Originally Posted by
HSLD
As for tribal affiliation; Contact the tribe and ask what the procedure is for obtaining a CIB card (Certificate of Indian Blood). Once you hold a CIB card, you can apply to become a member of the tribe. Until you've completed both steps it would be foolish to make the claim of Indian heritage on an employment application.
Paul, I might disagree with the last. If you can document that you do in fact have some Indian blood, I think it would be OK to make the claim.
If they specifically ask if you are a registered member of a tribe, answer truthfully. A tribal member might be "more disadvantaged" and thus more deserving of consideration than a non-tribal member, but they can't totally discount your heritage. There are a variety of contentious sub-divisions within the Native American population...they don't even all agree on tribal definitions, and it's become a high dollar issue with all the casinos and derivative revenue.
I'm also certain they can't fire you for claiming heritage that you can prove just because you're not a tribal member. It depends on how they ask the question...if they ask about heritage, tell them how you feel. If they ask about tribal status, obviously you need to be honest.
At some point it would become ludicrous to claim minority status. I'm not quite sure where you draw the line....1/16? 1/32?