I was born Choctaw and have lived in tribal community my entire life. The Dawes rolls are not perfect, but it is the only base, members of the Five Civilized Tribes have to prove lineage to an ancestor/ancestors on the rolls, to satisfy the requirements of the federal governments as well as their respective tribal membership departments. I believe errors were made by the Dawes Commission in recording the blood quantum of some, including members of the same family. However, this as I see it is the best way to prove and or calculate quantum. This is an old argument. I have reason to believe that the tribal government which I am a member of, stands behind this method of proving Native American heritage. I had to smile recently when I heard my tribal council representative say to me in a discussuion about proving lineage, " James I was born Choctaw". I thought I had coined the phrase. Although alot of people disagree, and certainly we are all entitled to our little opinions, .. I endorse the requirment of blood quanum. James N. the Choctaw Nation