The Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona wants Congress to restore its right to set its own membership standards.

The tribe gained federal recognition through an act of Congress in 1978. Public Law 95-375 included a membership standard that was later amended in 1994 to give people more time to enroll.

But not all Yaqui people are able to gain membership even though they maintain ties to the community, Chairman Peter Yucupicio said. He wants the tribe to be able to set its own standards.

"It would allow us, as a sovereign nation and as a sovereign right, to enroll those people who missed those deadlines,” Yucupicio told the House Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs, Cronkite News reported.

H.R. 3319 amends Public Law 95-375 and states that the tribe's membership consists of "any person of Pascua Yaqui blood enrolled by the tribe."

The Obama administration supports the bill, the director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs told the subcommittee.

Get the Story:
Pascua Yaqui ask Congress for authority to determine membership (Cronkite News 7/24)

Committee Notice:
Legislative Hearing on H.R. 726, H.R. 3319 and H.R. 6141 - House Committee on Natural Resources (July 24, 2012)

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