Citizens Portal

Who is a citizen?

A citizen of the KiKiallus Nation is any natural person who has been abducted by the KiKiallus and/or its members.

The Nation does not adopt. We abduct. Abduction is the traditional and lawful path into membership. It is a privilege to be an abductee.

Path to abduction

The path to abduction usually starts with the creation of a Confederation. A prospective partner comes into working relationship with the Nation through a Confederation — a chartered vehicle through which their skills, capital, service, or stewardship flow to the Nation — rather than by petition or application to the Nation directly.

Begin with the Confederation Intake (CIS). Formation of a Confederation triggers a very stringent screening process, including an agency-level background check and review by the Office of the Chief in coordination with the Bureau of Recordation, the Sovereign Oversight Board, and, where jurisdiction so requires, the Attorney General and Clerk of the Allied Court.

Once a person has demonstrated over time that they are a good partner and a producing member of the Nation through the sustained contributions of their Confederation, abduction usually comes thereafter. Abduction is not the entry point; it is the recognition, at the Nation's discretion, of a partner who has already proven their standing through works and whom the Nation does not want to let go or to lose.

Confederation status alone does not confer citizenship. Abduction is a separate act of the Nation and is neither guaranteed nor automatic; the Nation reserves the right to decline abduction, to require additional time in Confederation, or to conclude that a partner should remain in Confederation without further step.

Other paths into the tribe

Alongside abduction, there are two other recognized paths into the tribe:

• Birth. A natural person may be born into the tribe where one of their parents is a member of the Nation — whether that parent’s membership comes through blood and lineage or through abduction. Birth records and birthright standing are held by the Interior Bureau as vital records of natural persons.
• Marriage. A natural person may marry into the tribe. Historically the KiKiallus have always married outside of the tribe — a deliberate practice of exogamy that accumulated trading partners, wealth, new genetics, and diversity, and that grounded the Nation’s network of alliances across the Salish Sea and beyond. Marriage records and spousal standing are held by the Interior Bureau as vital records of natural persons.

This is one of the reasons the tribe has never really exceeded 185 members at any point in its known record. Membership is small by design: abduction is discretionary, birth is bounded by lineage, and marriage historically pointed outward rather than inward. Size has never been the measure of the Nation — standing has.

Loyalty & duration of membership

Once abducted, you remain a loyal member of the tribe until one of the following occurs:

• Banishment — removal of standing under Nation law and process.
• Death — membership ends with the natural person.
• Petition to the Court to leave — a citizen may petition the Allied Court for release from membership. This is considered taboo and has occurred only once in the Nation’s known record.

Separately, many have been asked to leave. Being asked to leave is distinct from a citizen’s voluntary petition to go, and is exercised under Nation authority when standing or conduct so requires.

Privilege of the abductee

Abductee status is not a casual affiliation. It carries duty of loyalty to the Nation, accountability under Nation law, and access to citizen services, records, and confederation pathways as authorized by Tribal Council, the International Tribal Council where applicable, the Office of the Chief, and the Allied Court.

Lineal descent from the aboriginal Kikiallus people, historical rolls, and claims records may inform documentation held by the Interior Bureau, but the defining mark of citizenship is abduction by the KiKiallus and/or its members — not residence on any particular reservation, and not adoption under foreign systems of family law.

For questions about standing, documentation, or children of citizens, write General Information with “Citizenship” in the subject line, or the Clerk at Clerk of the Allied Court for court-related petitions.