For the Eastern Shoshone of Wyoming, you have to be at least one-quarter Native American to be a tribal member. That requirement could mean a loss of both population and identity. And intermarriage can also lead to a loss of federal benefits.
Amanda LeClair met Martin Antonio Diaz when one of LeClair's sorority sisters introduced them three years ago. At the time, LeClair was getting her bachelor's degree at the University of Wyoming and Diaz was working at a local restaurant.
'Well, when Martin first met me he thought I was Mexican; and so he was really like, 'Why don't you speak Spanish?' and I was like, 'I just don't, why are you asking me that?' ' says LeClair.
Diaz's family calls Jalisco, Mexico, home. LeClair grew up on Wyoming's Wind River Indian Reservation and is an enrolled Shoshone tribal member. That means she meets the blood requirement to be a Shoshone citizen. After the couple dated for a while, Diaz says things got more serious.
