{"id":322458,"date":"2024-11-28T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-29T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=322458"},"modified":"2024-11-30T01:43:08","modified_gmt":"2024-11-30T01:43:08","slug":"embracing-heritage-spc-brianna-hunters-choctaw-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=322458","title":{"rendered":"Embracing Heritage: Spc. Brianna Hunter\u2019s Choctaw Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n U.S. Army Spc. Brianna Hunter poses in front of the Murray State University newsroom wearing a hand-beaded necklace from the Mississippi Band of Choctaws in Murray, Kentucky on Nov. 25, 2024. Hunter is one-eighth Choctaw and serves in the Kentucky National Guard. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Andy Dickson)
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MURRAY, Ky. – Learning about self-identity and heritage is a struggle for many young Americans. Sometimes, it takes a special push from family, friends or your community to figure out who you are.<\/p>\n

Spc. Brianna Hunter, a Soldier with the 438th Military Police Company, 149th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, has always had her heritage present in her family. Hunter is one-eighth Choctaw from the Mississippi Band, whose main council is located in the Pearl River Community northeast of Jackson.<\/p>\n

Hunter, a senior at Murray State University and the editor in chief of the Murray State News, reflected on the importance of her blood lineage.<\/p>\n

That fraction of lineage is important for two reasons. The first reasons is to get a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB) issued by the Department of the Interior\u2019s Bureau of Indian Affairs.<\/p>\n

The CDIB lists the blood degree, or blood quantum, by tribe and contains information such as date of birth and the last four digits of their Social Security number.<\/p>\n

Blood quantum measures how much \u201cNative American blood\u201d an individual has. In this case, Hunter\u2019s blood quantum would be one-eighth.<\/p>\n

The second reason is enrolling to be a member of the tribe.<\/p>\n

The BIA does not oversee the tribe\u2019s enrollment process; that is up to the tribe. Each tribe also has its degree of requirements, including blood quantum, a descendent listed on the tribe\u2019s base roll, and many other criteria.<\/p>\n

According to Hunter, the blood quantum is problematic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Native American ethnicity is the only ethnicity in the United States that is recognized by blood quantum,\u201d said Hunter. \u201cLivestock and cattle are the only other things that are recognized by blood quantum.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunter\u2019s father was one-quarter, his father is half, and her great-grandmother is from the reservation, full Choctaw.<\/p>\n

Hunter attended powwows with her father, and Choctaw has always had some influence in her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a little kid. I was more of the spectators [because of blood quantum],\u201d said Hunter. \u201cNot like, oh, you\u2019re going to go dance and go participate in activities. We\u2019re here to watch and learn about the culture. I knew I was Choctaw, but I always feel like it wasn\u2019t reinforced.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunter has continued to research her tribe connections.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy, I think, fifth great-grandfather, Mushulatubbee, was considered to be the last great chief of the Choctaw Mississippi Band,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Mushulatubbee, according to mississippiencyclopedia.org, was a 19th century warrior who led men who supported the United States against other tribes. He also sponsored an academy in Kentucky that would help teach reading and writing in English.<\/p>\n

When it comes to Hunter\u2019s National Guard career, she doesn\u2019t find many connections to her lineage and military service. However, she concedes there are some similarities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen were highly valued in the tribes and often provided counsel for decisions regarding tribal affairs,\u201d said Hunter. \u201cWomen would assist in wars by feeding arrows to the men as they were in active engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunter added, \u201cChoctaw women have this stereotype of being aggressive, and I see that in myself in my work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunter\u2019s husband, Sgt. John Wayne Parish, also serves in the Kentucky Army National Guard. He is currently assigned to the 223rd Military Police Company.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe both deployed together to Kosovo in 2022, and he has just volunteered for another deployment,\u201d Hunter said. \u201cWith him being gone, yes it has been hard, but I understand the process and what is going on. I don\u2019t sit at home worried; I know and understand the expectations because we both serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, as editor in chief, Hunter wrote an article about her Choctaw heritage and what it means to her.<\/p>\n

Sgt. Maj. Naarah Stallard, the operations NCO for the 75th Troop Command, read the article and found her at drill.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked about the article and Sgt. Maj. Stallard told me, \u2018Just seeing your pride in your heritage, it makes me want to do better with my kids,\u2019\u201d Hunter recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the biggest thing for me or that anyone can do in claiming their heritage is to inspire others to claim theirs, too,\u201d said Hunter. \u201cBecause every culture is different and learning and claiming pride in it is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more National Guard news<\/a><\/p>\n

National Guard Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

National Guard X<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Army Spc. Brianna Hunter poses in front of the Murray State University newsroom wearing a hand-beaded necklace from the Mississippi Band of Choctaws in Murray, Kentucky on Nov. 25, 2024. Hunter is one-eighth Choctaw and serves in the Kentucky National Guard. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Andy Dickson) (Photo Credit: Sgt. 1st Class […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322460,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-322458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=322458"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":322461,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322458\/revisions\/322461"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/322460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=322458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=322458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=322458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}