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56 Stan. L. Rev. 161 (2003-2004)
Redefining Race: Can Genetic Testing Provide Biological Proof of Indian Ethnicity

handle is hein.journals/stflr56 and id is 175 raw text is: NOTE Redefining Race: Can Genetic Testing Provide Biological Proof of Indian Ethnicity? Eric Beckenhauer* INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................... 162 I. DEFINING INDIAN IN THE UNITED STATES: ANCESTRY AND BLOOD .............. 164 A. Federal Definitions ..................................................................................... 164 B. Tribal Definitions ........................................................................................ 166 1. Blood quantum requirements.................................................................. 167 2. D escendancy requirements .................................................................... 172 C. Toward a Functional Definition of Indian Ethnicity .............................. 174 II. CAN GENETIC TESTING IMPROVE ETHNIC IDENTIFICATION?............................ 175 A. Prevalence of Variants Within Human Subpopulations.............................. 176 B. Private Polymorphisms ............................................................................... 177 1. The Y chrom osom e ................................................................................. 178 2. Mitochondrial DNA ............................................................................... 179 C. Ethnic-Affiliation Estimation with Population-Specific DNA Markers....... 180 D . Lim itations of DNA Analysis....................................................................... 181 1. Is presence of a private polymorphism proof of Indian ancestry?.......... 181 2. Is absence of a private polymorphism disproof of Indian ancestry?....... 182 3. Can presence of a polymorphism indicate degree of Indian ancestry?.. 182 E. Assessing the Utility of DNA Analysis......................................................... 184 III. ATTEMPTS TO GENETICALLY DEFINE INDIANS-AND NATIVE AMERICAN REACTION ............................................................................................................. 184 A. Vermont House Bill 809.............................................................................. 184 B. Native American Objections to Genetic Definitions of Ethnicity ................ 186 1. Indian is a culture-not a genotype.................................................... 186 2. Genetic definitions of Indian will usurp tribal sovereignty ............... 187 3. Condoning genetic testing in this context legitimizes scientific inquiry, and its consequences, in other contexts ............................................................ 188 CONCLUSION......................................................................................................... 190 161 J.D. Candidate, Stanford Law School, 2004. B.S., with highest honors, University of California, Davis, 1998. Notes Editor, Stanford Law Review, Volume 56.

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