Membership
is open to all Bras d'Or Indian descendants whose Mi'kmaq ancestors are found in the 1871
Cape Breton census records, who reside in the electoral districts of Cape Breton or who no longer reside
in the said district, but still maintain contact with the community or who meets said criteria and desire to reconnect with the community and who trace their
ancestry to the Mi'kmaq families found in Indian Village, Little Bras d'Or in the 1818 census.
The Band Council will
used the following criteria when reviewing membership applications:
Sub-section (a)
A person must make a voluntary request for membership in the Bras d'Or First Nation.
A person must demonstrate Mi'kmaq descendancy through documentation such as birth, baptismal,
census and colonial records. When
such documents are non-existence, an affidavit from a
known Mi'kmaq descendant who resides in Nova Scotia may be accepted and
approved by the Band Council.
The
application must be approved by the majority of the Band Council at a
regularly scheduled Band
Council meeting.
Or
Sub-section(b)
Descent
from any person that meets all of the criteria contained in Section I,
Sub-section (a);
A
person, reputed to be of Indian descent, accepted by those meeting the
criteria contained in Section I, Sub-section (a) in accordance with reasonable
rules of community acceptance;
Or
Sub-section c)
A
person who, upon application to a Band, meets such criteria for membership as
may from time to time be established by the Band as provided for under Section
10 of the Indian Act as amended.
Section II
Applications
fees for membership card and letter of acceptance may be set by Band
Council. Annual dues may be set by Band Council if required.
Section
III
Membership
in the band shall cease in the event of:
Death of a member.
Written
resignation personally delivered by member to Band Council.
Member
transfers to another First Nation Band.
Determination
by the Band Council of members ineligible to continue as a member in
accordance with these by-laws.
Section
IV - Standards of Evidence
Standards of
Evidence shall include documentation confirming First Nation Mi'kmaq Ancestry, including long form birth certificates, baptismal certificates,
marriage certificates, census records, land petitions, and any other Colonial
documents found in the Public Archives.
All
affidavits
must be approved by the Band Council.
