Tribal Enrollment

What is the purpose of tribal enrollment?

The tribes establish membership criteria based on shared customs, traditions, language and tribal blood.

What are tribal membership requirements?

Tribal enrollment criteria are set forth in tribal constitutions, articles of incorporation or ordinances. The criterion varies from tribe to tribe, so uniform membership requirements do not exist.

Two common requirements for membership are lineal decendency from someone named on the tribe’s base roll or relationship to a tribal member who descended from someone named on the base roll. (A “base roll” is the original list of members as designated in a tribal constitution or other document specifying enrollment criteria.) Other conditions such as tribal blood quantum, tribal residency, or continued contact with the tribe are common.

How do I apply for enrollment in a tribe?

After you have completed your genealogical research, documented your ancestry and determined the tribe with which your ancestor was affiliated, you are ready to contact the tribe directly to obtain the criteria for membership.

Rarely is the BIA involved in enrollment and membership. Each tribe determines whether an individual is eligible for membership. Each tribe maintains it’s own enrollment records and records about past members. To obtain information about your eligibility for membership, you must contact the tribe.

How do I locate the Tribe I may have American Indian Ancestry from?

The Tribal Leaders Directory that is published by the Bureau of Indian Affairs lists all 562 federally recognized American Indian Tribes and Alaska Natives. It also lists all the Regions, Agencies and Offices within the BIA. – https://www.doi.gov/tribes/enrollment

To contact any of Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes:

Burns Paiute Tribe
100 Pasigo Street; Burns, OR 97720
Enrollment Phone: 541-573-1126 EXT 1126
Fax: 541-573-2012

Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians
Enrollment Coordinator: Jeannie McNeil, jmcneil@ctclusi.org
Phone: 541-888-7506
Toll Free: 1-888-280-0726 (Application available online)

Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde (CTGR)
9615 Grand Ronde Rd.; Grand Ronde, OR; 97347
Phone: 1-800-422-0232 ext.2253 (Application available online)

Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
Enrollment Clerk: Cova Metcalf
Phone: 541-444-8258 or 800-922-1399 EXT 1258
Email: covam@ctsi.nsn.us (Application available online)
Fax: 541-444-2307

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR)
Phone: 541-429-7035
Email: enrollment@ctuir.org
Fax Number: 541-278-5317

Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs (CTWIR)
1233 Veterans St.; Warm Springs, OR 97761
Phone: 541-553-3252
Fax: 541-553-1924

Coquille Indian Tribe
1257 N. Riverside, Cobblestone Village, Medford, OR 97501
Phone: 541-779-1185
Email: jonivy@coquilletribe.org

Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians
Contact Person: Carol McKinney
2371 NE Stephens Street • Roseburg, Oregon 97470
Phone: 800-929-8229

Klamath Tribes
Contact Person: Rose Treetop
PO Box 436 Chiloquin, OR 97624
Phone: 541-783-2219

For any tribe outside of Oregon some information should be on the internet even if it is only contact information. If the website doesn’t explicitly list an enrollment department, then the student should contact the main administrative office and they will point the student in the right direction. If the tribe has a lot of information about the enrollment process available on their website, it’s worth it to read because each tribe could require different information from the applicant.