A statement regarding the 2013 Enrollment Audit and Disenrollment from Tribal Chairman Reyn Leno

Over the years our Tribal membership, through constitutional amendments, has consistently pushed for tightening our Tribal enrollment. As elected officials, we took an oath of office to uphold our Tribal Constitution and the laws of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. In that same pledge, we swore that we would perform all duties required of us by the Constitution and the laws of the Tribe. For those reasons, we must move forward. This has not been an easy decision for Tribal Council. All of these issues have weighed heavily on each and every one of us. We cannot let any past errors override the clear language of the Constitution.

We want to remind our membership that there is a judicial process to appeal these decisions to Tribal Court and the Court of Appeals. We also need to be mindful that some people are waiting to be disenrolled so that they can be properly re-enrolled, expeditiously in the next enrollment period.