Since 1986, the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc Band in British Columbia has been working on taking control of their membership. Membership codes had been circulating the Band for decades and twice referendums to take control of their membership were defeated by their voters. But then came along Tk’emlups Council Woman Colleen Mosterd-Mclean who was elected to her Council in 2012. One of her many responsibilities was Band membership, and with that new responsibility came a fierce determination to make things right for her nation.

Colleen came to the 19th Annual Tribal Enrollment Conference in Las Vegas in 2013 and I had the honor and pleasure of meeting her for the first time. Within a year she and I were working together to help draft a new code that would meet the concerns of their members and put her Band on the fast track to membership sovereignty.

I made my first visit in January of 2015 to work with Colleen and the administrative staff to determine what was crucial for them to include in the code. In two subsequent visits Collen and I conducted three Focus Forums with the membership so they could include what was necessary to give them the comfort and safety they required.