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The Relationships between Native Nation Citizenship Criteria and Constitutionally Specified Voter Rights

MENTOR: MIRIAM JORGENSEN, M.P.P., PH.D.
Senior Researcher, Native Nations Institute
Research Scientist, Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy
Affiliate Faculty, College of Law
Affiliate Faculty, Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in American Indian Studies
Miriam Jorgensen, Ph.D.
Two broad policy types govern citizenship (also referred to as membership) in Native nations that share geography with the United States:
  • Descent policies, which restrict citizenship to those individuals who descend from a designated list of Tribal members at some point in the past.
  • Blood quantum policies, which restrict citizenship to those descendants of the Tribal community with a minimum degree of tribal ancestry.

Given that Tribal citizenship rules based on descent open enrollment to a much larger group of people than do citizenship rules based on blood quantum and, in particular, open voting to a much larger group of non-resident Tribal citizens, Tribes can struggle with balancing the voice of resident and non-resident citizens at the voting booth. This project looks at Tribal citizenship rules and constitutionally specified voting rights (what citizens are eligible to vote, how and where voting can occur, and the nature of voters’ representation in their Tribes’ legislative bodies) to better understand whether Native nations with descent-based citizenship rules are also more likely to make voting more (or less) difficult and to make representation more (or less) democratic.

Native Nations Institute researchers, working under the direction of Dr. Jorgensen, are gathering policy information from U.S.-based Native nations to address these questions. A Mo’s Policy Scholar is sought to assist in both data collection and analysis aimed at offering Tribes new ideas for how best to make their political structures reflect community preferences for citizen participation and voice.

Skills Needed

The ability to:

  • Find and gather sources and extract relevant information
     
  • Structure information logically
     
  • Pay close attention to details to ensure accuracy in data collection
     
  • Interpret and analyze information and draw conclusions based on evidence
     
  • Summarize key findings
     
  • Follow directions, work independently, and report in regularly

Skills Gained

All of "Skills Needed" listed on the left, plus:

  • Teamwork and collaboration skills
     
  • Experience with interdisciplinary research approaches
     
  • Inter-Indigenous intercultural competencies
     
  • Skills in comparative constitutional analysis

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