Report: Santa Clara Pueblo votes to change membership rule

Tuesday, May 1, 2012  

More than 30 years after a key U.S. Supreme Court decision, Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico will change its membership policy, The Santa Fe New Mexican reports.

In Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, the court ruled that the tribe could not be sued under the Indian Civil Rights Act by a woman whose children were denied enrollment because she married a member of a different tribe. Men who married outside of the tribe were not subject to the same restriction.

But tribal members voted overwhelmingly to change the policy, the paper reported. "This is historic. This is huge," tribal member was quoted as saying.

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Pueblo votes to change membership rules (The Santa Fe New Mexican 5/1)