TULALIP: A TRIBE WITH NO BLOOD QUANTUM

As a 20 year old Tulalip female, it disturbs me to know that there is no blood quantum to become a Tulalip tribal member. “The applicant must be a child born to any Member of the tribe, which Member is a Resident as defined herein.” [Sec.3.0] Since this is all you have to do to become a tribal member, the tribe ends up having a lot of non-native members.

The rules provide a loop hole that permits whites and other non-natives to enroll. My cousin is a perfect example. He is less than one-eighth and is still an enrolled tribal member. His child is less than one-sixteenth because he is having a baby with a white woman. His child will surely be enrolled because he lives on the Tulalip Reservation and is a tribal member of the Tulalip tribes. The resident rule excludes some Native Americans from enrollment.

For example, my younger sister didn’t have acceptable mail with her name and address on it. She needed it to prove residency which caused problems in enrolling her children. My sister is currently living on the Tulalip reservation with her children where they have been living since they were born. The rules also cause problems for Tulalip tribal members who move off of the reservation.

If I moved out of state to attend college and got pregnant I would not be able to enroll my baby Tulalip. The baby could have more Tulalip blood than over half the members in the tribe, but the tribe still wouldn’t let the baby enroll. All because I wouldn’t have proof that I lived on the Tulalip reservation a year before the baby was born. It’s almost as if the Tulalip tribes want to have more white and non-native tribal members. While the residency rule excludes Native Americans, non-natives are enrolling simply because their parents are enrolled.

This fact creates a predicament with the tribal members of the Tulalip Tribes. Some tribal members are enrolled because their grandmother or grandfather is a quarter native. If they reproduce with a white person and then their child mates with another white person, that child is left with nearly no native blood. But that child can still be enrolled Tulalip as long as they live on the Tulalip reservation.

It’s ironic that Tulalip has limited tribal benefits but allows non-natives to profit from them. In Tulalip Employment job descriptions it states: “The Tulalip Tribes publicly announces that Tribal and Indian Preference in hiring shall apply to Tulalip Tribal job opportunities.” That hardly excludes non-natives because tribal members in my tribe have nearly no Native blood in them at all. I am aware that some of the tribal members are half native, yet appear to be white. But that is rarely the case with members of the Tulalip Tribes.

Other tribes tease the Tulalip tribes because many of our members are white. They call us white Tulalip because the large amount of white tribal members. A Native American tribe is supposed to be made up of Native American people not white or black people. If non-natives are allowed to be enrolled, they take money from the Native Americans.

The non-natives in the Tulalip tribes are welcome to go to college and have it paid for by our tribe. Non-native members also receive a thousand dollar per capita every three months. Tulalip invested a lot of money to make the Tulalip Casino just to have the money taken by non-native Tulalip tribal members. Tulalip would be a wealthy tribe if there was a blood quantum because we wouldn’t be giving money to non-native tribal members.

As a former employee of the Tulalip Tribes Youth Services, I am aware that Tulalip spends a lot of money on youth programs for tribal youth. The Tulalip Tribes provides activities for tribal youth over winter and spring break. Tulalip Youth Services also pays for shoes, summer camps, music lessons, and private schools. Since there is a large amount of non-native youth supported by Tulalip, they must reduce the amount spent on each youth member.

Colville has a blood quantum to prevent having non-native tribal members. “The applicant possesses at least one-fourth (1/4) degree of the blood of the tribes and bands which constitute the Tribes”. [8-1] My brother and my father are Colville. If my brother reproduces with a white person he can’t enroll that child Colville. But all hope is not lost; all he has to do is dis-enroll Colville then enroll Tulalip and then enroll his white child.

By allowing non-natives to enroll Tulalip we are giving non-native people Native American profit. It’s funny, white people came to America to transform the natives so they could be productive in white society. Now that the natives have changed and are becoming wealthy tribes the whites want to be native to benefit from it. A Native American tribe’s reason for benefits is to promote the Native Americans, not to help the white people. This is why it is ironic that some tribes like the Tulalip Tribes do not have a blood quantum. The white man isn’t satisfied with taking our land; they want our money too.



Works Cited
Title 8 Enrollment, Referendums and Elections [8-1-80 Membership] Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
Tribal Enrollment Ordinance No. 94B, As Amended [Section 3.0- Enrollment Burden of Proof] The Tulalip Tribes