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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1986)
Enrol laent Dear Fellow Tribal Members and Friends: I'd like to report that the official Membership count of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon is 1799. In January, 61 applicants were approved for enrollment in our tribe. Congratulations to all our new members! I would like to inform you on how applications are processed when the applicant has been adopted. All adopted applicants may be eligible for enrollment ONLY if they independently meet the eligibility requirements. This means that the applicant must not be an enrolled member of another tribe; must have been eligible for enrollment prior to 1954; or must be a descendent of an enrolled member of the Grand Ronde Tribe; and must possess one-sixteenth (116) or more degree of Indian blood quantum. I usually ask the applicant if they have access to their adoption decree. If this is submitted, it usually contains the required information. This includes: the natural parents names; the name of the applicant at birth; the adopting parents names; and the name of the applicant after adoption. I use the decree and the birth certificate for documentation to trace descendancy from an enrolled member, and as proof of birth and legal name. All adoption information is confidential and the applicant will be referred to by their legal name. If the adoption decree is not available to submit with the application, the applicant must then submit further proof of their birth by their natural parents. I will be happy to assist an applicant in any way that I can. I would also like to remind you that the birth documentation that is acceptable for enrollment purposes Includes hospital records; baptismal records; state or federal records; and court documents. If I receive a copy of a hospital record that I believe was filled in at a later date or was altered, I will not accept it for enrollment purposes. You will then be requested to submit other birth documentation. Please remember that proof of eligibility is the responsibility of the applicant. I have order forms for the vital records unit in Portland available on request. I have the address fo the vital records units in other states as well. When I receive an application, I always check the family tree that is submitted for any incorrect information. I check (or provide) the enrollment numbers and blood quantum of the applicants ancestors. If you have your ancestor as full, for example, or 44 degree Indian blood, but their blood quantum is listed as 34 on the 1954 membership roll, I correct the family tree and use the blood quantum listed on the roll to determine the applicants total Indian blood degree. Some blood degrees
