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Circe Sturm approaches one of the most important issues in contemporary America - race and national identity. Focusing on the Oklahoma Cherokee, she examines how the Cherokee identity is socially and politically constructed, and how that process is embedded in ideas of blood, colour and race. Not quite a century ago, blood degree varied among Cherokee citizens from full blood to 1/256, but at the end of the 20th century the range is far greater - from full blood to 1/2048. This trend raises questions about the symbolic significance of blood and the degree to which blood connections can stretch and still carry a sense of legitimacy. It also raises questions about how much racial blending can occur before Cherokees cease to exist as a distinct people and what danger is posed to Cherokee sovereignty if the federal governement continues to identify Cherokees and other Native Americans on a racial basis. Combining contemporary ethnography and ethnohistory, Circe Strum's analysis probes the intersection of race and national identity, the process of national formation, and the dangers in linking racial and national identities.