Reservation Math: Navigating Love in Native America

Published: Feb. 10, 2021, 5 a.m.

If you\u2019ve heard the phrase, \u201cfull blooded,\u201d you\u2019re already familiar with the concept of blood quantum. But Native Americans are the only peoples in the United States whose identity is defined by it. Through the photography of Tailyr Irvine, displayed at the National Museum of the American Indian, we take a look at the colonial origin story of blood quantum: where it came from, why it endures, and how it continues to impact the most personal decisions many Native Americans make about love and family today.

Tailyr Irvine\u2019s Reservation Mathematics: Navigating Love in Native America exhibition link: https://americanindian.si.edu/developingstories/irvine.html