Sometimes, disenrolled Indians are forced to leave tribal land — though in California, many Indians do not live on the small reservations, which are also known as rancherias.
"It is the decision by a majority of the Tribal Council," the letter said, "that you are hereby disenrolled".
They are disenrolled, phase by phase, as the instruction becomes more complex.
All those disenrolled have been reinstated with economic and health benefits and voting rights pending the tribal court's final resolution.
The tribe has disenrolled more than 400 members in the past five years, and scores more are facing disenrollment hearings.
Children who are disenrolled can lose access to tribal schools.
But at 87, she, too, has been disenrolled.
At least 2,500 Indians have been disenrolled by at least two dozen California tribes in the past decade, according to estimates by Indian advocates and academics.
But it also pays for utilities, food bills and tuition — and Nikah Dondero, Nancy Dondero's 32-year-old daughter, had to turn down a master's degree program after she was disenrolled last month, because she lost her scholarship.
Some Indian advocates like Ms. Wass say it is time for Congress to empower the federal courts or the Bureau of Indian Affairs to provide legal recourse to Indians who believe they have been disenrolled improperly.
Ms. Jimenez said that Mr. McCall was able to get on a waiting list for a transplant only after he disenrolled from the H.M.O. and applied under traditional Medicare.
