Lyackson Membership Code
The draft Membership Code is posted in the Members Only page of this website.
MESSAGE FROM CHIEF AND COUNCIL
Membership Code
As you most likely know Lyackson has taken on many projects. One of the most important for the Nation’s future is the development of a new Membership Code. The Membership Code will be used to determine who will be allowed to become Lyackson members in the future and the way membership decisions will be made.
The new Membership Code must meet certain requirements in the Indian Act, and be compliant with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but can otherwise largely be drafted to meet the community’s needs and wishes.
A key consideration is whether LFN members want to open membership to those not registered as Indians under the Indian Act, or those not eligible for registration. LFN is entitled to limit membership to persons with Indian status, or eligible for status. However, this will exclude more and more individuals from LFN membership over time, as it is anticipated that those eligible for Indian Act status will significantly decrease with each successive generation.
The overall effect of section 6 of the Indian Act is that children will be excluded from eligibility from registration as an Indian if for two generations, either parent has married a non-Indian person.
However, there are financial implications for LFN if membership is extended to non-status or status eligible persons, because certain LFN’s funding from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada may be limited to include only members that are registered under the Indian Act.
A draft copy of the Membership Code is located on the Members Only page of this website for community review
Memo on Indian Status & Band Membership
