Quick Access

Reminder: the Secretarial Election is a federal election

While the Sault Tribe’s upcoming secretarial election affects the way the tribe is governed, it is important that tribal citizens note this is a federally administered election conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

These special elections are led by a secretarial election board with a BIA-appointed chairman. Sault Tribe citizens are asked to direct questions regarding the election to Secretarial Election Chairman Nicholas VanAlstine. Mr. VanAlstine may be reached at 906‑632‑6809.

With tabulation night and the deadline to submit ballots set for Nov. 19, the Sault Tribe encourages all registered voters to return their ballots ASAP to ensure their vote counts. For more information on the secretarial election, including the proposed amended constitution as well as the current Sault Tribe constitution, please visit https://saulttribe.com/government/secretarial-election.

Sault Tribe Secretarial Election ballots mailed out

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians’ secretarial election enters its final month, with ballots scheduled to be mailed to registered voters by Oct. 26 and election results expected Nov. 19.

Tribal citizens will vote “yes” or “no” on proposed constitutional amendments that would establish three separate, co-equal branches of tribal government: legislative, executive and judicial.

The federally administered election is overseen by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and a Secretarial Election Board. Voter registration closed Oct. 19, and only eligible tribal citizens who registered for this election will receive ballots.

Important upcoming election dates include:

• Oct. 23: Final registered voters List to be posted
• Oct. 26: Ballot packets mailed to registered voters
• Nov. 19: Deadline for ballots to be received 3 p.m. EST. Ballot counting begins at 4 p.m.
• Nov. 24: Deadline to submit written challenges to election results by 4:30 p.m. EST.

Registered voters may return completed ballots through the U.S. Postal Service or hand deliver them on Nov. 19 only, between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. EST, at DreamMakers Theater at Kewadin Casino in Sault Ste. Marie.

Ballot packets will include instructions for completing and returning ballots. Ballots will be opened and counted beginning at 4 p.m. on Nov. 19 at DreamMakers Theater, with results expected to be posted that evening.

If approved and certified by the Secretary of the Interior, the amended constitution would take effect.

To prepare for a potential transition, the Sault Tribe Board of Directors approved a Constitution Implementation Plan on Sept. 22. The plan establishes an 18-month timeline for updating tribal laws and codes while maintaining government operations, programs and services.

Tribal citizens can find additional information about the secretarial election, voting procedures, important deadlines and the proposed changes to tribal government on the secretarial election landing page.

Read the Proposed Amended Sault Tribe Constitution here.

Details: Category: Child Placement; Published: 05 July 2011

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, through the services of the Sault Tribe Binogii Placement Agency, has provided adoption services since 1985 through a Purchase of Services (POS) contract with the Department of Human Service (DHS). It has been, and continues to be, the goal of the Sault Tribe Binogii Placement Agency to expedite the adoption process for all tribal children requiring this service.

To minimize the trauma to the children, relative placements are the first priority of placement at the time of removal. If and when adoption becomes the permanent plan, relatives are the first priority of placement. In practice, the majority of tribal children in need of an adoptive placement have been adopted by the relative who provided care prior to the termination of parental rights. This practice provides the following benefits to the child:

Remaining with a member of their family of origin, continuity of relationships
Minimal moves
Timely adoption
Maintaining cultural ties

It is the intent of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, through the Sault Tribe Binogii Placement Agency and ACFS, to continue the services delineated above and refine these to ensure the continuation of time-limited reunification and adoption support services. The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians will continue to work collaboratively with DHS through participation of the tribal-state partnership to further enhance and refine services to tribal children and their families to facilitate early reunification and when necessary adoption services. This is also addressed through the concurrent permanency planning process as previously described.

At times, Sault Tribe Binogii Placement Agency adoptions take longer as there are extra requirements that need to be met when pursuing to finalize the adoption of an Indian child. At the time a child becomes eligible for adoption, the tribe’s expectation is that the agency will again complete a diligent search of relatives and that tribal approval via the Sault Tribe Child Welfare Committee will be obtained at every step in the process. At times, this lengthens the time for children to be adopted but it does ensure that the tribal priorities are tantamount to the decisions that are made.

In the event that a child becomes eligible for adoption and there are no adoptive resources for the child(ren), concerted efforts are made to identify an appropriate adoptive resource. In the state of Michigan, all children for whom an adoptive resource is not identified within six months after the termination of parental rights must be registered on MARE (Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange). MARE receives information regarding children available for adoption from the DHS central tracking system.