Native Americans and College Acceptance

Helen13
Thu, 07 Jul 2016 12:38:46 +0000

Cornell has a terrific Native program, very inclusive, and they have added their own residence. You can study anything at Cornell, too. Contact the schools you are interested in and speak with their diversity or preferably their Native coordinator. Now, as to tribal enrollment: as each tribe is a sovereign nation they each make up their own requirements for membership. You may be a descendant of more than one tribe; contact each enrollment registrar for requirements. A big hold up is that you need your state certified birth certificate for your CDIB card, not simply one from the county. For tribes that enroll based on a census, such as the Dawes Roll, you will need to find your ancestor on the rolls, and then provide birth (and death, if applicable) certificates for each one of them. If you already have enrolled ancestors, provide the enrollment number and then birth/death certificate from intervening generations. For example, I am enrolled so to enroll my children I just had to provide state-certified birth certificates and a copy of my tribal enrollment card with number. Some tribes have genealogists specializing in Native ancestry. For more extensive help, they charge by the hour. I hope this helps. There can be a lot of paperwork, and it takes time, particularly when you are dealing with the Feds/BIA and more than one tribe.