The indigenous community in North America is expansive, with more than five million Native Americans and 574 federally recognized tribes in the US alone. Though their history has been burdened by the trauma of colonization, Native American culture remains gloriously rich, so perhaps it's no wonder why many people like to know if they have some Native blood in their family's history.
Public figures have used claims to Native American ancestry to appeal to a level of diversity, though many lack the documentation to be eligible to become an actual tribal member. It’s good to keep a healthy suspicion around when and why these claims are being made. For many families, this Native ancestry can be a kind of romantic ideation fed down through generations, however paradoxical that might be to the discrimination still experienced by indigenous communities to this day.
It’s important to note that it is one thing to have some Native American blood in your ancestry, and a whole other to consider yourself Native American, or even partly so. One should also consider that it's likely that many of these ancestral relations have violent connotations, which is part of the reason why it takes more than just some Native blood in you to claim membership to a tribe.
Click through to see a list of stars who have self-identified Native American ancestry based on their parents or grandparents, or sometimes even DNA tests, and who have publicly claimed it in some way, shape, or form.