SEATTLE — In a ruling Seattle lawyer Gabriel Galanda calls a “watershed decision for all of Indian country,” a tribal appeals court in Oregon reversed the disenrollment of 66 people who claim descent from a chief that helped establish the Grand Ronde reservation in Oregon.
The three-member Grand Ronde Tribal Court of Appeals opined that the tribe waited far too long — 27 years — to correct an alleged error that allowed the 66 to be enrolled.
That ostensible error “would be nearly impossible and very injurious to undo,” the court opined in the Aug. 5 decision, affecting “crucial issues as cultural and personal identity,” as well as tribally provided benefits such as health care, housing and per capita payments from casino revenues.
“Tribal citizenship is as important as is U.S. citizenship,” the judges went on to declare. For that reason, they said, tribal governments should have the burden of proof when seeking to kick members out.
Galanda, who represents the 66 and has become a vociferous opponent of disenrollment around the country, said he believed the ruling would affect a number of tribes that have cited years-old enrollment errors as they attempt to purge members. One of those tribes is the Nooksack, near Bellingham, which has been fighting to kick out roughly 300 members represented by Galanda in an epic battle now stretching into its fourth year.
Yet, the latest developments in the Nooksack case — with the tribal court clerk and police chief refusing to enforce appellate-court orders — suggest that the Grand Ronde decision may not be the last word. “It should be final, but it may not be final,” Galanda said.
Indeed, Grand Ronde chair Reyn Leno indicated in a Facebook post over the weekend that he planned to question the appeals judges about their decision. While he didn’t say he would refuse to honor it, he called the ruling “a huge infringement on our tribal sovereignty.”
Neither Leno nor other members of the Grand Ronde tribal council returned phone calls seeking further comment Monday.
“It’s been a roller-coaster 48 hours,” said Debi Anderson, a 61-year-old Portland resident who has been serving as spokeswoman for those disenrolled by the tribe. “We’re very, very excited, of course.”
She said that the appeals judges — all of them Native American — validated feelings that she had often struggled to explain.
