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Tribal disenrollment

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the United States, tribal disenrollment is a process by which a Native American individual loses citizenship or the right to belong within a Native American tribe.[1]

Not to be confused with Detribalization.

Banishment and ostracization have historically been a means to punish wrongdoers and maintain social cohesion in Native American tribes.[2] Many tribes continue to reserve the right to banish individuals, despite legal challenges.[2]

Some Native scholars have argued that although belonging in Native nations was historically a matter of kinship, it has become increasingly legalistic.[1][3] Research found that nearly 80 tribes across 20 states have engaged in disenrollment as of 2016.[1] Some tribal leaders have stated that disenrollments are meant to correct tribal rolls and protect the integrity of the tribe,[4][5] and others state that disenrollments are politically and economically motivated.[1][6][5][7]

Article 9 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states: "Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right to belong to an indigenous community or nation, in accordance with the traditions and customs of the community or nation concerned." No discrimination of any kind may arise from the exercise of such a right. Article 33 of that UN states that "Indigenous peoples have the right to determine their own identity or membership in accordance with their customs and traditions."[8][9] Individual and tribal rights clash in the disenrollment context.

In the United States, it is entirely up to the tribes to determine the criteria and procedures that an individual must meet and undergo to be considered for tribal citizenship.[10] Tribal constitutions outline criteria for citizenship which can include minimum blood quantum requirements, residency, lineal descendant, or other criteria.[11] Many tribes who formed governments under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 have minimum blood quantum requirements.[11] Some tribes require genetic paternity tests to prove an applicant's claimed father is a tribal citizen.[12]

In 2016 a website called "Stop Disenrollment" was set up by Native Peoples.[13][14]
In 2017 it is reported that an estimated 9,000 members of 72 native tribes have been disenrolled[15][16]
In 2020 it is estimated that nearly 10,000 citizens of 85 [out of 574 federally acknowledged tribes] have been disenrolled over 15 years.[17]

Examples of disenrollment

  • Cahto Tribe Rancheria disenrolled 33% of members after casino opened in 1995.[18]
  • Cherokee freedmen controversy[19]
  • Chickahominy people family members who were phenotypically Black presenting or married Black partners were dropped from genealogies and membership rolls [20]
  • Chitimacha – Between 1904 and 1919, tribal members of mixed African and Native American ancestry were disenrolled from the Chitimacha tribe of Louisiana, and their descendants have since then been denied tribal citizenship.[21] The Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana gained federal recognition in 1916.[22]
  • Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde. In 2013, 86 descendants of Tumulth disenrolled because ancestor is not on the restoration roll; he was executed by the US Army in 1855[23][24] (Note: Disenrollment reversed August 6, 2016)[25][26]
  • Elem Promo Indian Colony – 132 members proposed for disenrollment[27] (Note: Disenrollment action withdrawn March 30, 2017)[28]
  • Hopland Band of Pomo Indians – 74 fully documented and legitimate descendants of a Hopland Distributee (Marian and William Wilder) were disenrolled for "errors in processing enrollment applications".
  • Luiseno Nation of California – 9 disenrolled[29]
  • Mattaponi have historically disenrolled members who were phenotypically black or married black people. They still today pass around pictures of applicants and reject enrollment based on phenotype. [30]
  • Modoc Nation, 15 individuals disenrolled[29] whose ancestors had left the tribe in Oklahoma and returned to Klamath, Oregon, in 1873[31]
  • Muscogee Freedmen, disenrolled from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in 1979, when the newly ratified constitution limited enrollment to descendants of "Creek by Blood" individuals on the Dawes Rolls[32] – filed suit July 2018 to regain citizenship[33]
  • Northern Narragansett Tribe made up of disenrolled members of the Narragansett Nation of Rhode Island[34]
  • Nooksack – 306 members "disenrolled" because of ancestor Anne James (George)[35][36][37][38][39][40][41]
  • Omaha Tribe of Nebraska – 15 members disenrolled for blood quantum[29]
  • Pala Band of Misson Indians – 8 members disenrolled for blood quantum June 1, 2011[42] total of 154 disenrolled[43][44][45][46]
  • Pamunkey had on the books until 2012 that they would disenroll anyone who married black people. They were almost blocked from federal recognition due to an inquiry from the Congressional Black Caucus. The tribe continues to deny citizenship to families who have been historically removed due to the "Black" law. [47]
  • Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians – 236 disenrolled[48][49]
  • Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi over 50 descendants of Jack Roan "disenrolled"[50][51][29]
  • Rappahannock people have a historical and continual practice of disenrolling and disavowing Rappahannock of Black phenotype and Black marriages. Their constitution, until recently, explicitly forbade marriages with Black people or disenrollment. One of the most prominent cases is Loving v. Virginia, where Mildred Loving was disavowed from the tribe because of the national attention on her black ancestry. [52] [53]
  • Redding Racheria – formal Tribal Chairman Edward Foreman and descendants "disenrolled" 2004 over question of mother's lineage[54][55]
  • Robinson Ranchiera of Pomo Indians (California) – In 2017 "...reinstated several dozen members who were disenrolled nearly a decade ago by corrupt tribal leaders who left the tribe millions of dollars in debt."[56]
  • Saginaw Chippewa – 230 members disenrolled on grounds of collateral descent[57][58]
  • San Pasqual Band – 60 disenrolled in 2011[59][46]
  • Snoqualmie – 9 banished and 80 disenrolled[60]
  • St Croix Chippewa – 10 disenrolled for blood quantum[61]

See also

References

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