I was enrolled pursuant to the amendments to the Tribes constitution required by the Judgement Funds

Act #99-346.

How do you explain the loss of ones citizenship, the loss of their rights to a community, the right to
vote, the right to be apart of decisions for that community, the right to participate spiritually, culturally,
the loss of your heritage, you are literally wiped from the pages of existance in your own tribe, with
your own people. You can not quantify that loss, for it is unimaginable, beyond heart breaking, it is
beyond devastating. Imagine proving who you are in a system that you did not create, a system created
by the United States government. A system based on ones blood quantum and land rolls. Imagine
proving who you are, finding paperwork that does not exist because of the era of time, proving who
you are when your ancestors were born at home and died at home. Records lost due to fire, no record
keeping or lack of record keeping, records destroyed by the Tribe, pages ripped from books. The
greatest lack of records is due to the fact that your ancestors were Native American.

Now imagine being removed from your own Tribe through their disregard for history, their disregard
for their culture, their disregard for their community. The pain of discrimination, of racial slurs and
attacks. Imagine being a small child, hearing someone call your father a “half breed” or the fact that
your Grand mother incurred great discrimination because of her heritage and the color of her skin. She
was not afforded the same rights and respect as other community members, she was not called by her
proper name, she was known as “ indian women”, “ squaw”, not someone's wife, not with respect, not
with humanity. She was denied medical treatment at a hospital because she was “Indian”. She was not
able to participate, not able to be apart of her own community, she lived an isolated existance. Living in
a small town there were no secrets. Everyone knows everyone, discimination comes in all forms,
words, facial expressions, whispers, gestures, vulgar displays of disapproval. Her children also suffered
the same discrimination. Grandma Grace as she is known had no power to move her family to the
Isabella Reservation, she was a women, her place was at home, with her family, her rights prior to 1924
were non-existant and after very limited. Her Grandfather, James Fisher was Chief in St. Charles of a
band of Saginaw Chippewa, her Great Grandfather was a medicine man, her Great- Great grandfather
was Chief Kaw ke gaw zhick (aka. Robert Fisher) whom signed the 1855 Treaty for the Isabella
Reservation, her Great Uncle, Chief Wah be ness ( aka. David Fisher ) signed the 1864 Treaty for the
Isabella Reservation, all were Original land allottee's in 1871 and 1872. Her Grandmother Julia Jane
David Fisher was given an allottment in 1891. Her father John Shaw also had an allotment in 1891. In
1937, Grace was an Original Voting member of the 1937 Constitution for the Saginaw Chippewa
Tribe. She was allowed to vote on the first Constitution for the Saginaw Tribe and yet not considered to
be a member of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe. Her sister is a member of the tribe, same biological
parents and yet Grace is not considered to be a member of the tribe. The Isabella Reservation gave no
offers of a better life, in fact, people were living in sqaulard conditions, living off government
assistance and living in tar paper houses, no jobs, only broken promises. The family chose to stay and
work in the community where they were born and raised, stay true to their heritage, their culture, their
people. The Fisher, Shaw and Fowler families chose to stay in Saint Charles, also known as Indian
Town, the place of their ancestors. Mt. Pleasant is not the home of the Chippewa, Annishnabek!

The pain of being put up for dis-enrollment goes very deep, it is a heartache that never goes away.
You know who you are as a person, you know your heritage, you know who your ancestors are, you
know their place in history, their place in the Tribe, now prove it!! Not prove it once but for some,
three times, the pain of being put up for dis-enrollmen three times, it is extreme!! The first time is
shock and heartbreak, the Tribe moves to dismiss your case. The second time is heartbreak and pain,
the Tribal Court then “ Dismisses with Prejudice” your case and you are relieved that finally you are
done. Only No, you are not done because the Tribe is and has been making resolutions to the Tribal
Constitution/Ordinace #14, since 1989 to further remove or disqualify members from membership, to
target certain members. You are now up for dis-enrollment a third time because of yet another council
resolution, a third time is beyond comprehensible, heartbreak, pain and utter disbelief. The Tribe
through their court system has deemed you dis-enrolled, finalized by the Chief ( Frank Cloutier) The
agony of this process is pure hell, twenty five plus years of searching, wandering, waiting, the odds and
the system are stacked against you, this is not the way of Native people, it is not the way of the
Annishnabek!!

I now ask you to put yourself in my place. You are now being asked to prove who you are to a blood
quantum of ¼ degree and to trace to a specific land roll or place of residence, this residency
requirement is being based on a specific time frame. Do you have your paperwork in order, birth,
death, marriage and land records? If you can not prove it then you are no longer a citizen, your rights to
your culture, heritage, government are revoked and even when you do have all your factual,
documented proof , the tribe dictates to the court to dis-enroll. How do you prove something of which
you had and have no control over, blood qauntum is and was for animals not a person or person's.
Having land given to an ancestor or residing in a specific place,time does not prove who you are. You
can not claim this practice of blood quantum or being given a land allottment as a rule for membership
in a Tribe, it is the governments rule, the governments control, the governments process, it is not now
nor has it been a long standing practice or traditional practice of the Indiginous/ Native Americans of
this land, it is not the way of the Annishnabek. You can also not claim you have no right to intervene
because of a Tribe's right to self determination when it is based on your rules, your practices, your
process. Indiginous/ Native American and the Annishnabek belive that we are all interconnected, we
are all descendants, all heirs to this great land!

I ask you to uphold Public Act #99-346. The Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan agreed to be
bound by Public Act #99-346 and waived it's right to soveriegn immunity defenses as to claims of
disenrollment and removal of members benefits. The tribal council agreed to act as fiduciaries for the
tribal members, newest members and the off reservation members for equal treatment. The tribal
council also named as a trustee for the fund, agreed to insure fair, non-discriminatory treatment of the
new and the off reservation members who enrolled in the 1986 window of open enrollment. Because
the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe has consistently and relentlesly discriminated against my family and me, I
consider this to be a personal violation of Public Act #99-346. I ask you to restore all rights, the
families rights, our rightful membership in the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe. I ask you to stop dis-
enrollments in Tribes. Native American's are the only people in the United States that must prove who
they are through blood quantum and land, a system that is outdated, demeaning, heartbreaking,
antiquated and discriminatory. A government process! Greed is ruling this Tribe and is harming its own
people! Do what is right, Restore my rights, my right to be a citizen of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe!