In the United States, tribal disenrollment is loss of citizenship within a Native American tribe. Membership in Indian nations has become increasingly legalistic, and remains to a certain extent legally controlled by Bureau of Indian Affairs rules. More than 80 federally recognized tribes in 17 states have administered the practice, with many looking to clamp down on enrollment requirements. While tribe leaders assert disenrollments are meant to protect the integrity of the tribe, critics argue it's politically and economically motivated.
Article 33 of the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People states that "Indigenous peoples have the right to determine their own identity or membership in accordance with their customs and traditions." This does not impair the right of Indigenous individuals to obtain citizenship of the states in which they live. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine the structures and to select the membership of their institutions in accordance with their own procedures. This means that it is entirely up to the tribes to determine the criteria and procedures that an individual must meet and undergo to be considered for tribal membership. State and the federal government have their own criteria for determining who is native, but the tribe has the final word, as sovereign nations, when it comes to conducting membership.