March 1, 2026.
This notice is republished from a listing on the Sault Tribe's website.
Pursuant to Tribal Resolution 2026-01 the Tribal Board of Directors and the Legal Department are posting the draft constitutional amendments (both in red line and a clean version) along with an executive summary and an initial fiscal impact statement. The tribe welcomes feedback from its citizens. Feedback from tribal citizens will be collected throughout the remainder of the process and can be sent to constitution@saulttribe.net. Please include your full name and your enrollment number so we can verify your citizenship and ensure that your feedback is properly logged to be sent to the board under the timelines in Tribal Resolution 2026-01.
CLEAN 3 Branch Separation Amendments for Public Release.
REDLINE 3 Branch Separation Amendments for Public Release.
Constitution Amendments Executive Summary.
Initial Fiscal Impact Statement 3 Branch Government."
In our view this document should not be allowed to move forward. It needs to be revised.
It appears they are trying to make changes they should not be allowed to make while not including other changes that should be added attempting to force you to vote for a document that benefits the Board of Directors ...or you don't get the Three Branch Government and Separation of Powers you want.
Just a few weird things to review are ....
- They are slipping in the Mackinac Band into the Constitution, even though they have been enrolling Tribal Members that are from the Mackinac Band for years, all the while collecting Federal Funds representing that the Mackinac Band Members are qualified to be Federally Recognized Tribal Members of the Sault Tribe... now they think we should be officially listed?
What is shady about that?
Is it that they are trying to interfere with the State of Michigan Recognized Tribe the Mackinac Band of Chippewa and Ottawa Federal Recognition Application?
Or is it ..that it may cost the tribe millions of dollars if they had to pay back money that should have been set aside for the Mackinac Band of Chippewa and Ottawa?
Other questionable items:
- They are trying to rewrite Article III of the Bylaws in a way that takes away Tribal Members Rights to access to all records. Section 1. Changes they are trying to pass believing we are too stupid to notice? “ The Tribal Council shall pass, through resolution, laws consistent with this article to govern the reasonable disclosure of information and appropriate sunset laws with regard to the disclosure of proprietary business information within six (6) months of the ratification of this amended constitution” This is Censorship .
It appears that the people that worked on this document have one purpose which was to protect the Tribal Government Rights. By doing so they are attempting to trample on Tribal Members Rights and dismissed all the work previously done by Tribal Members that sincerely were attempting to protect our rights by including the Bylaw Article III Section One. Which currently is "All books, records, and financial accounts of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, including the tribal roll, shall be open to inspection by tribal members upon reasonable request to the board of directors". As a reminder the board is currently in violation of the Sault Tribe Constitution Bylaws Article III Section I by refusing to provide those records upon reasonable request. They won't even tell you what they define as a reasonable request.
Needed changes that are missing from the constitutional draft:
- Tribal Board Member Term Limits.
- Addressing the fact that Unit One has more council representatives when the majority of the tribe does not live in Unit One.
- Why are we called the Sault Tribe when the majority is not actually from the Soo? Should the name of the tribe be changed to reflect the value and heritage of all seven units?
- The rights of the majority of the tribe to be elected to the Tribal Council or Chairperson (which they now want to refer to as Ogemaa). This rule is a form of blatant discrimination against the majority of the tribe because the majority of the tribe does not currently live in the seven county service area. As IT CURRENTLY READS they expect people to uproot their lives a year prior to the primary election to live in the seven county service area with no guarantee they will be elected...SO basically the truth appears to be they are restricting access to the council membership to the minority of the tribe. Ask yourself.. Who does that benefit?
- We need you to Stand Up for all Members. Please stop this document from being placed on the ballot or sent to the BIA until it is revised.
- Email your comments and concerns to constitution@saulttribe.net
- Chi - Miigwech
