Insight on the News: Fortune Hunters Shake the Family Tree - people want membership in Native Americ

One of the better ways to win at casino gambling, undoubtedly, is to arrange to share in the profits taken from wagerers. That observation has prompted an interesting sociological trend. More and more people, it seems, are discovering that they may be eligible for membership in American Indian tribes whose members share in casino profits.

The issue is cropping up nationwide. The Associated Press reports that membership squabbles among the Saginaw, Mich., Chippewas led to a dispute that involved a standoff with police. The matter now is in federal court. In El Paso, Texas, 10 families were evicted from a reservation when they couldn't prove a one-eighth blood relationship to the Tigua tribe. The Confederated Tribes in Oregon decided to tighten restrictions after a 40 percent increase in membership. They operate Spirit Mountain Casino west of Portland.

A complicating factor is the increasing tendency of sovereignty-conscious Indians to reject out of hand any "colonialist" formula for establishing tribal membership. Also called into question is the Indian tradition of a liberal adoption policy that allowed for conferring membership on whomever they chose.

Proof positive? The Chatfields of Michigan display documents they say qualify them as Chippewas.