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Constitution and Bylaws of the Chitimacha Tribe of
Approved: 1971
PREAMBLE
We, the Chitimacha Indians of Louisiana, desiring to
establish an organization for our common welfare and benefit, do hereby adopt
and proclaim the following constitution.
The name of this organization shall be the Chitimacha
Tribe of
The jurisdiction of the Chitimacha Tribe of
Section 1. The membership of the Chitimacha Tribe
shall consist of
(a) All Chitimacha
Indians living on the date of approval of this constitution,
(1) Whose names appear on the Annuity
Pay Roll of 1926, Claim 374514, which was received and recorded by the Office
of Indian Affairs on October 18, 1926, or the revised census roll of June 1959,
of record at the Choctaw Indian Agency, Philadelphia, Mississippi, or
(2) Who are lineal descendants of such
persons provided such descendants possess at least one-sixteenth (1/16) degree Chitimacha Indian blood and provided further, such
descendants apply for membership and furnish birth certificates or other
sufficient evidence to prove their ancestry.
(b) Any child of one-sixteenth (1/16)
degree or more Chitimacha Indian blood born to any enrolled
member of the tribe after the approval of this constitution shall be entitled
to membership.
Sec. 2. The tribal council shall have the power to correct the
membership roll, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, at any
time.
Sec. 3. The burden of proof rests
upon the applicant to establish his eligibility for enrollment.
Sec. 4. Enrollment Ordinances.
The tribal council shall have the power to pass ordinances, subject to the
approval of the Secretary of the Interior, governing future membership, loss of
membership, and the adoption of new members, provided that no person of less
than one-sixteenth (1/16) degree Chitimacha Indian
blood shall be admitted to membership in the Chitimacha
Tribe of Louisiana.
ARTICLE IV - ASSIGNMENT OF TRIBAL LANDS
Section 1. The
members of the Chitimacha Tribe now occupying home
sites on tribal land may continue to occupy such as their home sites, the
remaining acreage to be available for present and future assignments. The use
and assignment of tribal land shall be in accordance with an ordinance enacted
by the tribal council, which shall be subject to approval of the Secretary of
the Interior.
Sec. 2.
Upon the death of any member, male or female, now married to a non-Indian, the
home site of such member shall continue to be occupied by the non-Indian
husband or wife until said non-Indian person's death, provided that
this non-Indian person does not remarry a non-Indian. Should he or she remarry
a non-Indian, the assignment shall be canceled, but any improvements
accumulated on the land during the marriage of the non-Indian and the member of
the Chitimacha Tribe or during the occupancy by said
non-Indian after the death of the spouse, may be appraised and sold, the
proceeds to be paid to the surviving spouse, or such improvements may be
removed from the land in accordance with the land assignment ordinance.
Sec. 3. Upon the death of any member or
non-Indian surviving spouse who did not remarry, the homesite
and improvements may continue to be occupied by the heirs or assignees, provided
they qualify for membership in the tribe.
Section 1. Composition. The
governing body of the Chitimacha Tribe shall be the Chitimacha Tribal Council, a five-member body composed of a
chairman, vice-chairman and secretary-treasurer, who reside on the Chitimacha Reservation, and two (2) councilmen, all of whom
shall be elected at large by the qualified voters of the Chitimacha
Tribe.
Sec. 2. Qualifications.
All officers and councilmen (members of the council) must be at least
twenty-one (21) years of age and members of the tribe. If either the chairman,
vice-chairman, or secretary-treasurer moves his residence from the reservation , he shall automatically lose his office. Such
vacancy shall be filled pursuant to Article VI, Section 6.
Section 1. Annual
elections shall be held on the second Saturday in June to fill vacancies on the
council resulting from the expiration of the two-year terms of office. Officers
and councilmen hereinafter referred to as members of the tribal council, shall be elected by secret ballot. A majority of
those voting shall be necessary to effect election.
Sec. 2. Entitlement to
vote. Any tribal member, male or female eighteen (18)
years of age or over, shall be entitled to vote in any election, except in
elections to adopt or amend this constitution. Participation in elections to
adopt or amend this constitution shall be limited to those who are twenty-one (21)
years of age or older. No person shall be permitted to vote in any election
unless he is duly registered.
Sec. 3. Election
Ordinance. The tribal council shall enact an ordinance
governing the conduct of tribal elections and referendums, provided that such
election ordinance shall provide for voter registration, secret balloting,
absentee voting, and procedures for settling election disputes.
Sec. 4. First Election.
Within four (4) months after the approval of this constitution, the chairman of
the present council shall call a special election for the purpose of electing
the members of the tribal council. The present council shall appoint an
election board of three (3) persons to supervise the first election of members
of the tribal council under this constitution. The board shall prescribe rules
and regulations for conducting such election, which shall be by secret ballot.
After the first election, the members of the tribal council shall be elected in
accordance with Section 3 of this Article.
Sec. 5. Terms of
Office. The newly elected members of the tribal council shall be
installed in office on the first day of the month immediately following the
election, or as soon thereafter as practicable, and shall hold office for a
term of two (2) years and until their successors are duly elected and
installed.
In the first election following the effective date of this constitution, the
chairman and vice-chairman shall be elected to serve until the installation
following the 1973 election. The remaining members of the council shall serve
until those elected in 1972 are installed. Thereafter, there shall be annual
elections during the month of June and all members of the council shall be
elected for two (2) year terms. The chairman and vice-chairman's terms shall
expire in the odd numbered years, while terms of the other three (3) council
members shall expire in even numbered years.
Sec. 6. Vacancies.
If a vacancy occurs in the membership of the tribal council, that body shall by
majority vote fill such vacancy by appointing a tribal member, qualified
pursuant to Article V, to serve until the expiration of that term of office.
ARTICLE VII - POWERS OF THE TRIBAL COUNCIL
Section 1. Enumerated Powers. The Tribal Council of the Chitimacha
Tribe shall have the following powers subject to any limitations imposed by the
Statutes or the Constitution of the
(a) To
negotiate with the Federal, State, and local governments.
(b) To employ legal counsel, the
choice of counsel and fixing of fees to be subject to the approval of the
Secretary of the Interior.
(c) To manage, acquire or dispose of, lease, encumber of use tribal lands,
interest in lands, tribal funds or other tribal assets, subject to approval of
the Secretary of the Interior.
(d) To veto any sale, disposition, lease or encumbrance of tribal lands,
interests in land, tribal funds, or other tribal assets.
(e) To advise the Secretary of the Interior with regard to all appropriation
estimates or Federal projects for the benefit of the Chitimacha
Indians prior to the submission of such estimates, to the Office of Management
and Budget and to Congress.
(f) To appropriate any available tribal
funds for the benefit of the tribe.
(g)To supervise and manage tribal
economic affairs and enterprises in accordance with this constitution and a
corporate charter which may be issued by the Secretary of the Interior.
(h) To pass and enforce ordinances and
rules and regulations which shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary
of the Interior, providing for the management of tribal lands or other tribal
assets, including the making and revoking of assignments, disposition of
timber, oil and mineral resources, except that this article shall not conflict
or interfere in any way with the provisions of Article IV.
Upon receipt of a petition signed by twenty percent (20%) of the registered
voters of the Chitimacha Tribe, or upon request of a
majority of the members of the tribal council, any enacted or proposed
ordinance or resolution of the council shall be submitted to popular
referendum, and the vote of the majority of the registered voters, voting in
such referendum, conducted pursuant to Section 3, Article VI, shall be
conclusive and binding upon the tribal council.
The protections guaranteed to individual tribal members by Title II of the
Civil Rights Act of 1968 (82 Stat. 77) against actions of a tribe in exercising
its powers of self-government, shall apply where appropriate to members of the Chitimacha Tribe of
Section 1. This constitution may be amended by a majority of the registered
voters of the Chitimacha Tribe, as provided in
Section 2 of Article VI, voting in an election authorized for that purpose by
the Secretary of the Interior or his authorized representative, provided that
at least thirty percent (30%) of those entitled to vote shall cast ballots in
such election; but no amendment shall become effective until it is approved by
the Secretary of the Interior. Such election shall be conducted pursuant to the
Secretary's regulations.
Sec. 2.
It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to authorize an
election on any proposed amendment at the request of the council or upon
receipt of a petition signed by one-fourth (1/4) of the registered voters of
the Chitimacha Tribe who are twenty-one (21) years of
age or over.
BYLAWS OF THE CHITIMACHA TRIBE OF
ARTICLE I - DUTIES OF OFFICERS
Section 1. The chairman shall preside over all meetings
of the council. He shall perform the usual duties of a chairman and exercise
any authority delegated to him by the council.
Sec. 2. The vice-chairman shall
assist the chairman when called upon to do so and in the absence of the
chairman he shall preside over the meeting. When presiding, he shall have all
the rights, privileges, duties and responsibilities of the chairman.
Sec. 3.
Secretary-treasurer of the council shall conduct all tribal
correspondence, and shall keep an accurate record of all matters transacted at
council meetings. It shall be his duty to submit promptly to the
Superintendent, copies of all minutes of regular and special meetings of the
council. He shall accept, receipt for, preserve and safeguard all tribal funds
coming into his custody by virtue of his office. He shall deposit all funds in
such depository as the council shall direct. He shall make and preserve a
faithful record of such funds and shall report all receipts and expenditures
and the amount and nature of all funds in his custody at each meeting of the
tribal council. An audit of accounts shall be made at such time as the tribal
council or the Commissioner of Indian Affairs may require. All checks drawn
upon tribal funds must bear the signature of the chairman and the secretary-treasurer.
Neither shall disburse any funds except by resolution of the council. The
secretary-treasurer shall receive a salary of $1.00 per year or such other sum
as the tribal council may direct. He shall be required to give bond
satisfactory to the council and to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. The cost
of the bond shall be paid out of tribal funds.
Sec. 4.
The duties of all committees or boards appointed by the tribal council shall be
defined by resolution of the council at the time of their creation or
appointment. Such committees and boards shall report to the council from time
to time as required, and their activities and decisions shall be subject to
review by the council.
Section 1. Meetings of the tribal council may be
called by the chairman at his discretion and must be called by him upon request
of a majority of the council. Ten days notice of meetings must be given by the
chairman in the manner determined by the tribal council. The notice shall state
the purpose of the meeting.
Sec. 2. General Tribal Meeting. A regular
general tribal meeting shall be held each year on the second Saturday in June.
Special general tribal meetings may be called at the discretion of the chairman
of the tribal council and must be called by him upon a petition signed by at
least twenty percent (20%) of those members entitled to vote at tribal
elections. The chairman of the tribal council, or in his absence the
vice-chairman, shall preside at all general tribal meetings. The meeting shall
be widely noticed ten days in advance. The purpose of the meeting shall be
included in the notice. A majority of the adult members present shall decide on
issues considered.
Sec. 3. Quorum A majority of the full
membership of the tribal council, i.e. , three (3) of
the five (5) members, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any
tribal business.
Sec. 4. Conduct of
Meetings. The tribal council shall conduct its meetings
according to Robert's Rules of Order
except when such rules are in conflict with this constitution.
This constitution was drafted
CERTIFICATE OF RESULTS OF ELECTION
Pursuant to an election authorized by Acting Associate Commissioner, Flore Lekanof of Indian Affairs
on June 23, 1970, under delegated authority, the attached Constitution and
By-Laws of the Chitimacha Indians of Louisiana was
submitted to the qualified voters of the Tribe and was on November 7, 1970 duly
adopted by a vote of 85 for, and 6 against, in an election in
which at least 30 percent of the 139 members entitled to vote cast their
ballots in accordance with Section 16 of the Indian reorganization Act of June
18, l934 (48 Stat. 984), as amended by the Act of June 15, 1935 (49 Stat. 378).
____________________/s/______________________
John F. Gordon, Chairman, Election Board
____________________/s/______________________
Emile Stouff, Election Board Member
____________________/s/______________________
Lester Darden, Election Board Member
I, Harrison Loesch, Assistant Secretary
of the Interior of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority
granted to me by the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984), as amended, do hereby
approve the attached Constitution and Bylaws of the Chitimacha
Tribe of Louisiana.
Approval Recommended:
(Sgd.) Flore Lekanof
Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs
(Sgd.) Harrison Loesch
Assistant Secretary of the Interior
Date: