The following procedures shall be followed in considering an application for enrollment in the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe. In processing applications for enrollment, the Enrollment Clerk, the Enrollment Committee, the Tribal Council shall do everything reasonably possible to insure an orderly and prompt procedure and the speedy resolution of all applications. No person shall be enrolled in the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe who has not applied for membership according to the provision of this code and any regulations adopted hereunder.
(1) 
The Enrollment Clerk shall set up a filing system conforming to the purposes of this code and preserving confidentiality.
(2) 
Application forms for providing the information required by this code shall be made available in the Tribal Office or through the mail upon request of any person seeking enrollment for himself or others.
(3) 
Applications for membership shall be submitted in writing to the Enrollment Committee and must be accompanied by a birth certificate. If a birth certificate does not exist, the Enrollment Committee may accept another official document showing the name of the applicant, date and place of birth, names of parents, and established proof of residency at the birth of applicant. The applicant shall complete the family tree chart and submit any other information requested by the Enrollment Committee for the purpose of determining his or her eligibility for membership.
(4) 
The Enrollment Clerk shall research each complete application, prepare a report on the eligibility status of the applicant along with the application and supporting documents to the Enrollment Committee. The Enrollment Committee shall not, however, receive any application until it is complete and ready for consideration by the Committee.
(5) 
Upon receiving and reviewing a completed application and accompanying materials, the Enrollment Committee shall prepare a recommendation for each applicant and forward that recommendation to the Tribal Council.
(6) 
The Tribal Council shall review the recommendation and act accordingly on those applications, by resolution, under Article II, section 1 (A), and (B) Those applications for membership under section 1(C) will be presented to the General Council as required by the Adoption section of this code. The Enrollment Clerk shall prepare a resolution for the Tribal Council’s approval at its next regularly scheduled meeting, for each person approved by the General Council for adoption.
(7) 
Within thirty (30) days after the Tribal Council adopts a resolution approving an applicant for enrollment, (both in cases of “automatic” enrollment and enrollment by adoption), the Enrollment Clerk shall, notify the applicant of the decision by an approval letter with an attached copy of the resolution.
(Res. 07-A-112 10/09/2007)
Eligibility for automatic enrollment is set forth under Article II, section 1(B) of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Constitution, subject to the following clarification:
(1) 
“A child born to a member of the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe,” means that at least one of the child’s parents was enrolled in the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe at the time of the child’s birth.
(2) 
An applicant’s parent who is an enrolled Port Gamble S’Klallam member shall meet the requirement that the parent “is a resident of” a location listed under Article II, section 1(B) of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Constitution for at least one year immediately prior to the birth of the applicant. Residency must be continuous for the entire year prior to the birth of the applicant. Residency status is not revoked if the tribal member is away at the time of the birth due to reasons that include, but are not limited to, military service, college, work, jail, placement by ICW, or status as a patient in a health care facility.
(Res. 07-A-112 10/09/2007; Res. 19-A-058, 6/24/2019, amended this section to clarify that residency must be continuous for entire year prior to birth and to expand the exceptions a person may be away at the time of birth without having residency status revoked; Res. 24-A-082, 6/10/2024, amended the clarification on residency so the language conforms with the amendment of Article II, Section 1(B) of the PGST Constitution, effective 5/15/2024.)
(1) 
Any person who meets all of the following requirements shall be considered eligible for membership by adoption in the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe:
(a) 
Such person is of 1/8 degree or more total Indian blood; and
(b) 
Such person is a direct descendant of a member whose name appears on the “Basic Roll of the Port Gamble Band of Clallam Indians as of January 1, 1939, ”that was approved by the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribal Council on June 24, 1974, and is commonly referred to as “the base roll”; and
(c) 
Such person is not an enrolled member of any other Indian Nation, First Nation, tribe, band or community; or if such person is a member of another Indian Nation, First Nation, tribe, band, or community, he or she has submitted a written relinquishment of such membership to the Enrollment Committee subject to the approval of his or her application for membership. The Enrollment Clerk shall notify the other tribe by sending a resolution of the General Council approval for membership and ask the other tribe to respond by return mail that the applicant has been officially removed from their rolls.
(2) 
The applicant for membership by adoption shall be notified at least 10 days in advance of the meeting at which his or her application is to be considered. Each applicant shall attend the meeting of the General Council at which his or her application is to be considered and shall introduce him/herself and briefly describe his or her Port Gamble S’Klallam family tree. Applicants who live outside the State of Washington who show extenuating circumstances may request a waiver of the attendance requirement, but must have an enrolled member or a member of the Enrollment Committee act as his or her spokesperson at the meeting.
(3) 
Each applicant for membership by adoption in the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe shall be voted on separately at a regular or special meeting of the General Council, at which a quorum is present.
(4) 
Reconsideration of applicant for adoption into membership:
(a) 
Any person who has applied for adoption into membership in the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe and who has failed to be approved for membership as provided in this section of this code may request that his or her application be reconsidered at a subsequent meeting of the General Council. The request for reconsideration must be submitted in writing to the Enrollment Clerk. Only one request for reconsideration may be made by each applicant.
(b) 
Each applicant for reconsideration shall be notified at least 30 days in advance of the General Council meeting at which his or her application is to be reconsidered and he or she shall attend said meeting.
(c) 
The decision of the General Council upon reconsideration shall be final and there shall be no further right of appeal.
(Res. 07-A-112 10/09/2007)
Upon receipt of an application for a person who has been legally adopted by a family, other than the original birth parents, the following procedure shall be carried out. The Tribal Enrollment Clerk may ask for assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs in obtaining the necessary legal documents to verify the eligibility status in the Tribe. When enough information has been received by the Tribe and the Agency, confidential records will be made available to the Tribal Court who will issue a Statement of Eligibility that will be made available to the Enrollment Clerk. The Enrollment Clerk will maintain confidentially and be available as a sponsor at the General Council meeting when the applicant’s name comes before the membership for a vote.
(Res. 07-A-112 10/09/2007)
(Adoption into Membership – Narrow Enrollment Window. Res. 17-A-119 12/18/2017, created this section after years of research and the consideration of various scenarios for enrollment criteria. The Tribe was unable to reach a consensus for a long-term solution to change the enrollment eligibility criteria, so the Tribe decided to create a process for a narrow enrollment window that allows the Tribal Council to open a narrow window of time with relaxed enrollment eligibility requirements; Res. 19-A-058, 6/24/2019, repealed this section.)
(Narrow Enrollment Window Process. Res. 17-A-119 12/18/2017, created this section after years of research and the consideration of various scenarios for enrollment criteria. The Tribe was unable to reach a consensus for a long-term solution to change the enrollment eligibility criteria, so the Tribe decided to create a process for a narrow enrollment window that allows the Tribal Council to open a narrow window of time with relaxed enrollment eligibility requirements; Res. 19-A-058, 6/24/2019, repealed this section.)