Tribal council tightens requirements for membership

A deeply divided Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Council has voted to change the requirements to become a member of the Tribe. In a 6 to 5 vote, the council voted to tighten the source of the Indian blood quantum requirement for members. The Tribe's constitution, adopted in 1986, requires that members be descended from a person on one of three lists compiled in the 19th century, or from a Tribal base role compiled in 1982, plus be at least one-quarter "Indian blood." The constitution does not, however, define what is meant by Indian blood. Early version of the Tribe's enrollment ordinance also left it largely undefined, and it was interpreted to mean descent from most North American indigenous people. The council then tightened that to define it as descent from a member of any federally recognized Tribe. The newest version, adopted at a special session of the Tribal Council Oct. 26, specifies that only "Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan" blood counts toward the one-quarter Indian blood.

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