Disenrollment is an Existential Threat
In 1934, Native Americans were finally given the right to govern themselves without the meddling of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) when the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) was written. Appointed Governor of the newly purchased Washington Territory and Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Isaac Stevens played a key role in dismantling tribal kinships and social ties to the lands and other communities when he established and implemented constitutions for each Federally recognized tribe in the Pacific Northwest. Even though Native tribes were able to practice their sovereign rights through the Reorganization Act with the ability to distance themselves from the BIA, the seed had already been planted with the influence of colonial philosophy over our tribal governments. The colonization process opened the doors to a foreign practice that has devastated and put a real blemish on Indigenous cultural identities; and that method is called dis-enrollment. Tribal leaders need to deprogram our current governing bodies way of thinking and requirements of what it is to be Native bestowed upon us from what some called the President of the U.S. the “Great Father in Washington, D.C.”. And reprogram our structure to better suite the needs of what Indigenous communities and Tribal Governments are needing now and for the future generations to come.
Native Americans are the only group of people in the United States that are documented by blood quantum that is then used for tribal enrollment into a federally recognized tribe. The Indigenous population has been brainwashed into thinking it is a normalcy to have requirements such as blood quantum, proof of residency, proof of lineal descendants written on census rolls and proof of lineal through allottee descendants’ as part of their enrollment requirements. All Native communities need to work together to resolve the dis-enrollment crisis before it becomes status quo in native society. Each tribe must come up with new innovative ways like a modern clan system or redefine the requirements by incorporating the input of the tribe’s oldest elders or from the tribal members to define who we are as native people today.
In order to stop annihilating ourselves with our own hands and our outdates laws we need to understand why all these regulations were created and where they came from. Current attorney for the Nooksack 306 disenrollees, Gabe Galanda emphasizes, “Disenrollment is an existential threat to Indian people throughout the country,”. Galanda argued in a 2017 news article discussing the epidemic levels of tribal dis-enrollment, “The U.S. introduced its concept of who’s an Indian by declaring, under the IRA of 1934, that an Indian must be in residence in a reservation likely established by the treaties of the 1800’s and be one-quarter Indian blood.” (Hilleary, 2017) Was disenrollment created by the U.S government to cause tribal communities to divide and conquer themselves? It is rumored by countless local statements that certain families in Nooksack had quarrels with one another back in the 1990’s. This personal vendetta between two families is what started there process of dis-enrollment. This modern-day genocide tactic helped rid a little under 300 relatives from the Nooksack Indian tribe back in 2013 and the tribe and membership are still feeling the aftermath.
The Nooksack Indian tribe had two open casinos at the beginning of the start of the dis-enrollment process, but in 2015 their first casino was shut down after 22 years, due to numerous violations against the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. (Nooksack Tribe shuts down one casino amid financial concerns, 2015) There are negative results for both sides. For the tribe, they have numerous active RICO cases, membership who does not have trust, and shame upon the tribe to name a few. As for the disenrollees, there are many losses such as, payout, health benefits, fishing rights, pensions and scholarship opportunities. On top of that, individuals feel culturally homeless, stripped of their cultural identity, connection with the community, connection to each other, and more importantly the inability to be buried in their ancestral cemeteries alongside with their loved ones.
Historically, this removal concept of tribal members was not the ancestral ways of Indigenous people. Is it wise to continue to use the Federal government criteria to define who we are as a Tribal Nation? Before Native Americans became westernized, all tribes, clans, and bands used to identify each other by “social ties to other communities, including non-Indians, having remained the norm for members of these tribes.”. Having that kinship system in place, tribes linked everyone genealogically, through marriages, people you hung out with and individuals adopted within their community. Which created a “web of overlapping kinship ties.” (Hoxie, 1996)
Over the years, I have thought of potential solutions, the Nooksack Indian tribe could have pursued and possibly still could go down depending on who the tribal council leaders are and what they stand for. Amending the constitution and creating a tier system for the tribe; tier one: you will be enrolled into the federally recognized tribe, entitled to all the benefits and resources given to members. Tier two: enrolled into federally recognized tribe, entitled to fishing rights and gathering food in the traditional accustom areas. Tier three: enrolled into federally recognized tribe, entitled to health benefits. Tier four: enrolled into federally recognized tribe, but enrollment stops with individual. Tier two was partially mentioned and considered in a recent news article where a state judge, “dismissed the criminal fishing charges against four Nooksack 306 Members…” (State Court Honors Nooksack “Disenrollee” Treaty Fishing Rights, 2020) allowing the disenrollees to continue to exercise their rights as Native Americans.
Another solution involves using our sovereignty as Native nations. Nooksack tribal member, Thrisa Jimmy advocates that, “We are a sovereign nation, but we do not act as one. We look at the borders of other countries like Canada, France, China etc. and they have processes in place for people who live out of countries to become citizens of their countries. For example, if I wanted to become a Canadian citizen, I would follow their protocol for citizenship. This creates diversity and growth and jobs. This is how countries operate. However, if you do something to jeopardize your citizenship you could be deported and risk losing your citizenship. This is what we should be doing. It’s what has historically been done in our communities before colonization. If we had protocol to address this as other nations do, then we could have handled our situation much better rather than going after an entire family.” There are numerous disenrollees that have been so engrained into their communities, for instance, “Mia Prickett’s ancestor was a leader of the Cascade Indians along the Columbia River and was one of the chiefs who signed an 1855 treaty that helped establish the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde in Oregon.” (Disenrollment leaves Natives "culturally homeless", 2014) In 2014 her family line was being targeted for dis-enrollment because her family could not meet the new membership requirements. Native tribes need to come up with something along these lines to help guide us into the future working towards inclusivity. Luckily, after a three year battle in court, “the decision to disenroll the family was overturned by the court,” (Peacher, 2016) Russell Wilkinson, another spokesman of the Tumulth lineage stated “this ruling is incredible news that we hope sets a new precedent for not only our tribe, but also for all tribes engaging in the self-destructive practice of dis-enrollment. This is the first ruling in our case that was issued by Native judges—and that made the difference.” This victory of membership reinstatement gives a small sense of hope for other tribes that have practiced in the removal of their own can be reversed. But to what extent? Can the damage of stripping away someone’s way of life and identity from the disenrollees be restored?
Which takes us into one more solution, Native nations need to band together to create an intertribal Indian Country Supreme Court to hear all cases that need to be addressed at that statute. Essentially, Tribal matters are in between worlds; Federal courts close the door on you because you are a sovereign nation and you should have the ability to handle your own issues, and then Tribal courts do not want to hear their own dis-enrollment cases due to conflict issues in itself or in certain circumstances the tribal council could have unethically withheld the disenrollees due process rights at their own tribal court. (Dunaway, 2018) Disenrollees are ultimately left without an alternative way to move forward once dis-enrolled. As of March 2020, there are 574 Federally recognized tribes in the U.S. Out of all those tribes, the dis-enrollment process has already torn apart more than 80 tribes in over 17 states that have affected over eleven thousand relatives.
Native American language is one of the main ties to what it means to be Indigenous. Many Natives do not know their own language due to boarding schools being forced upon them and the requirement and inability to speak your native tongue without consequences. Still there are language warriors all over striving to make their tribes languages a comeback. To date there is no word in any native languages that describes the dis-enrollment process. (Logan, Galanda, Miller, & Wilkins, 2019) Mika Wilbur, Tulalip and Swinomish tribal member and host of a podcast where she explores what it means to be a Native person in the 21st century argued, “The impacts of colonialization have to be understood and felt…” when discussing the repercussions of adopting and implementing federal policies intended to control and ultimately erase Native society. Dis-enrollment is a non-historical procedure and is associated with family disputes, personal vendetta, gaming revenue, tribal corruption, sustaining power and wealth.
One might consider, banishment the same as dis-enrollment. But banishment or social exclusion methods were only used in extreme circumstances and if the individual was associated with crime, gang activity, drug activity and violence against native community. Today this topic is still very taboo, and as a society, we try not to bring it up at all. While this chapter was closed for Nooksack in December 2019, with the outcome not in favor of the disenrollees, the community knows who was not for the disenrollment by the way they are treated by the tribe today. Retaliation is a huge issue that comes along with disenrollment that everyone forgets to mention. Shedding light on the removal process of tribal members will give others like myself, a tribal member who votes for these types of amendments to their constitution, a clear understanding of what it truly means or how it will affect the lives of the disenrolled individual and the community.
People need to know that it is not okay to cast out other Native American’s for more money or to win a political war. I hope this essay will change the perspectives of people who are considering bringing disenrollment and its aftermath affects to their tribe and community. Like chairman of the California’s Robinson Rancheria of Pomo Indians, Eddie Crandell said, “Indian people, we’re such a small group in the U.S. we shouldn’t be trying to eliminate ourselves but embrace ourselves.” (Hilleary, 2017)
by Kristin Gray
References
Broadman, G. (2018, December 19). Nooksack 306 disenrollment conflict concludes year six. Retrieved from Indian Country Today : https://indiancountrytoday.com/the-press-pool/nooksack-306-disenrollment-conflict-concludes-year-six-gxm8VOt58U6ITgFIPVakeQ
Disenrollment leaves Natives "culturally homeless". (2014, January 20). Retrieved from CBS NEWS: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/disenrollment-leaves-natives-culturally-homeless/
Dunaway, J. (2018, June 12). The Fight Over Who’s a “Real Indian”. Retrieved from Slate: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/06/native-american-disenrollments-are-waning-after-decades-of-tribes-stripping-citizenship-from-members.html
Environment, C. o. (2020, March 25). Climate Impacts Group. Retrieved from University of Washington: https://cig.uw.edu/learn/
Hilleary, C. (2017, March 3). Native American Tribal Disenrollment Reaching Epidemic Levels. Retrieved from Voice Of America : https://www.voanews.com/usa/native-american-tribal-disenrollment-reaching-epidemic-levels
Hoxie, F. E. (1996). Encyclopedia of North American Indians. Retrieved from Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofno00hoxi/page/n4
Jae, J. (2016, February 11). TRIBAL DISENROLLMENT: THE NEW WAVE OF GENOCIDE. Retrieved from Native News Online : https://nativenewsonline.net/opinion/tribal-disenrollment-the-new-wave-of-genocide/
Johnson, G. (2016, November 23). Nooksack Tribe says it has booted 289 people off rolls. Retrieved from The Bellingham Herald: https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article116803683.html
Logan, C., Galanda, G., Miller, T., & Wilkins, D. E. (2019). Ep #10: Beyond Blood Quantum. 'ALL MY RELATIONS' PODCAST. Retrieved March 20, 2020, from https://www.allmyrelationspodcast.com/podcast/episode/49fcb76f/ep-10-beyond-blood-quantum
Nooksack Tribe shuts down one casino amid financial concerns. (2015, December 14). Retrieved from Indianz : https://www.indianz.com/IndianGaming/2015/12/14/nooksack-tribe-shuts-down-one.asp
Peacher, A. (2016, August 10). Tribal Court Reverses Grand Ronde Disenrollment Decision. Retrieved from Oregon Public Broadcasting: https://www.opb.org/news/article/grand-ronde-disenrollment-decision-reversed-chief-tumulth/
Saenz, M. (2020, March). Federal and State Recognized Tribes. Retrieved from National Conference of State Legislatures : https://www.ncsl.org/research/state-tribal-institute/list-of-federal-and-state-recognized-tribes.aspx
Staff, R. (2019, December 18). Examining Tribal Disenrollment: A Book Review. Retrieved from WASHINGTON STATE LAW LIBRARY: https://medium.com/walawlibrary/examining-tribal-disenrollment-a-book-review-4f09b098a1f2
State Court Honors Nooksack “Disenrollee” Treaty Fishing Rights. (2020, March 10). Retrieved from Last Real Indians: https://lastrealindians.com/news/2020/3/10/state-court-honors-nooksack-disenrollee-treaty-fishing-rights
Wiki. (2020, February 10). Tribal disenrollment. Retrieved from Wikipedia : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribal_disenrollment