6 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 197 



be interpreted in the light of the particular definitions of these terms 

 which are utilized in a given case. The following discussion is an 

 elaboration of the several Navaho populations which can be derived 

 from different definitions of "Indian" and "tribe." 



In theory, the biological criterion of race permits a wide range of 

 population estimates, depending of course on the minimum proportion 

 of Indian blood which is presumed necessary for inclusion of an in- 

 dividual in an Indian category. In actual practice, some persons 

 have been included in allotments of Indian lands who had as little as 

 one two-hmidred-fifty-sixth part of Indian blood. Although the 

 common practice at present is to exclude persons with less than one- 

 fourth of Indian blood, the rolls of many Indian tribes include in- 

 dividuals who are less than one-fourth Indian.^ In the case of the 

 Navaho, however, this problem poses no serious difficulty, in view of 

 the overwhelming preponderance of "fullblooded" Indians among 

 them. The basic operational difficulty with this criterion has already 

 been stated; i.e., the impossibility of determining the proportion of 

 "Indian" blood in a given individual in the absence of precise geneal- 

 ogical information. 



The use of any cultural criterion for defining an Indian population 

 is confronted with overwhelming problems. Any measurable indi- 

 cator of cultural participation is likely to be somewhat superficial. 

 Furthermore, there is the problem of weighing a person's participation 

 in Indian culture against his participation in non-Indian culture. 

 Nevertheless, some estimation of the population of "cultural" Indians 

 would be most useful, both to anthropologists and administrators. 

 The proportion of the Indians of a given tribe contained in the "core" 

 of cultural Indians would constitute a good measure of the degree of 

 acculturation experienced by that tribe. 



In theory, the use of a biological criterion should result in a maxi- 

 mum population figure, while the use of a cultural criterion, if defined 

 so as to imj)ly preponderant participation in Indian culture, should 

 result in a minimum population figure. Obviously, statistics based on 

 the former definition cannot be compared to those based upon the 

 latter definition, without important qualifications.^" 



The use of the several criteria of "tribalness" would result in a 

 similar range of population estimates. The first criterion listed is 

 that of a common language. In the case of the Navaho, use of this 



9 Gilbert, 1953, p. 138. One instance of the inclusion on an Indian Tribal Roll of an 

 individual whose degree of Indian blood was listed as 1/256 occurred among the Wyandotte 

 tribe of Oklahoma. See the Federal Register, vol. 22, No. 66, April 5, 1957, p. 2286. 



*"> The biological criterion would produce a maximum population figure only if both 

 patrilineal and matrilineal Indian descent were recognized. Among the Navaho, descent 

 is traced matrilineally ; strict adherence to this criterion would produce a somewhat 

 smaller population figure. 



