In his recent Santa Ynez Valley Journal essay “Who is a Native American Indian,” Attorney Jim Marino addressed the vagrancies of “blood quantum” and “blood requirement” in determining claims to Indian tribe or band, membership and its benefits.

Attorney Marino spoke of “vague and incomplete historical records” based upon century-old BIA “Indian census taking” and “field surveys” that oftentimes form the basis of validating contemporary membership in the aforementioned Indian organizations.

With Marino’s comments in mind, let’s take a look at a local example of the use or misuse of blood quantum in regard to the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, in particular the blood lineage of the band’s current leader Vincent Armenta.

On April 1, 1934, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) conducted a census of the Indians residing on lands allowed for their use at Santa Ynez.

The total enumerated Indian population was 90. Later that year, on Dec. 15, 1934, a vote was undertaken by the adult members of the Santa Ynez band to decide whether or not to come under the aegis of the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA).

The purported results were, out of a total 90 adult registered Indian voters, 48 voted yes, and 20 voted no.

If the total BIA enumerated population at Santa Ynez was 90 — men, woman and children — how could there be 90 registered adult voters 21 or older?

Such a discrepancy leads to deeper enquiry.

When the names of those who voted were compared to the 1933 BIA census, after-the-fact hand-written alterations to individuals’ blood quantum were noted on this census concerning at least nine of the voters.

Previous to the 1934 census, these individuals were listed as having less than one-half blood quantum.

This change was subsequent to the April 1, BIA census and prior to the December 18, 1934 IRA vote.

According to the Indian Reorganization Act, in the case of non-recognized bands or tribes, such as Santa Ynez, a voter had, in part, to have to had at a minimum one-half Indian blood quantum to vote.

Two of those named, whose blood quantum raised by BIA in the months preceding the IRA vote, were Florencia and her daughter Eulialis Armenta.

Both women, as well as others so altered, were apparently satisfied during the three preceding BIA censuses to be identified at a lower one-eighth to one-quarter blood quantum level.

These hand-written “claims” were to assume an unsubstantiated reality of fact.

In the 1930 census, both women were cited as having one-quarter blood quantum.

The same appeared for both in the 1931 and 1932 BIA census.

However when the April 1933 census is reviewed, both mother and daughter now had one-half blood quantum.

Of interest to note was that on the April 1, 1934, census, Florencia was again cited as having one-half blood quantum, but a handwritten notation on the census document states she “claims F” (full).

Upon what evidence was her claim based? Why wasn’t she aware of this situation in the preceding years?

Did she suddenly have an epiphany of sorts that she was a full blood?

It was certainly not based upon the existing BIA historical and genealogical records held by the National Archives.

Florencia Armenta was now considered a full-blood Santa Ynez Indian, even though she was born at Senora.

Florencia (Pina) Armenta was born in 1892. She was purportedly the daughter of Jose Deserderio and Maria Antonia Pena (Florencia’s firstborn son was named Jose). Florencia and her family were, according to the Santa Ynez 1900 Federal Indian population census, from Senora (Mexico, New Mexico?), not Santa Ynez.

Given that Florencia was cited by BIA as having one-quarter Indian blood quantum up until 1934, the data suggests that Jose Deserderio’s parents had some Indian ancestry.

The 1910 Federal Census for Santa Ynez (Township #4) cites him as being one-half Indian.

Jose was born at Purisima in 1866, the son of Juan Jose Pena and Guadalupe Nachana Pena.

The ethnicity of either parent is unknown. Maria Pena’s mother was one Maria Solares. Maria Pena’s father’s Christian name and ethnicity are unknown.

His last name was Aguirres, a name not on any area regional BIA band rosters during this time period.

They were not Santa Ynez band members. She had no genealogical ties to any of the five families who were cited in 1906 as being legitimate descendents of the original Santa Ynez Mission Indian community.

Neither Jose Deserderio nor Maria Antonia (Aguirres) Pena, nor Maria’s mother (Maria Solares) and seemingly non-Indian father (Aguirres) were among the families mentioned as, or related to the “ … five separate and distinct families of the said Santa Ynez band or village of Mission Indians” identified by the Roman Catholic Church documentary sources as being the rightful descendants of the Santa Ynez Mission neophyte Indian community.

According to the 1900 Indian Population Census, Florencias’ entire family was cited as being part of, and born into, the Senora “Tribe.”

There was also a Jose Solares cited as a “Head of Household” in the same census.

He and his spouse also belonged to the “Senora” tribe.

Thus the family name Solares is not linked to the Santa Ynez pre-1900 neophyte Indian descent population, as depicted in 1906.

Neither Florencia Pina, her parents nor her husband appeared to belong to the Santa Ynez band.

The fact that Florencia was carried on the Indian Agency rolls as having a one-quarter Indian blood quantum prior to the 1933 alterations, suggests that possibly both her parents, or possibly just one had a low Indian blood quantum.

If Jose Deseriderio was her father and was one-half blood, then her mother must have been less than one-half for BIA to carry Florencia as one-quarter.

Florencia married a Spanish-Mexican man named Loretto (Loreto) Armenta around 1920.

The couple had eight children, one of whom was named Manuel.

Manuel is the father of the current Chairman of the Santa Ynez Chumash Band, Vincent Armenta.

Manuel appeared on the 1931 census roll as having one-quarter degree of blood.

In the 1934 BIA census, Manuel was still listed as having one-quarter blood while his mother, Florencia, was then claiming to be full (four-fourths) blood (BIA officially listed her as one-half in 1934).

How can a mother be a full-blood Indian, the father of her children be Mexican-Spanish, and their son only one-quarter?

On the other hand, if we follow the preponderance of evidence rule, Florencia had one-quarter blood quantum, her husband had none, Manuel, the father of Vincent Armenta, would be at best, one-eighth blood quantum.

Florencia’s son Manuel Armenta married Iona Selig, the daughter of German immigrants.

Vincent Armenta, was born of that union. Given that Manuel married a non-Indian, Iona Selig, their children (including Vincent) would have had one-sixteenth Indian blood quantum.

At this point in time (1940), there was no genealogical connection between this Senora-Mexican family group and the 1906 descendants of the original neophyte Santa Ynez Mission Indian population.

In fact, it appears that by 1940, there were no remaining descendants of the 1906 Mission Indian population remaining at Santa Ynez.

What were the consequences?

As a result of the 1934 alteration of Florencia Armenta’s blood quantum, she was depicted as being a full-blooded Santa Ynez Indian.

All her children as a result were then (1940) cited as being of one-half blood quantum.

Manuel’s son Vincent would be one-quarter.

On Feb. 7, 1964, the “Santa Ynez Indian Band” belatedly qualified to come under the 1934 IRA by formally instituting its first Articles of Association.

Membership requirements in these articles stipulated that a band member or his or her descendents had to be cited on the 1940 BIA census — completely ignoring the 1906 Mission Indian list — and that such persons have at least one-quarter “Indian blood of the band.”

Sans the unsubstantiated claims of being one-half or full blood by Florencia, none of her children and grandchildren would have met the second Santa Ynez membership requirement.

Mr. James P. Lynch is a nationally recognized ethno-historical research consultant.

He is the author of three books, numerous research publications, reports, and articles on tribal land claims, tribal sovereignty, tribal recognition, historical land title, tribal land into trust issues and tribal history.

He has also testified as a qualified expert witness on historical and anthropological issues in federal and state courts.

Lynch is the owner of Connecticut-based Historical Consulting and Research Services LLC.