Enrollment

Warm Springs Tribal Code
Chapter 120
Enrollment Ordinance 94

120.01 Legislative History and Explanatory Notes. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon on June 18, 1934 adopted a Constitution and By-Laws pursuant to Section 16 of the Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat, 984) as amended by the act of June 25, 1935 (49 Stat, 378) which was approved by the Secretary of the Interior on February 14, 1938, Article III of the Constitution, as amended, April 7, 1966, set forth the eligibility for membership into the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon. The purpose of this ordinance is to interpret Article III of the Constitution and to define and regulate membership into the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon in accordance with Article III of the Constitution of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon and to establish a fair and uniform enrollment procedure which affords due process of tribal law to all persons.

120.02 Short Title. This Ordinance shall be cited as the “Warm Springs Enrollment Ordinance.”

120.10 Definitions of Terms. For the purpose of this ordinance the terms below shall have the following meaning.

1. “Adoptee” Means a person adopted into membership in the Tribes by a majority vote of the members of the Tribes in accordance with Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution as amended, and who meets the procedural requirements contained in this ordinance.
2. “Adoption” Means the process of becoming officially enrolled as a member of The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon pursuant to the procedure set out in Section 120.800 of this ordinance.
3. “Annulment” means an affirmative action by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon to declare an enrollment void or invalid pursuant to Section 120.830 of this Ordinance.
4. “Applicant” means the person seeking to be enrolled as a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon.
5. “Automatic Enrollee” means a person who meets the requirements of Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution, as amended, and who meets the procedural requirements contained in this ordinance.
6. “Automatic Enrollment” means the process for becoming enrolled as a member of The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon pursuant to Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution, as amended.
7. “Base Role” is an original list of enrolled members in a particular year, as cited in Tribal Council Resolution No. 4301 and Resolution No. 10,933, used to determine the Confederated Tribes Indian blood of an applicant.
8. “Bureau of Indian Affairs” means the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the United States Department of Interior or such successor agency as shall assume primary federal responsibility for Indian affairs.
9. “Confederated Tribes Indian Blood” means the validated Indian blood of those who are listed on the 1940 or 1960 base rolls as specified in Resolution 4,301 and Resolution No. 10,933 adopted December 18, 1975, and September 12, 2008, respectively, and the Indian blood of any individual determined by attributing to such individual the Indian blood of predecessors or their descendents appearing on the 1940 or 1960 base rolls. In addition pursuant to Resolution No. 10,934, qualifying blood quantum for enrollment purposes may also be considered from neighboring tribes based upon valid traditional kinship and ancestral ties that can be documented and confirmed as traceable to legitimate treaty and pre-treaty family affiliations connected to the Warm Springs (Sahaptin or Ichiskin); Wasco, (Chinookan or Kiksht), and/or Paiute, (Shoshonean or Numu) people, (i.e. Yakama Indian Nation as related to Kiksht and Ichiskin bonds common to CTWS.) see Resolution No. 10,934.
10. “Constitution” means the Constitution and By-Laws adopted by the Warm Springs Tribe February 14, 1938, and all amendments thereto.
11. “Descendant” means lineal biological descendant of another person.
12. “Dual Membership” means membership in two or more Indian tribes.
13. “Enrollment” means the process of becoming officially recognized as a member of an Indian tribe.
14. “Enrollment Staff” means the staff of the Tribes’ Vital Statistics Department or such other Tribal departments as shall assume primary responsibility for administration of enrollment matters.
15. “Housing Department” means the Housing Department of the Tribes or such successor agency shall have primary responsibility for housing on the Reservation.
16. “Guardian” means a person appointed as legal guardian for a minor child appointed by any court of competent jurisdiction.
17. “Indian Health Service” means the United States Indian Health Service of the Department of Health and Human Services of the Federal Government or such successor federal agency as shall assume primary federal responsibility for delivery health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives.
18. “Indian” means a member of The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, or any other person of Indian blood who is a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe or any other person on the Reservation who is recognized by the community as an Indian, including a Canadian Indian and Alaska Native.
19. “Indian Tribe” means any Indian Tribe, Band, Nation, Rancheria, Pueblo, Colony, or community including Alaskan Native Village, or regional or village corporation which is federally recognized by the United States Government as eligible for special services provided to Indians because of the status of Indians. “Indian Tribe” does not include Canadian tribes.
20. “Parent” means the biological parent.
21. “Predecessor” means the lineal biological person form who a individual is a decedent.
22. “Relinquishment” means the voluntary withdrawal of a person from membership or enrollment in an Indian Tribe.
23. “Reservation” means the Warm Springs Indian Reservation occupied by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon.
24. “Secretary-Treasurer” means the Secretary Treasurer of The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon Tribal Council as provided in Article IV, Sec. 11 of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon Constitution and By-laws.
25. “Superintendent” means the Superintendent of the Warm Springs Agency office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
26. “Tribal Council” means the governing body of The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon as established pursuant to Article IV of Constitution.
27. “Tribal Member” means a person officially recognized as an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon.
28. “Tribes” means the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon.

120.100 Tribal Council Duties

1. Automatic Enrollment. Tribal Council shall determine an applicant’s eligibility for automatic enrollment based on the information provided by the applicant or the applicant’s parents or guardian and supporting verified lineal documentation provided by the Enrollment Staff.
2. Adoption. The Tribal Council shall determine if the applicant is eligible to be considered for adoption based on information provided by the applicant and the applicant’s parent or guardian and supporting verified lineal documentation provided by the Enrollment Staff.

120.200 Enrollment Staff. The Enrollment Staff will be responsible for receiving documentation and records from the applicant or the applicant’s parents or guardian that are required to determine an applicant’s eligibility to membership. The Enrollment staff will also maintain permanent files on each member.

Written notice shall be given by the enrollment staff to an applicant or the parent or guardian of a minor applicant of Tribal Council’s decision on the application. An applicant who fails to meet the requirements for enrollment shall be notified which requirements the applicant did not meet.

120.210 Enrollment Application. The enrollment staff shall make available an enrollment application to:

A Tribal Member parent, or guardian of an applicant who is under 21 years of age or,

An applicant over 21 years old or legally emancipated.

A Judge of the Tribal Court of the confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon of Superintendent who wishes to submit an application on behalf of a ward of the Warm Springs Tribal Court.

A completed application shall be accompanied by a certified birth certificate, a marriage certificate if the marriage is not registered in the Vital Statistics Department, a final filiation order of a court of competent jurisdiction when the parents are not married, certification of Indian blood, family ancestry charts on a non-member parent, and documents that show proof of temporary residence when the tribal member parent of the applicant did not maintain a residence within boundaries of the reservation at the time of applicant’s birth.

120.300 Automatic Enrollment. The requirements for enrollment as set out in Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution, as amended, are:

1. One-Quarter Confederated tribes Blood. One-quarter of more of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon blood. The Confederated Tribes of warm Springs Reservation of Oregon blood is determined as all validated Indian blood of Tribal enrollees who are listed on the 1940 or 1960 census roll, or that of the enrolled parents, or enrolled full brother or sister (See Resolution No. 4,301 and Resolution No. 10,933) in addition, pursuant to Resolution No. 10,934, qualifying blood quantum for enrollment purposes may also be considered form neighboring Tribes based upon valid traditional kinship and ancestral ties that can be document and confirmed as traceable to legitimate treaty and pre-treaty family affiliation connected to the Warm Springs (Sahaptin or Ichiskin); Wasco, (Chinookan or Kiksht); and/or Paiute, (Shoshonean or Numu) people, (i.e. Yakama Indian Nation as related to Kiksht and Ichiskin bonds common to CTWS.) See Resolution No. 10,934.
2. Tribal Member Parent. At least one parent must be an enrolled member of the Tribes.
3. Reservation Residence. Tribal Member parent maintains a residence on the Reservation at the time of the applicant’s birth. A Tribal Member parent of an applicant for automatic enrollment shall be considered to have maintained residence upon the Reservation if at the time of birth of such applicant the Tribal Member parent: (a) Actually lived most of the time within the boundaries of the Reservation, or, (b) Actually lived within the area coded to the United States pursuant to the Treat of June 25, 1855 (12 Stat, 963), and was either: (1) Employed on the Warm Springs Reservation, or, (2) Engaged in treaty-fishing activities during all available season; or, (c) Did not live on the Reservation because of the Tribal member parent was required to live off the Reservation due to: (1) Attending a formal course of study at an accredited college, vocational, or training school, or (2) Service in the armed forces of the United States, including reserves, or, (3) Employment with the Bureau of Indian Affairs or Indian Health Service, or (4) The parent or legal guardian caused such minor parent to live off the Reservation, or (5) Lack of suitable housing on the Reservation, provided that the Tribal member parent has been actively pursuing suitable housing on the Reservation with the Housing Department, or through other appropriate means, or (6) Professional or Technical employment that is not available on the Reservation.

120.320 Burden of Proof. The Burden of proof for establishing the right to enrollment into the Tribes is on the applicant.

120.400 Paternity/Illegitimate Children. Unwed parents shall file a petition for paternity and the natural father must be determined by:

1. A competent court determination when the father is a Tribal Member, or an Indian resident of the Reservation, including consideration of all medical and DNA evidence.
2. A notarized acknowledgment signed by the father when the father is a non-Indian.

Tribal Council will take into consideration all relevant fats when the father of an applicant cannot be determined or refuses to cooperate in the enrollment process.

120.500 Adopted Children. Only the Indian blood of the biological Tribal Member parent or parents of adopted children shall be counted.

Tribal Council reserves the right to review all birth records and adoption records when determining eligibility for enrollment of adopted children.

120.600 Review of Records. Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, the Tribal Council reserves the right to review all birth records and adoption records of the applicant.

120.700 Relinquishment.

1. Process. An adult Tribal Member, or emancipated minor, who wishes to relinquish membership with the Tribes in order to be enrolled with another Indian Tribe, or for other reasons, shall submit a written request to the Enrollment Staff. The Tribal Member shall be furnished relinquishment forms and his/her signature will be notarized. Upon receipt of the relinquishment form in the Vital Statistics Office, the Tribal Council may set a hearing date to meet with the Tribal member to be certain of the Tribal Member’s decision.
2. Effective Date. The Relinquishment must be approved by the Tribal Council and shall become effective upon the date specified by the Tribal Council. If Tribal member request relinquishment in order to enroll in another tribe the relinquishment approval by Tribal Council shall not become effective until the Tribal member is accepted for membership in another Indian Tribe. In the event the Tribal member owes debts to the Confederated Tribes, the relinquishment shall not become effective until the Tribal Member’s financial obligations to the Confederated Tribes have been satisfied. In order to satisfy the relinquishing Tribal Member’s debts to the Confederated Tribes, all tribal benefits payable to such Tribal Member such as per capita, special per capita and senior pension benefits, shall be applied to the Tribal Member’s debts to the Confederated Tribes until such debts are satisfied. Upon approval by the Tribal Council and expiration of the relinquishment’s effective date, the relinquishment is permanent and the adult Tribal Member requesting relinquishment may not later reapply for membership with the Warm Springs Tribes.
3. Relinquishment of a Minor. A parent of a minor child may submit a written request to relinquish the membership of the parent’s minor child. However, unlike an adult Tribal Member who relinquishes membership, a minor child whose membership is relinquished at the request of a parent may reapply for membership once such minor becomes an adult at the age of 21 years, provided that the person is not enrolled in another Indian Tribe.

120.800 Enrollment by Adoption. An adoption election will be held at the date set by the Tribal Council, which shall be during the first six months of the calendar year.

The basic requirements for Adoption contained in Article III, Section 3, as amended, of the Constitution are:

1. 1/8 Indian blood. The Indian Blood quantum of the applicant shall be calculated based on the blood quantum of the applicant’s parents.
2. Descendent of a member. An applicant must be a descendant of a Tribal Member or former member of the Tribe.
3. Resided upon the Reservation at least 3 yrs immediately prior to application. All applicants must have proof of residence on the Reservation for at least three years immediately prior to application. Such proof may consist of rent receipts, letters from Tribal Housing or Tribal Credit, local school records, Indian Health Service verifications, notarized statements of relatives or others. Such documentation shall be submitted to the Enrollment Staff.
4. Shall not be a member of any other Indian Tribe.
5. Must receive a majority vote of the qualified voters who vote in a Tribal Election called by the Secretary of Interior, provided that at least 50 percent of those entitled to vote shall vote in such election. The Tribal Election called by the Secretary of Interior shall be conducted under the procedures set out in Ordinance 44 (Warm Springs Tribal Code Chapter 20) rather than under the procedures set out in 25 CFR Part 81, which apply only to elections to adopt or amend the tribal constitution and by-laws.

In an adoption election, each applicant shall be voted on separately. Applicant will not be voted on as one block.

An applicant who leaves the Reservation or who has never resided on the Reservation and is, therefore, considered to be a non-resident shall be considered to have re-established residency on the Reservation if he or she continuously lives within the exterior boundaries of the Reservation for a period of 3 years immediately prior to the date of his or her application for adoption. Residency outside the boundaries of the Reservation but within the boundaries of the area ceded in the Treaty with the Tribes of Middle Oregon of June 25, 1855 shall not be considered as residency on the Reservation.

120.830 Annulment of Enrollment.

1. Grounds for Annulment of Enrollment. The Tribal Council may take action to annul, that is to say, declare void and invalid, the enrollment of an applicant for any of the following reasons. (a) The applicant was enrolled on the basis of fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation. (b) The person enrolled in another Indian Tribe knowingly enrolls in the Confederated Tribes of The Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon without relinquishing membership in the other Indian Tribe. (c) A Warm Springs Tribal Member enrolls in another Indian Tribe without relinquishing membership in the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation. (d) The person is a descendant of a person whose enrollment was annulled pursuant to subsection (a), above, and who dies not otherwise meet requirements for enrollment in the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon.
2. Process of Annulment. A decision of the Tribal Council to annul a person’s enrollment based on the grounds set out in subsection (1), above, must be based on clear and convincing evidence.

120.850 Dual Membership Prohibited. No Tribal member shall be an enrolled member of another Indian Tribe.

120.900 Appeal of Decision to Deny Enrollment. An applicant who has been denied enrollment by the Tribal Council, or the Tribal Member parent or guardian of such an applicant, may appeal the decision to deny enrollment by following the procedures set out in subsections (1) and (2), below;

The applicant or Tribal Member parent or guardian of an applicant denied enrollment shall initiate an appeal by filing a written statement with the enrollment staff seeking reconsideration of the decision based upon all available evidence, including new evidence not available with the original application, sufficient to show by clear and convincing evidence that the original decision to deny enrollment was in error. The Enrollment Staff shall recommend to the Tribal council whether such showing by clear and convincing evidence has been made and whether Tribal Council should reconsider its original decision.

In the event that the applicant or Tribal Member parent or guardian are dissatisfied with the recommendation by the enrollment Staff, they may present a written appeal to the Secretary-Treasurer, who may meet with the applicant, in the discretion of ht Secretary-Treasurer, and shall either remand the matter to the Enrollment Staff for further action or make a recommendation the Tribal Council as to whether the Tribal Council should reconsider its original decision.

If either the Enrollment Staff or the Secretary-Treasurer recommends to the Tribal Council that it should reconsider its original decision, the appeal will be scheduled for a hearing before the Tribal council where the Application or Tribal Member parent or guardian must show by clear and convincing evidence that the Tribal Council’s original decision was in error. Upon such a showing at a hearing before the Tribal Council, the Council may take action to reconsider and reverse its original decision denying enrollment.

120.950 Enrollment Committee.

The Tribal Council reserves the opportunity and authority to appoint a number of reputable elders that possess and can demonstrate knowledge of traditions, values, customs, beliefs, practices and their relationship to tribal family life, histories and lineages as they may relate to enrollment decision and appeals, to serve as an Enrollment Committee on an as needed basis. The validity, completeness, accuracy of some existing membership records may be incomplete and subject to question and/or correction to be a true record for determining membership now and in the future. The principle role of the Enrollment Committee will to review exceptional circumstances and requests, On a case-by-case basis. Using all available resources, records, testimony and other evidence to ensure proper interpretation and documentation of tribal membership rolls and supporting records. Tribal traditions and knowledge may differ within the three tribes, therefore, standing committee appointments may be unwise and impractical.