And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: [Note: In a phone call received Friday, it was noted that this interim council is illegal. the BIA has stepped far beyond its powers by appointing a tribal council...Ish] Chiefs assure tribe New Chippewa leaders say members need not fret about disenrollment. Sunday, September 26, 1999 http://sa.mlive.com/news/index.ssf?/news/stories/19990925chipou$02.frm JOEL KURTH THE SAGINAW NEWS MOUNT PLEASANT - Membership is so disputed among Saginaw Chippewa Indians that opponents say the former chief almost tossed himself out of the tribe. The accusation arises from February documents discovered this week by successors, who say a Tribal Council led by ousted Chief Kevin R. Chamberlain attempted to scrap 1982 rolls that "adopted" 300 members into the tribe. One problem: Chamberlain is on that list. So are his brothers and sisters. So are half the members of a council the Bureau of Indian Affairs appointed last month to lead until November elections. So is the father of Ron Jackson, a spokesman for the new group, who calls the episode shocking and despicable. The new council has halted disenrollment. "This just goes to show how far the Chamberlain council was willing to go to tear this tribe apart, family by family," Jackson said. "This is a base roll for tribal membership - not a bargaining chip for political purposes." Membership claims have been nettlesome for years among the 2,800-strong tribe, but infighting has increased since it began sharing profits in the early 1990s from the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort, which makes some $300 million a year. The tribe now annually pays each adult member $30,000. Voters recalled Chief Phil Peters Sr. in 1996 for suspending 484 members. He returned to the post this summer when the BIA booted Chamberlain's crew for voiding four elections since 1997. Chamberlain repeatedly cited membership problems for canceling votes, saying suspect records allowed many to illegally join in 1982 while excluding hundreds of others. Since that time, tribal ranks have increased threefold. The old council went so far as to hire private eyes to probe ancestral records for a criminal case that fizzled when Chamberlain left office. Chamberlain said the 1982 rolls are unconstitutional because leaders at the time made friends and relatives members without putting the matter to a vote, as tribal laws require. Chamberlain said he became a member in 1974 and has "no idea" why he's on the roll. The council scrapped the rolls as a "political statement" to justify nullifying a January primary, Chamberlain acknowledged. "We didn't have any master plan to disenroll anyone," he said. "Is anyone disenrolled? We just think the '82 roll is a big mess and the cause of all this trouble." Many who live outside of Mount Pleasant side with Chamberlain, expressing worries that Peters will start cutting off rights - and money - en masse. The new council has announced that genealogist Kay Davis has found serious membership problems with 200 members, but Jackson said citizens shouldn't fret. "At most, there's only 5 percent of the tribe with problems," he said. "What are we going to do? Disenroll everyone? There is no fiendish plot to cheat the at-large members out of anything. We're related to those people. Are we going to destroy our own families just to get at Kevin's group?" Many still worry the revolving door of citizenship will continue to swing once the BIA stops monitoring the tribe. "Anyone who speaks out against Phil Peters will get attacked through their job and through enrollment," said April Borton, a Chamberlain supporter from Mount Pleasant. "If he's really for the people, then why are the people living in fear?" Chamberlain said he and at least 15 family members and supporters have lost their jobs since Peters took charge. For weeks, Peters has postponed interview requests with The News, speaking instead through Jackson. The BIA will allow a March election for a new constitution that would shift the tribe's balance of power. Its administrators recently approved petitions calling for the vote. Drafted by Chamberlain supporters and opposed by Peters, the changes enjoy support away from the reservation. A simple majority can approve the change, but the election must attract at least 30 percent of voters for ratification. The constitution would: Create 13 precincts to elect the Tribal Council. The 12-member panel now consists of 10 reservation representatives, even though a majority of the tribe lives away from Mount Pleasant. Abolish the 1982 rolls as a basis for membership and require new members to prove one-eighth Chippewa ancestry. The group now requires members to have one-fourth Indian blood and one parent on tribal rolls. Many are Ottawa or Potawatomi Indians. Strip the council of many of its powers, including those that allowed Chamberlain's crew to void elections. Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
