Biracial vs Multiracial

Congrats on your new baby!!! I had the same questions when we first adopted W. His birthmother is AA but said that she had Cuban and "Indian" heritage. We weren't sure if she meant Native American Indian or Eastern Indian. We later found out she meant Native American. She said his birthfather was AA but she didn't know his heritage. She would not name him so I have no way of tracking that down either. Hubby and I went back and forth alot whether to list W as biracial or multiracial. We were so confused. We listed him as Black and we did as much research as we could about Cuban music,food,culture so we could share that with him. I am part Cherokee so I am teaching him that too. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Well...technically I would imagine that all of us are 'multi-racial'. Most of us who are caucasian have ancestory in several different countries. However, you don't see 'German, Italian, Scottish" listed as options when you are filling out forms. You see 'caucasian/white'. So while I am sure my daughter has ancestory from various countries, she is 'caucasian and AA' since that is what her birthparents are...so we typically say she is biracial and I check both boxes on any forms we have to fill out. Honestly I would be a bit worried if I found out my child had Native American ancestry. I believe the laws in the US are pretty specific that if the child has any Native American relatives you have an additional process to go through prior to finalizing the adoption...and that includes getting approval from the Tribe. Honestly that is not always easy to do...in fact it can be so complicated we actually refused to be submitted on a couple of situations where there was indication that there was some NA ancestry. I don't mean to say that it scare either of you...just to be sure you are aware that if your child truly does have relatives from a NA tribe, there may be some additional steps in your adoption process.

Becky- I'm not sure about other places but in Ohio where my adopted son was born and Kentucky where I placed my first son for adoption the birthparent has to be an official recognized member of a tribe for that tribe to be consulted on the adoption. W's mother claimed no affiliation with a certain tribe. So we did not have to have that extra step in our adoption. W's adoption was finalized 1 1/2 years ago. Most tribes have whats called a blood quantum that must be proved before you can be a member of the tribe. Some tribes state that you must be 1/2 or 1/4 or 1/8th of whatever tribe they are to even be recognized. Some tribes won't let you be recognized if your Native blood comes from the wrong branch of your tree. For eample, my father's mother was 1/2 Cherokee. Her mother was full Cherokee and her father was Scots Irish. My grandmother, my father and his sister are all registered members of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee. However, the Cherokee denied myself and my brother official status because our lineage did not come from our mother's side. My father is considered to be Cherokee. I am considered to have Cherokee heritage. When I placed my first son for adoption, since I am not a recognized member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee, they were not involved in that adoption. I have seen people here through the years tried to adopt a child who was placed by recognized members of various tribes. It did add alot of stress to that process so I understand why you declined to be shown in those circumstances. The original poster needs to find out if birthdad just has heritage or is a member of a tribe so that all the proper chanels will be fulfilled for the adoption.

Just curious... what is the reason for this? Is it to preserve the existence of the tribe? or some other reason?

Thanks Gwen! We are very excited! I had the same thoughts about everyone being multiracial, and I'm probably just dwelling on it too much, lol. Becky, we are aware of the ICWA rules for NA placements, and that is also part of the reason that I want to clarify her meaning of "Indian". DH and I do not have any NA heritage, and the placing agency was aware of that. The agency's director and lead CW were on vacation by the time that we got involved (basically a stork drop situation) and that CW was the one who did the initial intake and counseling, so I'm hoping that she can clarify once she's back. Right now I'm running on the assumption that they would not have shown us if they thought there would be any ICWA involvement. Thank you very much for bringing this up though!

Thanks Gwen! We are very excited! I had the same thoughts about everyone being multiracial, and I'm probably just dwelling on it too much, lol. Becky, we are aware of the ICWA rules for NA placements, and that is also part of the reason that I want to clarify her meaning of "Indian". DH and I do not have any NA heritage, and the placing agency was aware of that. The agency's director and lead CW were on vacation by the time that we got involved (basically a stork drop situation) and that CW was the one who did the initial intake and counseling, so I'm hoping that she can clarify once she's back. Right now I'm running on the assumption that they would not have shown us if they thought there would be any ICWA involvement. Thank you very much for bringing this up though!

Fe- In my case, the Cherokee believe that you belong to your mother's clan. Since my mother was not Cherokee I am not considered Cherokee. They also have a blood quantum requirement. So let's say my mother was Cherokee but she was only 1/16th. I still would not be recognized in the tribal roles because I would not have enough blood quantum. I'm not sure why they have these rules. They say it is their right to decide who can claim to be Cherokee. They generated a lot of controversy in 2007 when they revoked the citizenship of the ancestors of the african slaves that they took with them on the Trail of Tears to help them resettle when they got to Oklahoma. Since the Cherokee had relations with their slves like everybody else did, alot of those descendants had Cherokee blood from their mother's side. However, the Cherokee used the one drop rule against them and claimed they were black and not Cherokee and still revoked their citizenship. I believe some of them are still fighting about it.

Technically, 'race' and 'ethnicity' aren't the same, or not necessarily the same. I found out it's this huge debate! I have kids of mixed races/ethnicities, and I'm never sure how to explain it. We usually just mention the countries that the bio parents' families are from when it comes up in conversation and let people ponder on their own. However, on paperwork at the dr's office, etc., and on the census...phew! I check the boxes most likely to be appropriate (?) and figure that my kids know, and that's the important bit!

You are absolutely right that race and ethnicity are not the same thing...but when it comes to 'forms' they are sometimes mixed up! I do the exact same thing and I check any box that would appropriate describe my children. My older daughter is Guatemala...there is never a box for that. Honestly she may not really even be Hispanic...could be Mayan Indian...but again, never a box for that. It's very difficult!!!

Since "bi" means two and "multi" means two or more, multiracial would be appropriate, whether he is actually part Native American or not. Congrats on the baby! I am sure he is beautiful, as is my new biracial grandson!

I think some also interpret "bi" in biracial to mean of two races, regardless of percentage of each (i.e. not only 50/50.) Depends, therefore, on how you yourself define it.