16 retain Tribal membership

Sixteen Tribal members who saw their enrollment cases sent back to the Enrollment Committee in mid-August for reconsideration were retained in the Tribe during the Dec. 30 Tribal Council meeting.

In mid-August, Tribal Council voted to disenroll 13 Tribal members because the members ran afoul of the Tribal Constitution's provision forbidding dual enrollment in another federally recognized Tribe. Tribal Council also sent 17 cases involving possible dual enrollment back to the Enrollment Committee for reconsideration. One of those 17 Tribal members has since walked on.

After rehearing the cases, the Enrollment Committee endorsed its original decisions, recommending the 16 Tribal members for disenrollment for violating the dual enrollment clause.

But in a series of 5-3 votes, Tribal Council voted to retain all as members.

Tribal Council Secretary Toby McClary said he voted to keep the 16 as members because his interpretation of the Tribal Constitution convinced him that they had fulfilled their obligation by relinquishing membership in another Tribe.

"I believe that these folks don't have any control over when they are relinquished and when they are enrolled," he said about when another Tribe might act on a written request for relinquishment. "I think that their responsibility was to submit relinquishment in writing and I believe that they were in compliance with the Tribe's Constitution."

McClary joined Tribal Council members Denise Harvey, Kathleen Tom, Cheryle A. Kennedy and Jon A. George in voting to retain the 16 members.

Tribal Council Chair Reyn Leno said afterward that there are differing interpretations of the Tribal Constitution that will eventually have to be settled by the Tribal membership regarding the dual enrollment wording. "We need a clean interpretation," he said.

In response to a question, Assistant Tribal Attorney Kimberly D'Aquila said the Dec. 30 vote would not affect the 13 people who were disenrolled in August for violating the dual membership clause.

In other action, Tribal Council approved the agenda for the Jan. 5 General Council meeting held in the Tribal Community Center.

Tribal members and Land & Culture Department employees Jordan Mercier, David Harrelson, Brian Krehbiel and Eirik Thorsgard and Tribal Council member Jon A. George performed the cultural drumming to open the meeting.