Disenrollment Demands Serious Attention by All Sovereign Nations

For most people, their sense of who they are–their identity–is at least partially defined from connection to others and to a community. When individuals are forced to sever those connections, the consequences can be devastating. Unfortunately, all too often in tribal disenrollment conflicts–like the one currently unfolding in northern Washington, where the Nooksack Indian Tribe is in the process of disenrolling 306 of its members–the fundamental issues revolve around individual and community identity. Handling these types of issues are of enormous consequence and it is the obligation of any true government to address them with the utmost seriousness...