Constitutional amendment removing BIA fails

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

A constitutional amendment to remove the Bureau of Indian Affairs from future Tribal elections has failed.

According to results posted on the Tribe’s website Wednesday, July 9, there were 453 votes against (64% of the total votes) and 260 votes in favor of BIA removal.

It’s the second time the Tribe has put the question of BIA removal before the membership. The first time they voted on this matter was in March 2015, with 381 voting against removing BIA oversight (62% of the total votes) compared to the 230 votes in favor.

Tribal Council approved moving forward with the constitutional election process of removing the BIA from its elections during the Wednesday, April 2, Tribal Council meeting. The vote was 5-2, with Vice Chair Chris Mercier and council member Denise Harvey dissenting.

Later in the process, council members Kathleen George and Brenda Tuomi also stated that based on concerns they had heard from the Tribal membership and the timing of the election, they were unable to support it.

It was stated that the Tribe was moving forward with the amendment process at that time in order to avoid having it conflict with Tribal Council elections in September.

Tribal Council attributed wanting to remove the BIA from constitutional elections because of concerns with Tribal members’ accessibility to vote.

A “Constitutional Amendment FAQ” stated that the Tribal voters were asked to consider removing the BIA due to timelines being set by federal regulations, resulting in the Tribe being unable to provide enough time for all Tribal members to participate and having a varied process from election to election.

Additionally, it cited a lack of BIA resources and staffing cuts, as well as agency employees who are unfamiliar with constitutional amendment elections adding “additional challenges in recent years.”

Tribal members have only agreed in sufficient numbers to four proposals to change the constitution: The 1999 enrollment amendment, in 2008 when they increased the relinquishment of membership from another Tribe from one to five years, in 2022 when they agreed to ban disenrollment actions unless fraud or dual enrollment can be proven, and when the lineal descendent amendment was approved in December 2024.