Thirteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

Over the last thirty years, the number of federally-recognized Native Nations located within the United States has increased, and yet, corresponding population figures for these states have declined. Given the well-documented history of US eradication and assimilation of Indigenous Peoples, it would be easy to attribute this phenomenon to ill-conceived or hostile federal policies. However, in this case, Native governments, themselves, are driving the trend through policies of banishment, erroneous denials of citizenship, or disenrollment of bone fide citizens. Since the 1990s, more than eighty Native Nations have culturally, politically, and legally terminated the rights of Indigenous citizens. With the first comprehensive examination of the origins and significance of Tribal disenrollment, we examine these disturbing practices, which often leave targeted Tribal citizens with neither traditional options nor legal avenues for appeal. At the center of the issue are questions of how Native Nations are defined today and who has the fundamental right to define “belonging.” Through analysis of hundreds of Tribal constitutions and interviews with both former Tribal citizens and the Tribal officials who rendered them stateless, we discuss the damage to communities across Indian Country and consider ways to address the problem.