Crow Tribe Considers Enrollment Changes Similar to St. Croix and Red Lake

By Joe Morey

Rez Life Weekly Editor

For the first time in its history, the Crow Tribe is seeing its enrolled population shrink, according to a recent report by MTN News. Tribal leaders say that in the past year, the number of deaths among enrolled Crow citizens exceeded the number of new enrollees, raising alarms about the long-term future of the tribe.

In response, the Crow Tribal Executive Branch has moved quickly, drafting legislation aimed at increasing enrollment and stabilizing population numbers. The proposal seeks to address longstanding concerns surrounding blood quantum and tribal identity.

Under the proposed legislation, all currently enrolled members of the Crow Tribe would be considered 100 percent full-blooded Crow for enrollment purposes, even if their actual blood quantum is as low as 25 percent. The MTN News article stated that this change would allow the children of some tribal members, previously ineligible under current rules, to become enrolled.

Blood quantum has been a source of debate across Indian Country for generations. The system dates back to the late 1800s, when the U.S. government imposed blood-based measurements as a way to track and regulate Native populations.

“The only ones who have to be papered are dogs, horses, and Indians,” Crow Executive Branch Secretary Levi Black Eagle said in the article. He explained that blood quantum was never a traditional Crow concept but rather a federal tool used to monitor tribal nations.

The article went on to note that the Crow Tribe’s constitution currently requires one-quarter Crow blood for enrollment. That standard means a person must have at least one grandparent who is fully Crow to qualify. Because that requirement is written into the constitution, Black Eagle told MTN News it cannot be easily changed.

“If you’re enrolled today and you’re alive, you’re a four-out-of-four,” Black Eagle said. “That is the Crow legislation.”

Lessons From St. Croix: A Tribe That Dropped the Fraction Standard

The Crow debate is not unfolding in isolation. To the east, the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin decided in late 2023 to eliminate its blood quantum requirement entirely, replacing it with a lineal descent model in which a child can be enrolled if a parent is an enrolled tribal member.

That change came after tribal members recognized that requiring a high blood quantum, previously set at one-half St. Croix blood, was contributing to shrinking enrollment. More than 60 percent of the tribe’s members were elders, and leaders worried the tribe’s long-term survival could be jeopardized under the old standard.

Since removing the percentage requirement, the St. Croix Nation has reported its first enrollment gains in years, a development highlighted on Native America Calling in a discussion featuring Chairman Conrad St. John alongside leaders from other nations exploring alternatives to blood quantum.

Meanwhile, at Lac Courte Oreilles, Chairman Gary “Little Guy” Clause sparked his own debate on blood quantum. In a February 2024 tribal newsletter, Clause said he hopes to “get the discussion started and hear from tribal members on whether they will support the idea or not” by proposing that the tribe go back to its 1940 base rolls and declare those members as 100 percent full-blooded to reshape how future quantum is calculated.

The 1940 census roll was the earliest list created when blood quantum was first used locally. Current quantum requirements (set at one-eighth LCO blood, with 1/8 allowable Ojibwe blood from other tribes counted) would then be calculated from that baseline and would result in an increase in membership and allow many lineal descendants to achieve membership. That approach, he suggested, would mirror strategies some Nations are exploring to counter enrollment decline.

Clause adopted his idea from previous action taken by the Red Lake Nation in 2019 who had long been governed by a requirement that members have at least one-quarter Red Lake blood. The Tribal Council passed a resolution declaring that every member listed on the tribe’s 1958 base roll would be considered “full blooded” for enrollment purposes, regardless of their previously recorded blood quantum. By adjusting the base roll in this way, the resolution allowed descendants of those members to retain eligibility under tribal law without being excluded by fractional calculations.

Supporters of lineal or base-roll models argue they help ensure tribal populations remain viable and culturally vibrant over time, while critics of strict quantum limits point to research showing that tribes maintain stronger demographics when they shift away from rigid percentage requirements. For Red Lake, projections presented at public listening sessions showed that relying solely on one-quarter requirements could sharply reduce the tribe’s population over generations, while a base-roll or lineal approach could sustain or even grow membership.

When Chairman Clause made this suggestion to change blood quantum requirements at Lac Courte Oreilles he was only a tribal council member and the proposal was never acted upon, but he has since been elected to Chairman in June of 2025. Supporters of his idea hope that now he may use his new platform as Chairman of the Tribe to push the idea forward.

Crow Tribal Members React: Hope, Concern, and Unanswered Questions

Reaction among Crow tribal members to the proposed blood quantum change has been mixed.

Amber Birdinground, a Crow woman and educator interviewed by MTN News, said identity is rooted more in culture and upbringing than in fractions. A descendant of Chief Medicine Crow, Birdinground was raised in Crow Agency and speaks the Crow language fluently.

“I was raised in a traditional home,” she said in the article. “My first language is Crow.”

Birdinground, who is seven-eighths Crow, traces her lineage back to the Dawes Act era, when the federal government initially categorized Crow citizens as 100 percent Crow. MTN News reported that this classification laid the foundation for the blood-quantum system still used today.

Black Eagle said in the article that the current enrollment framework excludes many people who are culturally and socially Crow.

“We have people whose parents are Crow, whose families are Crow, who live here and practice our traditions,” he said. “But legally, they aren’t allowed to be enrolled. That’s pretty sad.”

Other tribal members voiced concerns about how expanding enrollment could affect tribal resources. Audrey Plenty Hoops, a Crow elder, questioned how an increase in membership might impact per capita payments and services.

“So, I think the population is really going to grow,” she said. “And if it does, our revenue and our per capita will decrease.”

According to the article, Plenty Hoops said that many community members rely heavily on per capita payments as a primary source of income, particularly in households where employment opportunities are limited.

Tribal leaders acknowledge that the proposal does not fully solve the broader issue of blood quantum. As the MTN News article noted, amending the Crow Tribe’s constitution would be a lengthy and complex process. For now, leaders say the proposal is a temporary step toward a more comprehensive solution.

“It doesn’t fix it,” Black Eagle said. “As long as we still adhere to blood quantum, this is always going to be a problem. This allows us to start building a more concrete plan.”

What’s Next for Crow Nation

According to MTN News, the Executive Branch has already submitted the proposal. The Crow Tribal Legislature is expected to review the measure in committee in January, where lawmakers will discuss the bill in committee, consider amendments and hear additional public input. If the Legislature passes the proposal, it will return to tribal leadership to be signed into law.

Meanwhile, tribal members continue to reflect on the long-term implications, not just for services and resources, but for the cultural future of the Crow Nation.

“How will this shape our people generations from now?” Birdinground asked. “That’s the real question.”