Our principles, leadership, and ancestral responsibilities.
DRAFT — NOT YET RATIFIED. This website presents the October 2026 booklet's organizational structure and a proposed revision to its membership article. The original PDF remains available unmodified. This text is not a signed constitution or evidence of tribal recognition.
Download Original 28-Page Booklet (PDF)
We, the organizing families of Obanye Nation, seek to preserve our ancestral histories, bring connected families together, respect the knowledge of our elders, and build institutions that can serve future generations. We undertake historical investigation and lawful efforts toward recognition without claiming a status not yet established.
Our Ancestors. Our People. Our Future. The Great Fight Continues.
The proposed name is Obanye Nation. Its purposes are ancestral preservation, community organization, education, responsible stewardship, and lawful recognition research. The draft values historical integrity, family participation, respect for elders, and evidence preservation. It proposes a Tribal Warrior Chief, Council of Elders, Tribal Council, Priestly Chiefs, General Assembly, research offices, archives, and treasury. The Keeper of Records maintains formal organizational records. The constitution becomes operative only following documented adoption.
Lee “2piece” Strong, AKA Running Wolf, is the Founder of Obanye Nation. No chief, council, or other leadership appointments are announced at this time. The organizing families will determine leadership roles and selection procedures later.
The proposed Priestly Chiefs provide voluntary Christian worship, teaching, counseling, and service separate from executive authority. Christian participation is not a condition of ordinary membership. Appointments require individual consent.
After the Founding Tribal Warrior Chief's death, the next chief may be selected from the wider eligible ancestral families by a documented Family Succession Council process with elder guidance and fair representation. Detailed selection rules remain to be adopted.
Section 1 — Founding ancestral line. Eligibility for Obanye Nation citizenship is restricted to direct lineal descendants of James “Packhorse” Welch and Quatsi (Vanny), through either maternal or paternal descent.
Section 2 — Generational continuity. Eligibility passes to children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and all succeeding generations without a generational limit. No parent or prior ancestor must have registered for a descendant to remain eligible.
Section 3 — Names and historical classifications. A qualifying descendant is not excluded solely because of surname changes, marriage, place of birth, or historical racial classifications.
Section 4 — Documentation and review. A Membership and Genealogy Committee shall assess submitted genealogical records and other relevant evidence, issue written decisions, and offer a fair appeals process. DNA testing is voluntary and is not required by default.
Section 5 — Registration. Registration records and confirms qualifying descent and organizational membership; it does not create ancestry. Membership applications are voluntary.
Section 6 — Non-descendants. Marriage, association, shared surnames, or self-identification without qualifying direct descent do not independently establish eligibility.
Section 7 — Legal status. Internal citizenship or membership does not confer federal or state tribal recognition, governmental authority, or citizenship in another tribe.
The founding booklet establishes proposed fair-process rights and responsibilities; an ancestral register and privacy protections; a Tribal Council and General Assembly; financial accountability and adoption of symbols; preservation of elders' testimony and youth education; amendment and dispute procedures; and a historical evidence commission to investigate genealogy, historical community, political authority, and applicable recognition requirements.
Important: The paragraphs above summarize Articles I–IX and XI–XVII rather than reproducing their full legal text. The original booklet PDF remains the authoritative record of those unamended draft articles. Only the displayed Article X is a newly drafted replacement for consideration at ratification.