The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Board of Directors unanimously passed a landmark resolution in Marquette this evening, moving closer to establishing three co-equal branches of government and a formal separation of powers within the tribe’s government.
The resolution requests a secretarial election on proposed constitutional amendments and places the decision to update the tribe’s Constitution in the hands of Sault Tribe membership. There was one amendment to the resolution lowering the required votes the legislative branch needs to override the executive branch’s veto from a three-fourths majority to a two-thirds majority.
The resolution was brought forward after months of tribal input on amending the Constitution. In Fall 2025, the Sault Tribe Election Commission mailed a constitutional survey to tribal members. Results showed a majority of respondents supported amending the current Sault Tribe Constitution to establish a more defined system of checks and balances through co-equal legislative, judicial, and executive branches.
Article X of the Sault Tribe Constitution, along with Title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations sections 81.7 and 81.19, establishes the process and timelines for amendments making foundational changes to the way the tribe is governed.
Once the board submits its newly passed resolution to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the agency must perform a technical review within 30 days and call the secretarial election within 90 days. During the review process, the BIA will work with the Sault Tribe to ensure the proper framework is in place for the proposed constitutional amendments.
The BIA will create a Secretarial Election Board that will administer the election process. Once the election is completed, the Secretary of the Interior will determine whether to approve the constitutional changes.
Because the secretarial election is administered by the BIA rather than the Sault Tribe, eligible tribal members must specifically register for the election in order to receive a ballot. The BIA will provide additional information to membership regarding registration procedures and election timelines.
Ballots are expected to be mailed later this summer to eligible Sault Tribe members who register for the secretarial election. Members are encouraged to ensure their mailing addresses are current with Sault Tribe Enrollment in order to receive election materials and correspondence from the BIA in relation to the election.
Further information on the secretarial election process will be available soon on saulttribe.com.