Three Affiliated Tribes to Vote on Enrollment Amendment

On Election Day next month, members of the Three Affiliated Tribes will vote on whether to change the requirement for tribal enrollment, as reported by The Minot Daily News on Oct. 10.

Specifically, the amendment that will be voted on would prohibit lineal descendency. Only those with at least one-eighth Hidatsa, Mandan and/or Arikara blood would be allowed enrollment.

The Three Affiliated Tribes, based in North Dakota, have around 12,000 enrolled members, but many of them live off the reservation.

Saginaw Chippewa Reviewing Enrollment Records

The Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Council’s decision last week to review its tribal enrollment records has some members on edge over possible disenrollments, though a spokesperson for the council refused to comment on the issue. 

The Morning Sun reports that the Council adopted a motion with a vote of 6 to 5 to "disenroll on the basis of the 1939 roll, no roll, improper document," but no one would explain exactly what that meant.

San Pasqual Cannot Eject Members

The Bureau of Indian Affairs says the San Pasqual Indian Band cannot eject about 60 members, but the tribe can appeal the decision about the disputed members' ancestry. 

Though many tribes determine membership issues on their own, the San Pasqual's constitution gives the BIA that authority. It's unclear what the decision means to an ongoing tribal leadership split that is threatening the tribe's government and its ability to operate the Valley View Casino.

Read more about it here.

Banishment Case in Federal Court

Nine people banished from the Snoqualmie Tribe are awaiting a decision by U.S. District Court Judge James L. Roberts on whether the tribe violated their civil rights when it ousted them this past April. The ousted members charge that their banishment is an effort by some within the tribe to control the distribution of per cap payments. The tribes new casino is scheduled to open in about two months. The tribe alleges that the nine were involved in forming a shadow government. Roberts agreed to hear the case even though the tribe argued that it was an internal tribal matter and subject to federal jurisdiction. Read more here.

San Pasqual Band denies some per cap payments; plans evictions

A long-simmering dispute within a California Indian band boiled over this weekend when the tribe withheld casino profit checks from about 50 people, claiming that one of their ancestors was adopted and that as a result, they're not really Indians.

The San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, which operates the recently expanded Valley View Casino, also fired several people from tribal jobs and leadership positions after questioning their membership and said it would evict them from homes on tribal land. Read more about it here.

Snoqualmie Banish Former Chairman

The Snoqualmie Tribe has banished former Chairman Bill T. Sweet and several of his family members, among other supporters, according to Indian Country Today. The decision was made final during a closed-door general membership meeting at the Issaquah Hilton April 28. In addition to voting on the banishments, the tribal council announced that the 43 individuals purged from the rolls failed to meet the blood quantum requirement for membership. According to a tribal press release, some members have already appealed the decision, while others have accepted it.

Councilmember and Chief Nathan Patrick Barker said that Sweet and some of his supporters recently attempted to seize control of bank accounts, shut down health and social programs, fire the entire staff and reach out to the BIA in an effort to receive backup on the effort. They are accused of running a ''shadow government.'' For Sweet’s side of the story check this article on Reuters.