SKOKOMISH ENROLLMENT ORDINANCE
Adopted
by Resolution No. 82-48 (September 1, 1982)
Amended
by Resolution No. 91-05 (January 9, 1991)
Amended
by Resolution No. 92-83 (September 30, 1992)
Amended
by Resolution No. 09-025 (February 4, 2009)
Amended
by Resolution No. 09-126 (August 5, 2009)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GENERAL PROVISIONS
1.01.001 Title
1.01.002 Purpose
1.01.003 Definitions
ENROLLMENT
1.01.010 Eligibility
1.01.011 Powers of the Tribal Council
1.01.012 Enrollment Officer
1.01.013 Application for Enrollment
1.01.014 Minors and Legally Incompetent Persons
1.01.015 Actions on Applications
1.01.016 Appeals
SPECIAL PROVISIONS
1.01.020 Relinquishment and Re-Enrollment
1.01.021 Disenrollment
1.01.022 Adoption of Members
1.01.023 Confidentiality
1.01.024 Establishment of Paternity for Enrollment
Purposes
1.01.025 Severability
General Provisions
1.01.001 Title
This ordinance shall be known as the Skokomish Tribal Enrollment
Ordinance.
1.01.002 Purpose
The purpose of this Ordinance is to ensure that procedures for
determining whose names should be placed on the membership roll of the
Skokomish Tribe are clear, fair and efficient.
1.01.003 Definitions
(a)
“Descendant” means an individual descending from an ancestor, in any
degree, including direct-line descendants as well as collateral descendents.
(b)
“Immediate family” means parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents,
grandchildren, aunts, uncles and first cousins.
(c.)
“Indian” and “Indian blood” shall be defined according to the custom and
usage of the Skokomish Tribe. To assist
in determining the Tribe’s customary definition, the Enrollment Officer shall
maintain a public record of the types of “Indian blood” which have been the
basis for eligibility for tribal membership.
Enrollment
1.01.010 Eligibility for Enrollment
(a)
The following persons shall be eligible for enrollment in the Skokomish
Indian Tribe:
(1)
All persons of Indian blood whose names appear on the census roll of the
Tribe as of January 1, 1937;
(2)
All persons born between January 1, 1937 and January 12, 1966, to any
member of the Skokomish Tribe who was a resident of the reservation at the time
of the child’s birth;
(3)
All persons of at least one-fourth (1/4) degree Skokomish blood;
(4)
All persons of at least one-eighth (1/8) degree Skokomish blood and at
least one-forth (1/4) degree total Indian blood who are descendants of any
Skokomish tribal member.
(b) No
person who applies for enrollment and demonstrates his or her eligibility as
provided in this ordinance shall be denied enrollment in the Tribe. No person shall be enrolled as a member of
the Tribe unless he or she applies for enrollment and demonstrates eligibility
as provided in this section or is adopted as provided in Section 1.01.032.
(c) No
person who is an enrolled member of any other tribe, band or community shall at
the same time be a member of the Skokomish Tribe. Status as an at-large shareholder in a
regional corporation established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
shall not be construed as enrollment for the purposes of this Section.
1.01.011 Powers of the Tribal Council
The Tribal Council shall have the following authority and
responsibility regarding enrollment of tribal members:
(a) To
appoint and set the compensation of an Enrollment Officer;
(b) To
approve or disapprove every application for tribal membership made as provided
in the ordinance;
(c) To
authorize the removal from tribal membership rolls of any persons found to be
ineligible for membership;
(d) To
approve all application forms and other forms required in procedures
established by this ordinance; and
(e) To
appoint an Enrollment Appeals Board.
1.01.012 Enrollment Officer
(a)
The Tribal Council shall designate a tribal employee to serve as an Enrollment
Officer. Before the Council dismisses an
Enrollment Officer, it shall provide the Officerofficer a fair opportunity to
appear before the Council to hear and answer the Council’s reasons for the
proposed dismissal.
(b)
The Enrollment Officer shall have the following authority and
responsibility:
(1) To
devise and recommend to the Tribal Council application forms required in procedures established by this Ordinance;
provided that the form used for membership applications shall require the applicant
to prove, at a minimum, all information requested on the forms devised by the
Bureau of Indian Affairs;
(2) To
give application forms and information on application procedures to all persons
who wish to apply for enrollment;
(3) To
assist applicants for membership in locating and presenting in proper form all
information and supporting documentation required for a complete application;
(4) To
review and verify the accuracy of all information provided by applicants and to
initially determine which applicants meet the requirements for enrollment;
(5) To
bring each membership application and all information regarding the applicants
eligibility for recommendation to the Tribal Council.
(6) To
notify the Bureau of Indian Affairs of all persons accepted for enrollment or
disenrolled by the Tribal Council;
(7) To
keep a current list of persons enrolled in the Skokomish Tribe and of
enrollment numbers assigned by the BIA;
(8) To
bring before the Tribal Council any information which indicates that a person
enrolled in the Tribe is not eligible for tribal membership;
(9) To
report annually to the Tribal Council and the general membership the number of
persons enrolled, disenrolled and deceased during the preceding year;
(10)
To keep and to protect the confidentiality of all records pertaining to
applicants’ and enrolled members' eligibility;
(11)
To maintain a public record of the types of Indian blood which have been
the basis for eligibility for tribal membership.
1.01.013 Application for Enrollment
(a)
Every person who wishes to enroll in the Skokomish Tribe shall apply for
enrollment in writing on forms approved by the Tribal Council.
(b)
Applicants who are enrolled in any other Indian Tribe, nation, community
or band shall relinquish their membership by completing a relinquishment form
provided by the Enrollment Officer and submitting it with the Skokomish
Membership Application.
(c)
Every applicant shall submit a copy of his or her birth
certificate. The Enrollment Officer may
require additional documentation as necessary to verify or complete information
required in the application.
(d) It
shall be the responsibility of the applicant to keep the Enrollment Officer
informed of the applicant’s current address.
1.01.014 Minors and Legally Incompetent Persons
(a)
Persons who apply for enrollment or who relinquish their membership in
the Skokomish Tribe shall be at least eighteen (18) years old; provided that a
minor may be enrolled or may have his or her membership relinquished upon
application of a parent who has legal custody or a legal guardian. If the Enrollment Officer is presented with a
question or dispute regarding whether a parent has legal custody, the matter
shall be referred to the Tribal Council for decision. In exceptional circumstances, the Tribal
Council may permit a minor no younger than twelve (12) to apply for membership
on his or her own behalf.
(b) An
adult person who has been found by a court of law to be legally incompetent may
be enrolled or may have his or her membership relinquished upon application of
his or her legal guardian.
1.01.015 Action on Applications
(a)
Upon receipt of a completed membership application, the Enrollment Officer
shall determine the applicant's eligibility and shall submit his or her recommendation and a summary of the
information and evidence upon which it is based to the Tribal Council at the
first opportunity. In no event shall the
application be presented to the Tribal Council later than six (6) months after
the Enrollment Officer has received a complete application from the applicant.
(b)
The Tribal Council shall review the application, the Enrollment Officer’s
recommendation and other pertinent materials at a regular Tribal Council
meeting in a manner designed to preserve confidentiality and it shall, by
written resolution, accept or deny the application or it may refer the
application back to the Enrollment Officer for further documentation.
(c) An
applicant shall be considered an enrolled member of the Tribe upon the Tribal
Council’s approval of his or her application.
(d) As
soon as possible after the Tribal Council’s decision, the Enrollment Officer
shall provide all applicants with written notice of the Tribal Council’s
action. For each application that is approved,
the Officer shall place the name of the new member on the tribal roll and
notify the BIA of the name of the new member.
1.01.016 Appeals
(a)
There shall be no appeals of Tribal Council decisions regarding
enrollment of members except as provided in this Section.
(b)
When the Tribal Council denies an application for membership, the
applicant may:
(1)
Submit to the Enrollment Officer at any time any evidence he or she
believes is relevant to a reconsideration of his or her application, in which
case, the Enrollment Officer shall reopen the applicant’s file and proceed as
provided in this Ordinance.
(2)
Request adoption by the General Council as provided in Section 1.01.032.
(c)
When the Tribal Council approves an application and the Enrollment Officer
has recommended that the application be denied because the applicant is not
eligible for tribal membership, the Enrollment Officer may begin disenrollment
proceedings as provided in Section 1.01.031.
(1)
Upon request of the Enrollment Officer, the Tribal Council shall appoint
and notify an Enrollment Appeals Board which shall consist of the Tribal
Council Chairman, tribal Enrollment Officer, tribal judge, (BIA Specialist not authorized to participate,
name another individual?) and a tribal elder.
No member of the Enrollment Appeals Board shall be a member of the
immediate family or household of the applicant.
(2)
The Enrollment Officer shall notify the applicant by certified mail of
the action taken by the Tribal Council, the date, time and place of the
hearing, that the applicant may present evidence on his or her behalf or may be
represented by an attorney or another person and that any new evidence not
already submitted with his or her application must by submitted to the Enrollment
Officer at east five (5) days before the hearing date.
(3) At
the Enrollment Appeals Board hearing, a member of the Tribal Council shall
present a summary of the Tribal Council’s determinations and the evidence on
which it is based. The applicant or his
or her representative shall have an opportunity to present any evidence which
has first been submitted to the Enrollment Officer as provided in subsection
(2) above.
(4) If
the Enrollment Appeals Board upholds the Tribal Council’s decision, the
applicant shall become an enrolled member of the tribe at the conclusion of the
appeal hearing, and the Enrollment Officer shall place his or her name on the
tribal roll and notify the BIA.
Special Provisions
1.01.020 Relinquishment and Re-Enrollment
(a) A
relinquishment of membership in the Skokomish Tribe shall not be accepted
unless the person is granted membership in another tribe.
(b)
Any adult individual who relinquishes his or her enrollment in the
Skokomish Tribe after June 30, 1992, will subsequently be denied re-enrollment
privileges into the Skokomish Tribe. An
adult individual who has relinquished his or her enrollment in the Skokomish
Tribe prior to June 30, 1992, has until June 30, 1993 to exercise the privilege
of re-enrollment in the Skokomish Tribe, after which time such individuals will
be denied re-enrollment privileges.
(1)
This limitation shall not apply to relinquishment of a minor’s
membership in the Skokomish Tribe. If a
minor’s membership in the Skokomish Tribe has been relinquished, that
relinquishment shall not count as the first relinquishment for purposes of
subsection (b) above.
(c)
Application for re-enrollment shall follow the same procedures as other
applications for enrollment under this ordinance.
1.01.021 Disenrollment
(a) The
Enrollment Officer shall correct and update the membership roll as necessary by
removing the names of persons who have died, have relinquished their tribal
membership, or have been disenrolled by action of the Tribal Council.
(b)
The Tribal Council shall have the power to remove from the roll the
names of persons who are found to be ineligible for tribal membership. The Council shall re-examine an enrollee's
eligibility for membership under the following circumstances:
(1)
When the tribal roll is corrected to remove a parent or ancestor of the
member or to change the Indian blood quantum of the member’s parent or
ancestor.
(2)
When the Council, Enrollment Officer or the member receive new
information which may affect the member’s eligibility.
(3)
When the Council or the Enrollment Officer has reason to believe that an
application for membership contained false information.
(c)
Any person who has information which could result in the disenrollment
of a tribal member shall present the information in a written, signed statement
to the Enrollment Officer. Upon request
of the person presenting the information, the Enrollment Officer shall keep his
or her name confidential.
(d)
Upon request of the Enrollment Officer or upon its own action, the Tribal
Council shall appoint and notify an Enrollment Appeals Board to hear the issue
of the member’s disenrollment and to recommend action to the Tribal Council.
(e)
The Enrollment Appeals Board shall consist of the Tribal Council
Chairman, a tribal elder, the tribal judge and the tribal Enrollment Officer. No member of the Enrollment Appeals Board
shall be a member of the immediate family or household of the applicant.
(f)
The Enrollment Officer shall notify the member concerned by certified
mail that the Tribal Council has information which may require the member’s
disenrollment, furnish the member with that information, and notify him or her
of the date, time and place of the Enrollment Appeals Board hearing and that he
or she may present evidence on his or her behalf or may be represented by an
attorney or another person.
(g)
The Enrollment Appeals Board shall hear evidence presented by the member
and any other persons and it shall
determine whether, in light of the evidence, the member’s ineligible for tribal
membership. The Board shall prepare a
summary of its findings for the Tribal Council and it shall recommend to the
Tribal Council whether or not the member should be disenrolled.
(h)
The Tribal Council shall make the final decision regarding the member’s
disenrollment. If the Tribal Council
votes to disenroll a member, the Enrollment Officer shall remove the person’s
name from the tribal roll and notify the BIA of the Tribal Council’s action.
1.01.022 Adoption of Members
(a) By
majority vote, the General Council may adopt into tribal membership any person
with Indian blood who:
(1) Is
related by blood or marriage to a Skokomish Tribal Member; or
(2) Has
resided in
No person has a right to be adopted into
membership.
(b)
Upon receipt of a written request signed by an enrolled member of the
tribe, the General Council may vote by a show of hands at a regular meeting
whether to consider the adoption of a person named in the request. If the General Council votes to consider the
proposed adoption, the issue shall be on the ballot at the next tribal
election.
(c) A
person adopted into tribal membership as provided in the ordinance shall be
entitled to all the rights and privileges of enrolled tribal members but those
rights and privileges shall not extend to or be transferable to descendants of
the adopted member unless those descendants are otherwise entitled to be
enrolled as tribal members.
1.01.023 Confidentiality
(a)
The official roll of Skokomish tribal members shall be a public record
for inspection by any interested person.
(b)
Applications for enrollment and all records pertaining to applicants’
and enrolled members’ eligibility for membership shall be confidential. No person, except the Enrollment Officer,
Tribal Council members and the Enrollment Appeals Board may examine records
other than his or her own without Tribal Council permission.
(c)
Paternity proceedings under this Ordinance shall be protected as
confidential and may not be used in establishing child support or any other
right or procedure except determining blood quantum as it relates to
eligibility for enrollment.
1.01.024 Establishment of Paternity for Enrollment Purposes
(a)
Proof of Paternity.
Proof of paternity may be necessary to
determine eligibility for enrollment.
The Enrollment Officer will generally accept the following as proof of
paternity:
(1)
The child's birth certificate with the father’s name indicated and
signed by the father;
(2) An
affidavit of paternity signed before the Enrollment Officer by the mother and
father (the parents don’t have to be present at the time); or
(3) An
order establishing paternity entered by the
(b)
Enrollment OfficerMay Require Court Ordered Paternity.
If the Enrollment Officer has reason to
believe that either the birth certificate or the affidavit under subsections
(1) and (2) above are irregular or unreliable, in any way, the Officer may
require the applicant(s) to establish paternity in the
(c)
Court Procedures to Establish Paternity.
The following procedure shall apply in
paternity cases filed in the
(1)
Jurisdiction of the Court.
The
(2)
Who May File.
A child, a child’s legal guardian, the
child’s natural mother, an alleged father of a child, or the Skokomish Indian
Tribe may file a petition requesting the Court to establish paternity. The natural mother and an alleged father may
file jointly. The term “child” includes
adults who are seeking to have their parentage determined.
(3)
Rules of Court Apply.
Proceedings under this Ordinance are civil
actions and are governed by applicable sections of Title 3 of the laws of the
Skokomish Indian Tribe, except where this Ordinance provides a rule to the
contrary.
(4)
Petition.
A petition to establish paternity shall
contain:
(A)
The names, ages, addresses, and tribal affiliations, if any, of the
natural mother, the alleged father(s), the child, and of all others who have
legal rights of custody, visitation, or support of the child;
(B)
The marital status of the natural mother and the alleged father(s);
(C)
The consent, if any, of the natural mother and the alleged father to
establish the alleged father as the natural father of the child; and
(D) A
certified copy of the child’s birth certificate shall be attached to the
petition.
(5) Notice.
The biological mother and each man alleged to
be the natural father shall be notified of the petition and all hearings and
shall be given an opportunity to be heard.
(6)
Hearing.
(i)
The mother of the child and the alleged father(s) may be compelled to
testify at the hearing.
(ii)
Testimony of a physician concerning the medical circumstances of the
pregnancy and the condition and characteristics of the child upon birth is not
privileged.
(iii)
The hearing shall be conducted by the judge with no jury.
(iv)
All hearings shall be closed unless all parties otherwise agree.
(7)
Blood Tests.
If the alleged father(s) is alive and
available, the Court shall require the child, mother and an alleged father(s)
to submit to blood tests. An alleged
father may be excused from the requirement of blood tests if the Court
determines that there is no reasonable possibility that sexual contact occurred
at or near the time of conception. The
tests shall be performed by an expert in paternity blood testing appointed by
the Court. The cost of the tests shall
be paid by the petitioner(s). The Court
may order additional blood tests by other experts qualified in paternity blood
testing, upon reasonable request of a party, at that party’s expense.
(8)
Evidence.
The Court may consider the following types of
evidence in paternity cases:
(i)
Blood test results, including the impossibility or the statistical
probability of an alleged father’s paternity, presented by either expert
testimony or a written report, accompanied by an affidavit. The following types of blood tests are
admissible as evidence of paternity provided that the result of all tests, when
taken together, either exclude an alleged father or yield a statistical
probability of at least 95% that the alleged father is the biological
father: DNA, HLA (Human Leukocyte
Antigens), red blood cell enzyme, red blood cell antigen and serum protein
tests;
(ii)
Evidence of sexual intercourse between the mother and an alleged
father(s) at any possible time of conception.
(iii)
An expert’s opinion concerning the statistical probability of an alleged
father’s paternity, based upon the duration of the mother’s pregnancy;
(iv) Medical or anthropological evidence
relating to an alleged father’s paternity of the child based on tests which may
be ordered by the Court and performed by experts;
(v)
Reputation in the community as to paternity; and
(vi) Any other reliable evidence which is
relevant to the issue of paternity of the child.
(9)
Presumption of Paternity.
A man is presumed to be the natural father of
a child if he and the child’s natural mother were married at the time of the
child’s birth or if the child was born within three hundred days after the
marriage was terminated. The presumption
can only be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence.
(10)
The decision of the Court shall be final. The Court shall provide the Enrollment Officer
with a copy of its order.
(d) No
Statute of Limitations.
An action to establish paternity shall not be
subject to a statute of limitations.
1.01.025 Severability
If any section of this ordinance is held invalid it shall not affect
the validity of the remaining sections.
If any provision is held inapplicable to any person or circumstance, it
shall not affect the validity of its application to other persons or
circumstances.