Lummi Indian Business Council has ignored my petition to lower the Blood Quantum for over a year. It is within our rights as sovereign nation to change our constitution and bylaws as a democracy and I feel strongly the majority of our registered voters agree. The motions made at general council meetings to put power back into the general councils hands have been ignored by the Lummi Indian Business Council. There are enrolled Lummi members not allowed to vote for Lummi because they do not live in Whatcom County. Lummi does not have the housing for the 5,000+ and growing enrolled population but where we live does not change our ancestry nor should it prevent rights to vote in our tribe or make us shun our family because of Blood Quantum. Signing this petition will bring awareness to these issues affecting our tribe.

Article VII - REFERENDUM Upon receipt of a petition of at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the voting membership of the tribe, or upon the request of the majority of the full membership of the business council, the chairman shall call a special meeting of the general council to be held within thirty (30) days of receipt of such petition or request, to consider any enacted or proposed ordinances or resolutions, and the vote of the majority of the voting membership attending the special meeting will decide whether the enacted or proposed ordinances or resolutions shall thereafter be in effect, provided that twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the eligible voters shall vote in such referendum. Public notices of all special meetings shall be made in accordance with Section 1, Article III.

ARTICLE IX - AMENDMENTS This constitution and bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the General Council voting at an election called for that purpose, provided that at least thirty percent (30%) of the General Council entitled to vote shall vote in such an election. It shall be the duty of the Lummi Indian Business Council to call an election upon a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members of the business council present at a duly convened meeting or upon receipt of a petition signed by thirty (30) eligible voters of the General Council of the tribe. [Amended: Resolution #96-28, February 8, 1996.]

ARTICLE IV - RATIFICATION OF CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS This constitution and bylaws, when adopted by a majority vote of the adult voters of the Lummi Tribe, voting at a special election authorized by the Lummi Indian Business Council in which at least thirty percent (30%) of those entitled to vote shall vote, shall be submitted to the Lummi Indian Business Council for its approval. It shall be in force from the date of such approval. [Amended: Resolution #98-23, March 6, 1998.]

Article II Section 1 (f) All children of one-fourth (1/4) degree or more Indian blood born to any member of the tribe after the effective date of this constitution.

Lummi is continuing the systemic racism through blood quantum introduced by colonization and perpetuating that harmful ideology on our own people by choice when it is now within our ability to change it whereas before it was forced upon us. Blood Quantum was established by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to dwindle our enrollment and by proxy population into nothing, Federal Government funding is provided on an enrollment basis which is why we along with other tribes were given the Ramma Check Settlement (some may remember as the first 1000$ winter distribution) the Federal Government for years had not been providing the appropriate funding for our enrolled members. Our traditional values place our tribe first, we cannot claim to protect that while we deny those with Lummi ancestors enrollment. While many will want to defend these outdated policies with the rhetoric that Lummi does not have the funding to support an influx of members I would like to take this time to say that if Lummi has the money to buy a golf course and build 3 baseball fields then Lummi can afford to acknowledge our friends and family as enrolled members because we all come from Lummi ancestors and deserve to be treated equal.

Article II Section 1 (f) should change to lower to 1/8 or 1/16 or switch to Lineal Descent based on a vote from the general council, on top of that the every enrolled member should be treated equally in providing DNA for accurate family trees and blood quantum similar to FamilyTreeDNA or 23andMe regardless of the Blood Quantum cut-off lowering or not. Every enrolled Lummi member over 18 should be allowed to vote in Lummi elections regardless of where they live. We need to be creating better revenue ventures that provide jobs for our community and help fund our programs.

Because this is an online petition it will not go forward to the Lummi Council but bringing these problems forward with solutions and showing how many Lummi members want this change will make it easier moving forward to a vote when the COVID-19 pandemic has been resolved.