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Approved: 1971
*Document Note: While the National Tribal Justice Resource Center (NTJRC)
makes a strong attempt to provide the most current and complete copies of
codes and constitutions, and the copy of the code or constitution on this
web site may in some cases be identical to the "official" version,
NTJRC provides this digital copy for research purposes only. NTJRC recommends
that you contact the tribe for the "official" version. The Chitimacha
Tribe of Louisiana has a web
site http://www.chitimacha.com and can be reached at Chitimacha Loop,
Charenton, LA 70523, (p) 337-923-4973, (f) 337-923-6848
Article IV - Assignment of Tribal Lands
Approved: 1971
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 Louisiana.
The jurisdiction of the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana shall extend to all lands
now held , or hereafter acquired, by or for the Chitimacha Tribe.
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.
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.
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 United States:
(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 Louisiana.
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.
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 November 22, 1969, by the following council members:
Chairman Leonard Stouff , Vice-Chairman Leroy Burgess, Secretary-Treasurer Leslie
Proctor, Councilman Alvin Vilcan, and Councilman Archie Vilcan. When adopted
by a majority vote of the registered voters of the Chitimacha Tribe voting in
a special election authorized by the Secretary of the Interior in which at least
thirty percent (30%) of those entitled to vote shall vote, shall be submitted
to the Secretary of the Interior for his approval and shall be in force from
the date of such approval in accordance with Section 16 of the Indian Reorganization
Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984), as amended by the Act of June 15, 1935
(49 Stat. 378).
Pursuant to an election authorized by Acting Associate Commissioner, Flore Lekanof
of Indian Affairs on June 23, l970, 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
Washington, D.C.
Date: Jan. 14 1971