While I cannot speak for the motives of other businesses, I am committed to working with a team of tribal government experts who know what it’s like to work in the tribal trenches; who live in tribal communities; who are indigenous both in heritage and of mind.

For Wilkins to suggest that even Native-owned companies are somehow less qualified in fixing centuries-old systems of tribal injustice is quite simply contradictory and insulting. His views also undermine the business decisions of tribes themselves in insinuating that they function irrationally or without direction for what is best for the future of their Indian Nations.

For any tribe that wishes to conduct an enrollment audit for all the right reasons, bravo to them and bravo to the notion of tribal sovereignty.

The whole purpose of tribal sovereignty and self-governance is to make those decisions without interference from outside agencies, consulting companies or even scholars.