Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community President Martin Harvier released a message to the Community on January 24 regarding the presence of increased federal law enforcement in Arizona and across the country.

The message came as tribes across Indian Country offered similar guidance in response to encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

To help ensure all membership continue to remain well-supported, the SRPMIC extended the hours of the membership services department to allow enrolled members additional time to obtain/update their tribal IDs. 

The department extended hours on nine days in February from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., which included a Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. This was in addition to their regular business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday – Friday. 

“There is no expiration date on our current tribal ID,” said Alexandra Andrews, SRPMIC community development department membership supervisor. Andrews sat down with O’odham Action News to detail some of the finer points of the SRPMIC tribal ID process for membership. 

Andrews continued, detailing that newborns and toddlers are eligible to receive their tribal IDs as well. “We let the parents and guardians know it is at their discretion,” she said. She added that she and her team have created tribal IDs for newborn babies in the Community. 

During the first day of the extended hours on February 4, Andrews shared that many families brought in their children to obtain their tribal IDs. “Our first day of extended hours, families came in together with their children and we took updated photos of everyone,” said Andrews. 

She also mentioned membership can provide the department with the most current and up-to-date information such as their address while they obtain their tribal IDs. “If their information is up to date, that makes everything a lot easier,” she said. “We have them complete our form; it takes 5 minutes.”

For membership that do not live in the Community, mail-out services are also available to them. “We just want to offer a lot of options to the Community,” she said. 

For more information, membership can contact the Community Development Department Office of Membership directly by dialing (480) 362-7330, emailing EnrollmentHotline@SRPMIC-nsn.gov, or visiting the department directly located in the Two Waters Building B on the 3rd Floor at 10079 E. Osborn Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85256.