Tribal Council introduces proposed changes to Enrollment Ordinance

By Nicole Montesano

Smoke Signals staff writer

Tribal Council is introducing proposed changes to the Tribe’s Enrollment Ordinance, to ensure that if applications meet with administrative delays, they do not have to wait years to apply again.

The council approved the first reading at its Wednesday, Sept. 30, meeting.

A community input meeting to review the proposed changes is set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7, in Tribal Council Chambers. It will be a hybrid meeting and registration is available through the Tribe’s Facebook page.

Tribal Council member Kathleen George explained during the Legislative Action Committee meeting Tuesday, Sept. 29, that after the Tribe approved its constitutional amendment changing enrollment to lineal descent in Sept. 2024, the list of applicants for membership became so long that it will take years to get through. Under the current system, that means infant enrollment applications that get hung up in the administrative process and miss the six-month window go to the end of that years-long line. The proposed amendments would eliminate that penalty.

“More information will be provided much more clearly by our staff in the upcoming meetings, but we just want the membership to know that we’re learning as we live with our new amendments and as we implement them,” George said. “This is a big safety check, or a failsafe, in case there could be a mistake, we don’t want the burden of a human mistake that could be possible, even if rare, to negatively impact that infant.”

Chief of Staff Stacia Hernandez said that the proposed changes could also affect non-infant enrollment applications.

“If for whatever reason, they’re hung up in the process, we’ll be reviewing anything that gets hung up through this annual review process which we’re proposing,” she said.

In addition to the community input meeting, Hernandez said, the Tribe also will hold scheduled staff hours from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, in Tribal Council Chambers, to answer questions. There will also be a hybrid option for those hours. Registration is available on the Tribe’s Facebook page. 

Members can request a redlined copy of the proposed changes by contacting legal@grandronde.org.