The community should tackle the issue of membership requirements before working on a revised tribal constitution, voters said. During a summer election, members voted 123-27 to put membership criteria atop the priority list. Voters also decided that 115 people previously judged ineligible could vote on amendments to the constitution. Among them were 55 of 203 voters who had been disenfranchised in 1994, prompting bitter divisions and a takeover of the tribal headquarters by dissidents. “The people have spoken, which was the whole purpose of the referendum,” tribal council member Terri Denomie said. “Now, our community can move forward with the next important step in the constitutional process.”
