Section SAF.06.05 — Exclusion Process

(a) The Tribe has sovereign authority over lands under its jurisdiction and to control the access of persons to such lands in order to act in the best interests of the Tribe and its members. While the Tribal Council intends to provide due process in accordance with this ordinance to individuals prior to exclusion from such lands, the authority of the Tribal Council to exclude persons shall be broadly applicable and deviations from the process shall not nullify actions of Tribal Council properly taken as part of a duly-noticed and held meeting.

(b) Petition.

(1) The process to exclude a person from the Reservation is initiated by the filing of a petition that is signed by at least fifteen (15) members.

(2) A petition shall be in writing and include the following information:

(A) The name and address, if known, of the person to be excluded;

(B) The grounds for the exclusion;

(D) Whether it is believed that an immediate danger to health, safety or property exists and, if so, why; and

(E) The printed names and signatures of the members requesting the exclusion.

(3) The petition shall be filed with the Tribal Council Secretary (or a person acting on the Secretary's behalf), who shall sign and date when it is received.

(1) Upon receipt of a petition, the Tribal Council Secretary shall have the person who is the subject of the petition served with the copy of the petition. With the petition, the Tribal Council Secretary shall include a cover letter informing the person that:

(A) The petition may result in the person's temporary or permanent exclusion from the Reservation;

(B) The person may submit a written statement (to the Tribal Council Secretary on behalf of the Tribal Council) responding to the petition;

(D) Notice of the date and time of the hearing will be provided at a later date.

(2) The Tribal Council Secretary shall forward a copy of the petition to the Tribe's Compliance Department to complete a background check on the person that is the subject of the petition.

(3) The Tribal Council Secretary shall forward a copy of the petition to the Tribe's Police Department, so that they can take such actions as appropriate and necessary to address any threat from the person who is the subject of the petition.

(4) Following completion of any investigation(s), the Tribal Council Secretary shall schedule a hearing on the petition to be held at a duly-held Tribal Council meeting and send all appropriate notices.

(A) The hearing will normally be scheduled no later than 45 days after the submittal of the petition.

(B) The hearing normally will be set for a date no sooner than 14 days from the date of the notice.

(5) The Tribal Secretary shall have notice of the date, time and place of the hearing served on the person who is the subject of the petition.

(6) Notice of the date, time and place of the hearing on the exclusion shall be posted and sent to the members who submitted the petition.

(7) If the Tribal Council authorizes an exclusion order following a hearing, then the Tribal Council Secretary shall be responsible to facilitate the issuance of such order as provided hereunder.

(d) Service. For purposes of this ordinance, service may be either in person or certified U.S. mail, return receipt requested. If, after a good faith attempt at service, the Tribe cannot obtain either service in person or by mail, then the Tribe may obtain service by providing a copy of the papers to be served to a member of the person's household or taping the papers on the front door of the person's residence or place of business.

(e) Hearing.

(1) The Tribal Council will consider the petition, any background investigation into the allegations, as well as testimony and evidence from interested parties as part of their determination of whether the person committed an act or omission that meets the grounds for exclusion.

(2) Such hearing may be held during either open or closed session of the Tribal Council meeting as is appropriate based on the nature of the grounds for the exclusion (e.g., actions involving minors shall be discussed during closed session). Any action taken based on the petition must occur during open session.

(3) The person who is the subject of the petition shall have an opportunity to present testimony and/or evidence on their own behalf as part of the hearing. That person shall have no right to be present for the testimony of any other party or to cross-examine any other person.

(4) All persons appearing before the Tribal Council as part of these proceedings may be represented by counsel at their own expense.

(5) Persons who fail to observe proper respect and decorum for the proceedings may be ejected from the hearing.

(6) No formal rules of evidence shall apply to the proceedings; however, the Tribal Council has authority to restrict testimony or evidence that believes is irrelevant or excessively cumulative.

(7) The Tribal Council has the sole responsibility to weigh the evidence presented as part of the proceedings and determine whether the proposed exclusion is in the best interests of the tribal community.

(8) The Tribal Council shall act by motion to decide whether or not to issue an exclusion order and what, if any, special conditions shall apply to such order. Motions to exclude a person must have at least five (5) Tribal Council members voting in support of the motion. If the motion to exclude does not have at least five (5) votes in support, then the person shall not be excluded.

(f) Exclusion Order.

(1) The Tribal Council may orally advise the parties of its decision at the hearing or may issue an opinion within five (5) business days of the hearing. In either case, the Tribal Council shall prepare a written order of its action.

(2) Such written order shall identify the person who is subject of the order, the grounds for exclusion, the date the order was issued, whether the order is permanent or temporary (and, if temporary, the length of the exclusion), and any special conditions.

(3) The Tribal Council Secretary shall have the exclusion order served on the excluded person and send copies to the Police Department, the members filing the petition and any tribal departments directly impacted, if known.

(4) Exclusion orders shall be effective upon issuance.

(g) Records. A copy of the exclusion order, as well as other records related to the exclusion proceedings shall be maintained in secure storage by the Tribal Council Secretary or designee. Such records shall be maintained for at least the duration of the exclusion plus three (3) years.