How do I get my daughter enrolled with her tribe?

Question

Her father is half Osage and half Otoe-Missouri.

Answer 1

First a bunch of questions:

Is her father enrolled in either tribe (you're only allowed one)? If yes, he fills out a form, files it with the tribal council, and it's a no-brainer. If no, question 2...

Were any of his parents registered in their tribes? If yes, Dad fills out the forms for his own tribal membership and for your daughter's membership. He includes his birth certificate and hers. The tribal council asks why he's taken so long to register and inquires why he suddenly has an interest in his native heritage after all these years. If the tribe owns a casino, expect that both he and your daughter will have a waiting period (usually 2-5 years) and will be required to start participating in tribal activities.

If neither the parents nor grandparents have registered with the tribe, then you have some research to do. The Osage aren't happy with long-lost tribal members. I'm not sure the Otoe aren't going to scrutinize, too. Be prepared to provide birth, marriage and death certificates for every person in the lineage all the way back to the last registered tribal member. Remember, you have to pick which tribe to register with...you can't have both. So figure out which is the tribe of least resistance.

Answer 2

You would have to contact those tribes.  Don't get your hopes up though unless her father has some contacts.  I know of many people who can't get enrolled because of all the fakes out there..  It gives the legitimate members a harder time unless they have "pull".   I speak from experience here.  Luckily, mine was only for interest and not for benefit, so id didn't bother me that I was ignored.

Tony McPherson

Sanduski and Abernaki

(but they don't care... so I don't care... its their loss.)