ONE FEATHER STAFF REPORT
Due to the recent completion of the audit of the enrollment records of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the issue of enrollment is on many people’s minds. That topic was discussed during the regular session of Tribal Council on Thursday, June 3 as several changes to the Tribe’s Enrollment Ordinance were approved in the form of Ordinance No. 277.
One of the major changes will be the addition of a DNA test being required for an enrollment application. The ordinance states that the following will be required for an application to be processed, “The results of a DNA test, from a lab acceptable to the Enrollment Committee, establishing the probability of paternity and/or maternity by the parent(s) through whom lineage is claimed for an applicant.”
A certified copy of the results must be sent directly to the EBCI Enrollment Office and applicants will be responsible for all DNA testing fees incurred.
The Falmouth Institute presented the final findings of the audit to Tribal Council on Oct. 6, 2009 after pouring through more than 118,000 file folders and over 115,000 documents during the course of the audit.
According to that report, there were some startling discoveries including the fact that 300 records were found with no apparent link back to the Baker Roll at all. The initial report also stated there are 1,405 actionable files defined as “files not containing sufficient information or files that contain information that does not support the current status of the individual.”
Below, please find the entire “Enrollment Analysis Report of the EBCI” as run in the One Feather in October 2009 as well as the full copy of Ordinance No. 277 (2010):
