Table 1.

Definition of key terms as used in the manuscript.

Term	Definition
Blood quantum	A colonizer-created, metaphorical quantification of an individual's proportion of “Indian blood” implemented to limit tribal membership (20–23).
Ethnicity	The unique socio-cultural characteristics of groups.
Federally recognized Tribes	Tribes recognized by the US government and eligible for services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In North Carolina, only the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is a federally recognized Tribe (24).
Hispanic ethnicity categories, NC death certificates	No, not Spanish/Hispanic/Latino; Yes, Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano; Yes, Puerto Rican; Yes, Cuban; and Yes, other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino (25).
Hispanic ethnicity categories, US Census	Not Hispanic or Latino; Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano; Puerto Rican; Cuban; and “Another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin (11).
Indigenous	The original inhabitants of a territory that has been colonized by a foreign population (26).
Race	A social construct that identifies one's location in the social hierarchy based primarily on skin color (27).
Racial categories, NC death certificates	White; Black or African American; American Indian or Alaska Native (including name of enrolled or principal tribe); Asian Indian; Chinese; Filipino; Japanese; Korean; Vietnamese; Other Asian (Specify); Native Hawaiian; Guamanian or Chamorro; Samoan; Other Pacific Islander (Specify); and Other (Specify) (25).
Racial categories, US Census	Individuals who identify as White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or Some other race (11).
Racial or ethnic health disparity	A health difference among groups of people who have systematically experienced greater obstacles to health based on their racial or ethnic group (28).
State recognized Tribes	Tribes recognized by state government. In North Carolina these include the Coharie Tribe, Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe, Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, Meherrin Nation, Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, Sappony, and Waccamaw Siouan Tribe (29).