Juneau Artists website.

New bill address Missouri River dams that flooded Indian Reservations
A half-century ago, something called the Pick-Sloan Program built a number of dams along the Missouri River, flooding lands of seven Indian reservations, destroying homes, farmland and hunting areas. Rob Capriccioso of Indian Country Today writes that “It is estimated that Lakota, Dakota and Nakota tribes lost 202,000 acres overall, which means the dams destroyed more Native American land than any other public works project in the history of the nation.” Now Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., has introduced a bill that hopes to resolve the problems caused to those tribes.

Hopi Nation, other tribes, fight fake snow on sacred Arizona peaks
The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the ongoing fight by the Hopi Nation and other tribes against snowmaking on the San Francisco Peaks at the Snowbowl ski resort outside Flagstaff, Ariz. The Navajo, Hopi and 11 other tribes view the peaks as sacred and that any moisture there should occur naturally. The Flagstaff City Council will address the issue tomorrow, according to the Daily Sun newspaper in Flagstaff, which has a full report.

Red Spirit Fashion Show part of cross-cultural effort at Central States Fair
It was the first Unity Day at the 2010 Central States Fair in South Dakota, but it won’t be the last, the Rapid City Journal writes. Among the offerings at the event designed to promote cross-cultural understanding was the Red Spirit Fashion Show featuring contemporary clothing by Native American designers. Native Sun News publisher Tim Giago says Unity Day will be a part of next year’s fair. Giago helped organize South Dakota’s year of Reconciliation 20 years ago in an effort to improve troubled relations between the state’s Native and non-Native people. Now, as then, says Carmen Yellow Horse, it’s important that “we start a conversation.”

Gwen Florio

Here’s the full story from the Associated Press:

DEADWOOD, S.D. (AP) — A Roman Catholic priest, a Taoist master and a Lakota holy man joined forces to help rebury 130-year-old remains uncovered in the western South Dakota town of Deadwood.

The remains were discovered in 2006 by workers dismantling a retaining wall in a Deadwood neighborhood. They were identified as being either an American Indian or Chinese man. The Chinese worked in Deadwood’s gold-mining industry years ago.

The remains were reburied Wednesday in Mount Moriah Cemetery. The ceremony began with a traditional Catholic prayer and scripture reading, followed by Chinese and Native American burial rituals.

“No matter what religious belief you are, whether you’re … Lakota, Chinese, or even what your faith is, you have entitled burial rights as a human being,” said Terry Gray with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.

Gilbert Hom with the Chinese Historical Society said officials never considered fighting over the heritage of the remains. Taoist minister Master E-man of Los Angeles added that “No matter who it is, it’s our ancestor.”

“We pray simply with that faith that each one of us has,” said the Rev. Kerry Prendiville of St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Deadwood.

Deadwood Historic Preservation Officer Kevin Kuchenbecker said he was not aware of such a ceremony ever happening before.

“Not only are we protecting our history, but we’re making history as well,” he said.

Writer Stew Magnuson (“The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder: And Other True Stories from the Nebraska-Pine Ridge Border Towns”) today memorializes Billy Gibbons, who died last month at the age of 75.

In his blog, A View from a Washichu, Magnuson writes here that:

Gibbons was the son of a Lakota woman, Elsie Long Cat, and a white father, William Gibbons. Billy was raised in Wounded Knee, but had made Gordon, Nebr., his home since the 1950s.

He was a man who had both feet firmly, and proudly, planted in both cultures. And maybe it’s no accident that he made a Nebraska border town his home.

Gibbons came to Gordon and began a drywall business after serving in the Korean War. That how he made a living. More important was how he lived.

Magnuson describes how, among other things, Gibbons helped him defuse a potential confrontation after an American Indian Movement protest in 1972.

It’s a lovely tribute. Check it out.

Gwen Florio

Here, Kevin Abourezk of the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star, details the developments concerning publication of the classic book “Black Elk Speaks.” The book was by far the best-selling book ever published by University of Nebraska Press before publication rights were switched to a New York publisher. But those rights lapse in 2013. Let’s let Abourezk tell it:

When she was a child, Charlotte Black Elk’s grandfather would tell her stories about her great-grandfather Nicholas Black Elk.

Her great-grandfather — the subject of the 1932 book “Black Elk Speaks,” written by Nebraska poet laureate in perpetuity John G. Neihardt — died before she was born.

Her grandfather Ben Black Elk would hold his arms wide and say her great-grandfather’s life story was this big. The book, he said, contracting his arms so just a small space remained between his hands, told this much of that story.

“Everywhere I’ve traveled in the world people are familiar with it,” she said Tuesday of “Black Elk Speaks.” “He touched a lot of people and through the book continues to touch a lot of people.”

There are few places where “Black Elk Speaks” has had a more profound impact than in Nebraska, where the University of Nebraska Press published more than 900,000 copies of the book before the author’s family decided to sell the book’s publishing rights to a New York publisher in 2008.

The biography of the Lakota holy man remains the NU Press’ bestselling book of all time.

A former NU Press director, Gary Dunham, had lured the Neihardt family, which owns the book’s publication rights, east after he left Nebraska in December 2007 to become director of the State University of New York Press.

Now Dunham has left SUNY Press, according to a SUNY spokesman, who offered no further details on Dunham’s departure. SUNY Press’ contract to publish “Black Elk Speaks” won’t elapse until 2013, however.

Read the rest here.