Projects
American Indian Community Data Profile, 2002
Namadji Youth and Elders Project Report, 2001
Forum Reports
1997 Fall: Tribal Sovereignty and
American Indian Leadership
1996 Fall: Tribal Governments: What will they look like in the year 2010?
1996 Spring: The Threatened State of Tribal Sovereignty
Tribal Governments in 2010 - Tribal Enrollment Discussion Group
Elliot Moffett, Director of Tribal Operations at the Minneapolis Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), facilitated the breakout sessions addressing tribal enrollment. In both session, he presented the complex issues in determining tribal enrollment.
A responsibility of the tribe
Moffet explained that tribal enrollment criteria are outlined in tribal constitutions. If an individual wants to appeal an enrollment decision, the process is addressed locally through tribal resolution or ordinance. The BIA will step in during the appeals process only if authorized by tribal constitution. A forum participant asked if the appeal process is working. Moffett indicated that the effectiveness of the process is an issue that tribes need to examine.
"Does it do any good to appeal to the DOI [Department of the Interior] since the BIA will just go back to the tribes [for the decision]?" asked one participant. Moffett answered that extensive resource and bureaucratic challenges face individuals appealing enrollment decisions] BIA appeals take a long time because of under-staffing and lack of resources. "The BIA does not have the staff to search for information," he said.
One possibility for overcoming this problem, he suggested, is for individuals to hire their own genealogists and/or review the records at the Federal Records Center, which can be accessed through a release. Yet, this is difficult because the BIA does not have the resources to authorize significant numbers of releases. Moreover, with government downsizing, the BIA no longer has a genealogist on staff. Compounding the problem further is the fact that individuals have a difficult time obtaining information from the BIA due to privacy rights considerations.
A participant asked if tribes need to re-evaluate policies within the tribal constitutions that leave open the ability for anyone to enroll? Moffet responded that it is the policy of the BIA not to intervene in internal tribal matters unless explicitly given that authority by the tribes. He indicated that one of the difficulties tribes are grappling with is establishing enrollment criteria and procedures. A current practice is to look to the policies of other tribes and adopt similar requirements. Moffett suggested that it would be better, although more difficult, to establish enrollment criteria and procedures by consulting with elders and tribal members.
There is tension surrounding the issue of tribal enrollment. Political and social connections to the tribe are more complicated than blood lineage. For example, one question is whether an individual has to live on the reservation to be a resident. Moffett suggested that the relationship to the tribe is more important than living on the reservation. The one thing tribes can do is to create guidelines that essentially state, "if you fit, you fit; If you don't, you don't."
Another participant raised the issue of blood quantum requirements and asked how it entered into intergovernmental affairs. "Why did Congress define who is an Indian?" he asked.
Moffett explained that Congress determines the eligibility for federal programs and may have defined blood requirements to limit the cost of federal programs. Blood quantum requirements also affect the services received by tribal members. For instance, education and housing entitlements for current members my be threatened as tribes open enrollment to new members. One participant added that mixed-bloods are more aggressive than full-bloods in demanding their rights.
Concluding Questions
As a final point, Moffett reiterated the fall forum's theme topic of the future of tribal governments. He predicted that the BIA's role in tribal matters will continually decrease. He also raised three fundamental questions for thought: "Should tribal governments be in total control of enrollment?" "What would the consequences be and would the U.S. accept this?" and "By having tribal governments determine enrollment, would that solve all the problems?"
In answer to these questions, Moffett suggested that tribal governments are closely scrutinized and are left with little room for error. The degree to which the U.S. allows tribal self-determination is a test of the foundations upon which the U.S. is built. In closing, Moffett proposed that we are living in exciting times. Indian people are getting closer to a type of tribal government that will work for them and they are looking for the connection of tribal government to their own people.
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