Oglala Sioux Tribe: Law and Order Code
Last amended: 1996; New Ordinances Received: 2002.
CHAPTER 16
ENROLLMENT CODE
Section 101. Department of Enrollment
There is hereby established the Oglala Sioux Tribal Department of Enrollment, which shall be headed by a Director of Enrollment appointed by the Tribal Council. The Director shall be assisted by such staff members as the Tribal Council shall authorize. The staff members shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of the policies and procedures of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. The Director of Enrollment and the staff shall be paid such salaries as the Tribal Council shall in its budget provide.
Section 102. Enrollment Committee.
The Tribal Council shall also appoint an Enrollment Committee, consisting of nine (9) members, who shall respectively, be residents of each of the Districts of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The Enrollment Committee shall meet at the call of the Director of Enrollment, but not more often than three (3) days per month. Its members shall be paid per diem and expenses as provided by the Tribal Council.
ARTICLE II
Section 201. Publication of Preliminary List.
The Department of Enrollment shall at the earliest possible opportunity publish a preliminary list of all enrolled members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, listing names, dates of birth, and degree of Tribal ancestry. A copy of that list shall be available for inspection at the office of the Oglala Sioux Tribe during regular business hours and at such other conspicuous public places throughout the Pine Ridge Reservation as the Department of Enrollment may direct.
Section 202. Claims for Enrollment.
(a) Any person born to the date of publication of the preliminary list of enrolled members who does not appear on the list for whom a claim for enrollment is made, may apply for enrollment to the Department of Enrollment, either in person, or in the case of a minor or a person non compos mentis through a parent, guardian, or next friend. Such application shall be made on such form as the Department shall prescribe.
(b) The names of all applicants for enrollment under subsection (a) shall be posted on the public bulletin board of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and at such other conspicuous public places throughout the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation as the Department of Enrollment may direct, for at least fourteen (14) days before an application may be acted on by the Department.
Section 203. Challenges to Enrollment.
Any person whose name appears on the preliminary list, or who is added thereafter through approval of his application, may file a challenge to the listing of a name on the preliminary list under Section 201 or to an application for enrollment under Section 202. Such challenge shall be filed no later than fourteen (14) days after the name of the applicant is posted. The Department of Enrollment shall promptly acknowledge receipt of such challenges and notify the person whose enrollment is being challenged.
Section 204. Challenges to Age or Degree of Tribal Descendant.
Any person who believes that his date of birth or degree of Tribal descent has been listed incorrectly may file a challenge to such listings with the Department of Enrollment on such form as the Department shall prescribe.
Section 205. Residence.
In reviewing applications for enrollment, the Enrollment Committee shall consider any person to be a resident of the Pine Ridge Reservation as of a particular date if at such time the person maintains his permanent residence on the Pine Ridge Reservation or, if he or she has left the Reservation temporarily, he or she intends to return to the Reservation as a permanent resident.
In making such determinations the enrollment Committee shall follow the following rules:
(a) A person who leaves the Reservation for service in the Armed Forces of the United States or for any other employment with the United States Government or for attendance at and education institution shall be considered to be a resident of the Reservation for as long as such service, employment or attendance continues and for an additional six (6) months.
(b) Any person who left the Reservation for the purpose of employment during the period of December 7, 1941 through August 14, 1945, and returned to reside on the Reservation on or before December 31, 1945, shall be considered to be a resident of the Reservation during the period of such absence.
(c) A person who resided within the former Pine Ridge Aerial Gunnery Range and left the Reservation following or in anticipation of the taking of Gunnery Range by the United States Government, and returned to reside on the Reservation on or before December 31, 1945, shall be considered a resident of the Reservation during such absence.
(d) A person who leaves the Reservation for the purpose of employment shall be considered a resident of the Reservation during such absence if:
(1) He or she continues to own an interest (legal or beneficial) in land within the Reservation; or
(2) he or she returns to reside on the Reservation within five (5) years.
(e) A person who leaves the Reservation and thereby ceases to be a resident shall be considered to have reestablished residence on the Reservation if such person maintains his or her permanent residence on the Reservation for a period of one (1) year.
Section 206. Burden of Proof.
The burden of proving eligibility for enrollment with the Oglala Sioux Tribe shall be upon the applicant.
ARTICLE III
Section 301. Uncontested Cases.
Any application under Section 202 which is supported by sufficient proof of entitlement to enrollment and against which no challenge has been filed under Section 203 shall be processed promptly and a final decision to add the application to the preliminary list of enrolled members shall be made by the Enrollment Committee, which decision shall not be subject to appeal.
Section 302. Investigations and Hearings.
If the Enrollment Committee concludes that the proof of entitlement to enrollment submitted in support of an application under Section 202 is insufficient, or if a challenge to an application or to a name on the preliminary enrollment list has been filed under Section 203, or if a challenge has been filed under Section 204, it shall cause a further investigation to be conducted of the application or preliminary enrollment. After that investigation, a formal hearing shall be held before the Enrollment Committee. Based solely upon the evidence received at the hearing, the Enrollment Committee shall enter its decision as to entitlement to enrollment and date of birth. Such decision shall be final and unreviewable if the decision is favorable to the applicant and if no challenge against an application has been filed, or if it is a challenge under Section 204, but in all other cases, shall be subject to appeal as provided by Section 401 hereof.
Section 303. Hearing Procedure.
Any hearing under Section 302 hereof shall be subject to the following requirements of procedural due process
(a) No fewer than twenty (20) days prior to the time fixed for hearing, written notice shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the applicant, preliminary enrollee, and person challenging the enrollment thereof, if any, at his respective last known address. The notice shall fix the time and place for the hearing to be held, state the name of the person who will preside at the hearing, indicate the Tribal membership requirement or requirements which the applicant or preliminary enrollee allegedly fails to meet, and state that the applicant or preliminary enrollee may appear at such hearing to show why he is entitled to be enrolled, and that the person challenging such enrollment, if any, may also appear to show why such enrollment should be rejected.
(b) The person filing the application, preliminary enrollee, and the person challenging his enrollment, if any, may be represented by counsel at such hearing. Cross-examination of opposing witnesses shall be permitted.
(c) The Enrollment Committee shall conduct the hearing in an impartial manner. It shall receive and consider such evidence, in whatever form, as will assist in the making of a correct determination concerning the eligibility of the applicant or preliminary enrollee for enrollment, his date of birth, and the degree of Tribal ancestry.
Section 304. Note of Decision
Any decision by the Enrollment Committee denying enrollment, denying a challenge to enrollment, or finding a different date of birth or degree of Tribal ancestry than that alleged by the application, shall state the specific grounds for that decision. A copy of such decision shall be immediately sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the applicant, preliminary enrollee, and person challenging the enrollment thereof, if any, at his respective last known address, along with notification of the right to appeal such decision under Article IV hereof.
ARTICLE IV
Section 401. Appeals.
Any person whose claim of entitlement to enrollment has been denied by the Enrollment Committee and any challenger whose challenge has been denied by the Enrollment Committee, shall have the right to appeal that decision within sixty ( 60 ) days from the date of the decision by filing an appeal with the Oglala Sioux Tribal Court of Appeals.
Section 402. Appeal Hearing.
The Court of Appeals shall grant a full hearing to all parties, permitting them to introduce both written and oral evidence. The Enrollment Committee shall be a party to the appeal, defending the position it took in its decision. The burden of proof before the Court of Appeals shall be upon the appellant.
Section 403. Appeal Decision.
Unless otherwise provided by law, the decision of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Court of Appeals shall be final.
ARTICLE V.
Section 501. Final List.
Upon completion of the processing of all cases under Articles II, III, and IV, the Department of Enrollment shall publish a final list of enrolled members as of the date of the issuance of the preliminary list. The Tribal membership list shall contain the names of all enrolled members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota, arranged in alphabetical order. For each such member, the list shall also indicate the, person's enrollment number, sex, date of birth, degree of Tribal ancestry and address.
Section 502. Newly-born Children.
(a) Any person born after the date of the preliminary list published in accordance with Section 201 or such person's parent, guardian, or next friend, may file an application for enrollment with the Department of Enrollment on such form as the Department shall prescribe. Such application should be dealt with and shall be subject to the same rules as applications under Section 202. The Department of Enrollment may defer processing of the application of persons born after the publication of the preliminary list until the cases of persons born prior to the publication of the preliminary list have been processed.
(b) Applications for enrollment under this section must be filed not later than the date of the nineteenth birthday of the prospective enrollee.
Section 503. New Evidence.
Should the Enrollment Committee subsequently learn that an enrolled member misrepresented or willfully omitted facts which might have made him ineligible for enrollment in the first instance, his enrollment may be reevaluated in accordance with the procedure for processing an original application. Likewise, the Enrollment Committee may reevaluate disapproved applications after time limitations for appeals have expired if the appellant can produce evidence which apparently would have made him eligible in the first instance but which was not available when the original application was filed or during the appeal period.
Section 504. Conflicting Regulations.
Any ordinance or resolution in conflict herewith is hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict.
Section 505. Saving Clause.
If any provision of this Ordinance is found to be in conflict with the Constitution and By-laws of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the remainder of this Ordinance shall retain its full force and effect.
Section 506. Publication of Ordinance.
The provisions of this Ordinance shall be made public in the following manner:
Immediately upon enactment of this Ordinance, a copy thereof shall be posted on the public bulletin board of the Oglala Sioux Tribe for a period of not less than sixty (60) days. The Councilmen for each election district shall immediately post a copy of this Ordinance at a conspicuous public place or places within their respective districts. In addition, the Secretary of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council shall provide that a copy of this Ordinance be published throughout the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation at least once a week for the four (4) weeks immediately following its enactment.
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