The Chukchansi Indian tribe in California, USA, will this month vote on whether DNA testing
should be used to determine who is entitled to tribe membership.
The tribe has had a surge in membership claims in the past few years. Its population
has grown from 30 in the early 1980s to more than 1,000 in 2003, when the tribe
stopped accepting new members. Tribal leaders suspect this is because members
receive a share of the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino's profits, thus they
want to introduce DNA testing, to make sure that applicants are really who they
say they are.
'Since we started a casino a few years ago, all of a sudden we had
Chukchansis coming out of the woodwork', Reggie Lewis, chairman of the
Chukchansi tribe said. 'We thought DNA would be a way to make
sure that we only get people who are qualified to be in the tribe in the tribe'.
However some members facing expulsion have expressed concern over the effect
testing could have on those who have already been brought up within the tribe
and their families. Speaking at the Creating Stronger Nations conference in Las Vegas, US, Janis
Contraro of the Suquamish tribe in Washington, said: 'If you start paternity
testing [existing members] you open up a whole can of worms'. Furthermore critics insist that the plan could undermine centuries of
cultural values. 'DNA testing undermines the notion of what it is to be tribal',
said Kimberly TallBear of the University of California, Berkeley, and
a member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate tribe in South Dakota.
Responding to the concerns, Jennifer Stanley, secretary for the Chukchansi
tribe, said: 'We know that at first there will be an emotional issue between
families... but in the end what we're hoping through DNA is a unified tribe that
actually knows who they are'.
DNA testing has been used in the USA by some of the Indian tribes before. 'DNA
testing has helped to settle membership disputes and is a very scientific and
clear-cut way to do so', said Sheila Corbine, Attorney General for the Ho-Chunk
tribe in Wisconsin.
Should the Chukchansi tribal council vote for the DNA testing to be
introduced, the tribe will have to amend its constitution to enable all
potential new members to be tested. It will cost around $400 to take the test.
Sources and References
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