Mia Prickett said leaders of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde in Oregon recently disenrolled 86 of her family members from the tribe, which operates the state’s largest Native American casino. Those removed will lose benefits including health care and housing, educational assistance and about ,000 annually in casino profits. “This is morally and ethically reprehensible,” Prickett said.
Tribal leaders previously said they have been reviewing the tribe’s rolls and enforcing new membership requirements in response to tribal members’ request for an enrollment audit in order to strengthen the tribe’s “family tree Stacia Martin, executive coordinator for the Tribal Council, declined to confirm the number of people removed or the exact reasons, citing the “confidential nature” of enrollment proceedings.
However, the Council had considered disenrolling the Prickett family for nearly a year, citing non-compliance with the enrollment rules. The family was disenrolled earlier this month after the Council, which governs the 5,000-member tribe, changed the enrollment requirements based on “emergency amendment,” giving authority to make disenrollment decisions to a special committee not associated with the Council.
Prickett said a family ancestor, Tumulth, was a chief who signed the 1855 treaty that led to the establishment of the tribe. She said he was unjustly accused of participating in a revolt and executed by the U.S. Army, so he is not listed on the tribe’s roll, which is now a membership requirement. Most tribes base membership on blood quantum or on descent from someone named on tribal census rolls or treaty records.
The family can appeal the decision to the Tribal Court and the Tribal Court of Appeals.
