Soo Tribe Enrollment Ordinance

Section 1. The following persons shall be entitled to membership in the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, provided that such persons possess Indian blood and are not currently enrolled with any other tribe or band of North American Indians, and provided further that such persons are citizens of the United States of America:

(a) All persons descended from the six historical bands (Grand Island, Point Iroquois, Sault Ste. Marie, Garden River, Sugar Island, and Drummond Island Bands) of the Sault Ste. Marie Chippewa Indians whose names appear on any historical roll, census or record made by officials of the Department of the Interior or Bureau of Indian Affairs.

(b) All persons enrolled on the membership roll of the organization, known as the Original Bands of the Sault Ste. Marie Chippewa Indians who are alive on the date of approval of this constitution and who are descendants of the original bands.

(c) All persons who may hereafter be adopted into the tribe in accordance with any ordinance enacted for that purpose by the board of directors;

(d) All lineal descendants of such persons as are described in (a), (b) or (c) above.

Section 2. The board of directors shall have the power to enact ordinances consistent with this article to govern future membership, loss of membership and adoption.

There shall be created the office of the Tribal Registrar, who shall have the duties specified in this Chapter, and approved by the Tribal Board of Directors. The Tribal Registrar may be removed from office by the Tribal Board of Directors at their discretion.

(1) The Tribal Registrar shall have the duty of maintaining a current membership roll in which shall be listed all persons who are members of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, whether by enrollment or adoption. The roll shall contain, for each person, a roll number, name, address, sex, date of birth, degree of Chippewa blood, total degree of Indian blood, and in the remarks column, name and degree of relationship of the ancestor or ancestors through whom eligibility was established.

(2) Information contained in the membership files of the Tribe is confidential. It shall be released only pursuant to this Chapter or to any subsequent resolution of the Board of Directors. Membership information contained in individual membership files may be used by the Tribal offices in the normal course of business. It may be released to agencies of the Federal government for the purposes of establishing an approved Tribal roll, or in support of an application of the individual for a Federal program if the information is necessary to prove the individual's eligibility for the program.

(1) There shall be established a Special Needs/Enrollment Committee, which shall be composed of the Tribal Registrar as ex-officio, twelve members appointed by the Board of Directors, and the Enrollment Secretary acting as Recording Secretary . District one (1) shall have five representatives, district two (2) shall have two representatives, district three (3) shall have two representatives, district four (4) shall have two representatives, and district five (5) shall have one representative. In the event that no interested parties are available, members will be appointed at large. The Tribal Registrar shall be a member of the Tribe, appointed by the Board of Directors. All other Committee persons shall be Tribal members. The members of the Special Needs/Enrollment Committee may be removed by the Board of Directors for good cause.

(2) The duties of the Special Needs/Enrollment Committee shall include, but not be limited to:

(a) to receive and process applications for membership;

(b) to investigate applications and the documentation furnished with them;

(c) to enroll applicants eligible for membership and adoption;

(d) to establish and certify blood quantum of members; and

(e) to notify rejected applicants of the reasons for their rejection.

(3) A Chairperson shall be elected from within the Committee and sanctioned by the Board of Directors. The Committee shall meet monthly or whenever deemed necessary by the Chairperson. The Committee shall establish its own rules governing its meetings and procedures for processing applications for membership, subject to approval by the Board of Directors.

(4) It shall be the responsibility of the Registrar and Tribal Chairperson to sign all membership cards issued by the Special Needs/Enrollment Committee, or the Board of Directors on appeal.

(1) All persons not on the membership roll of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians on the date of adoption of this ordinance who wish to apply for membership by enrollment shall submit a written application upon such forms as shall be approved by the Registrar. Said forms shall be available from the Tribal Registrar upon request, and shall be submitted to the Special Needs/Enrollment Committee for processing.

(1) All persons who meet the requisites for membership set forth in Article III, Section 1(a),(b) or (d) of the Tribal Constitution shall be eligible for membership by enrollment. The Special Needs/Enrollment Committee shall recognize that the historical bands have been treated under different names at different times. Eligibility for membership by enrollment shall be as set forth in §11.106.

(2) All persons seeking membership by enrollment shall file an application together with required documentation of ancestry and such additional proof that the applicant shall deem helpful. The burden of proof that the applicant meets all membership requirements shall be upon the applicant. Failure to supply sufficient proof of eligibility will be deemed cause for rejection.

(3) The Enrollment Department shall promptly examine the application to determine whether the requisites for membership have been sufficiently established. The Enrollment Department may request additional information or documentation from the applicant, and it may conduct investigations of its own. If the Enrollment Department is satisfied that the applicant has sustained his burden of proof that he meets the requisites for membership by enrollment, the Tribal Registrar shall enroll the applicant. If the Registrar is not satisfied, it shall reject the application and shall promptly furnish to the applicant written reasons for the rejection, along with notice of the applicant's right to apply for adoption and to appeal the rejection to the Special Needs/Enrollment Committee.