As host of the only national talk-radio show in the country that deals specifically with Native American issues and perspectives — a live call-in show — I sometimes get asked, "What happens if the guests bail out?" My reply is that I have an ace in the hole. I simply have to throw out the question "Who's a real Indian?" and the phone lines inevitably light up.

Native Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, aboriginal indigenous inhabitants of the Americas (whatever term you prefer) have a unique political standing when it comes to the rest of the citizens of the United States. Because of our tribes' unique political standing as nations within a nation based on treaties and the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court decisions and other federal laws, Indians have dual citizenship. This means we not only are American citizens, but we are also citizens of our tribal nations. So if you are an enrolled member of your tribe, a card-carrying Indian, you are by political definition a veritable American Indian.

But within the Native subculture itself, there is much debate about the criteria of determining who's a real Indian. And it is not always based on whether or not you are enrolled, or a citizen of a particular tribe. Politically and legally this can get you by, but culturally and socially, you sometimes have to revert to other means, depending on who's doing the questioning.

Often, individuals simply have to refer to their family tree to prove their Indian-ness when they're not enrolled. "My grandmother was so-and-so, or my father is from the such-and-such tribe." This is considered valid. Other times, your actions speak louder than any government-issued document or your ancestral heritage.

Let's take the case of Todd Palin, the husband of Republican vice-presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. When it was announced that Gov. Palin would be on the McCain ticket, and then it was publicized that her husband was Native because he had a Yup'ik (Eskimo) grandmother, I imagined Indian eyebrows being raised throughout the land. Is this guy really Native? How much Native blood does he have? Where is he enrolled? Why is it being written that he is an Alaska Native descendant? Hmmm.

I've learned a few things over the years when it comes to trying to figure out the degree of one's Indian-ness, or one's Native-ness; go to the source. This is usually where the moccasins meet the road, or in this case, where the mukluks meet the snow. If someone claims to be an Indian and says they're from Taos Pueblo, and the majority of people say "never heard of him" or "he's not from here," it makes you wonder.

Here's my verdict. Although I've heard some who say that yes, Todd Palin does have a connection to his grandmother's Yup'ik people, the overwhelming majority of Alaska Natives and the Yup'iks that I know personally, do not feel that he has maintained any ties to his Native heritage.

In fact, they have been adamant in trying to make the case that he and his wife do not support Native rights in any way, shape or form. Much is being made in Indian Country about Gov. Palin going to court in opposition of Alaska Native subsistence fishing and hunting rights, and losing.

What does this say about who's a real Indian? First and foremost, you have to remain connected to your tribe and to your tribal family; that's your first line of defense. If you don't have their support, you are likely to be viewed as a fraud. Second, support fundamental tribal rights because in the end your actions speak louder than the words of others.

Harlan McKosato, a Sauk/Ioway, is host of the syndicated radio talk show Native America Calling, which airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on KUNM, 89.9FM.