How to Gain American Indian Citizenship
- 1). Conduct genealogical research into your family tree, documenting your ancestors who are or were Native American tribal members. For example, discover if your grandparents lived on a reservation and were citizens of a particular Indian nation, and if that nation accepts this relationship as the basis for granting you citizenship. Gather supporting materials, such as a birth certificate and death certificate.
- 2). Examine census rolls tabulated by the U.S. government for records of your Native American relatives. Some tribes use census rolls as the basis for their nation's base membership rolls, and they may accept you as a citizen if you are related to someone on the roll. Find out if you must be a direct descendant or if you may gain citizenship through a distant relative.
- 3). Determine what percentage of American Indian you are through blood relation, such as one-quarter or one-sixteenth. If your ancestral tribe uses blood relation as a criterion, they may require you to have a minimum percentage of Indian blood. Submit to DNA testing according to the protocol of your tribe if the nation in which you seek citizenship requires genetic proof for membership.
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