DCI America

Tribal Enrollment - no matter what you may think about it, no matter how over or understated you think it might be, the best way to learn about how truly complicated it is, is to do the work yourself. Many people who have never worked in tribal enrollment on any level often complain about those who do. Why? Because on the surface, it seems like it should be a simple process. If the tribe's laws require a ¼ tribal blood quantum and lineal descendancy to one or more Base Rolls, then what is the problem? A simple math calculation and checking birth records should sum it all up. Right? Wrong.

The problem, I should say problems are multiple and complex. Let's start at first base - the Base Roll. Who in Indian country has a base roll that they are perfectly happy with? Well, in the more than 350 tribes that I have worked with on enrollment issues, I haven't found one yet. If Base Rolls are a problem, and everything flows from them, then imagine the consequences.

I work with a Base Roll where some parents are listed as having separate tribal affiliations, yet their biological child is listed on the same base roll as being a full blood of one tribe. Subsequent children of those same parents, who are not listed on the Base Roll, are calculated correctly - both bloods are used. The constitution states that the blood quantum listed on the Base Roll shall be used, so those children not listed on the Base Roll, have been calculated correctly and have less blood quantum in their enrollment records than do their older siblings who are listed on the Base Roll.

Then there is the problem of interpretation: When many early constitutions and enrollment ordinances were handed out to tribes by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, about as much thought went into them as what went into Indian Trust Funds' management - little or none. And what a given enrollment staff person interpreted as legitimate criteria for membership, according to their constitution, the subsequent staff persons may or may not have agreed with. As a result, different personnel within the same tribe viewed criteria differently. With often no direction from tribal leaders, who were in the dark about enrollment issues for a variety of reasons, many mistakes were made. Due to difficulties in garnering resources, records were often poorly kept and assumptions were made that only made things worse. Add in to the mix family relations, who I like and who I don't like, and then throw in gaming just for fun, and you have the present condition of tribal enrollment.

Many tribes are beginning to take enrollment very seriously and are doing something about it. Resource rich tribes are making the jump from placing enrollment at the bottom of their priority list to, well, maybe not to the top of the list, but certainly farther up - and not a moment to soon. Even tribes that are not resource rich are recognizing that this is an issue that will not go away and ignoring it will simply make things worse. Finding the resources to better understanding what your enrollment is all about is critical to the survival of tribes. Tribal enrollment remains the fundamental issue of tribal survival. No matter what criteria you come up with, and no matter how you legislate it, it is not about to go away. So doing it right is more important than ever.

And then there is communicating it to tribal members. Tribal members need to understand the complexities of tribal enrollment, and they can only do that through informational meetings; an openness by the Tribal Council, Tribal Enrollment Committee and the staff to always communicate enrollment issues honestly and with great patience.

And today, are things getting better? I think that when much of the fallout of what is going on now in enrollment passes, things will get better. There will be painful passages that will bring much needed order and organized systems to enrollment issues all around the country. Councils, committees and staff personnel are becoming more and more sophisticated and it is beginning to have a positive affect. The next decade will be very telling.