From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/Aboriginals: Ktunaxa/ in collaboration
In Canada until recently, the Department of Indian Affairs granted native status to non-native women who married native men but took away native status for native women who married non-natives. The Ktunaxa opposed this rule and lobbied, successfully in the end, for greater control over tribal membership. In practice, local control has led to membership for those not on tribal roles, such as the offspring of native women who lost their status, while not cancelling the membership for those originally non-native women who were granted it under the old rules. In any event, the children of non-native women married to Ktunaxa are accepted as members.
In Montana, the issue has been whether the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribal government, with its preponderance of Salish people, would decide membership regarding Kootenai people or whether it would be specifically Kootenai people on the reservation who would have this power.With newly instituted local control by Kootenai people, there has been some selectivity in the granting of membership. A panel given the responsibility of deciding the issue on a case-by-case basis takes into account not only an individual’s ancestry but also his or her cultural identity.
To some extent, taking control of tribal membership is a matter of injecting a dose of reality into official community membership. Intermarriage has not been uncommon, and today, as it has been for generations, being a Ktunaxa person is not so much about percentage of ancestry as it is about identification with Ktunaxa ancestors, along with cultural identity and community participation.
