MICHAEL IRVINE AND LEAH NELSON


When this image was captured in November 2019, Michael Irvine, 22, and his partner, Leah Nelson, 21, were awaiting the birth of their first child, a daughter. They chose to raise their family on the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana, home to the Confed- erated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and where Michael grew up and where they both currently reside. Irvine, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, has a blood quantum of 7⁄16. Nelson, a


member of the Navajo Nation, has a blood quantum of ¾. Because Irvine’s tribes require ¼ Salish and Kootenai blood for enrollment, their child will not qualify to be a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and will be enrolled in the Navajo Nation.


REVIEWING NIZHÓNÍ IRVINE’S PATERNAL FAMILY TREE


On December 9, 2019, Michael Irvine and Leah Nelson look at their daughter Nizhóní Irvine’s paternal family tree, printed at the tribal Enrollment Office. The document shows the blood quantum of each of Irvine’s Salish and Kootenai family members from the 1800s to the present—and that Nizhóní is 3


⁄128 short of being


able to be enrolled in his tribe. A memorandum states Nizhóní is designated a first-generation descendant—but not a member—of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. This classification will limit her participation in the tribes’ services, such as financial aid for college and tribal employment opportunities. “It sucks that I’m ¹⁄16 short of having Nizhóní en-


rolled here,” says Michael Irvine. “She’s Native, Salish and Kootenai, and living on our reservation. Eventually she’s going to ask why she’s not a member when her cousins and family are.”


26 AMERICAN INDIAN SUMMER 2020


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