In Martinez, Julia Martinez, a female member of the Santa Clara Pueblo married to Myles Martinez, a Navajo man, represented a group of Santa Claran women who had married outside of the tribe. Her daughter, Audrey Martinez, represented the children who were denied membership under the Pueblo's 1939 Ordinance. The membership Ordinance afforded membership rights to children of marriages involving Santa Claran men and nonmembers, while denying membership to children of marriages involving Santa Claran Men and nonmembers, while denying membership to children of marriages between Santa Claran women and nonmembers. Even though the Martinez children were raised on the reservation and continue to reside there and speak the native Tewa language, the Pueblo Ordinance denied them membership rights. Following several decades of unsuccessful attempts to persuade the tribe to change its membership laws, the Martinez women sought in the U.S. federal court system to enforce their right to equal protection of the laws under Title 1 of the Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA), also known as the Indian Bill of Rights. Ultimately, the Supreme Court held that Congress, in passing the ICRA, did not intend to intrude on tribal sovereignty by authorizing a civil action against a tribe or its officers in federal court for its alleged violations of the ICRA, and it refused to imply a federal cause of action. The only federal cause of action specifically authorized under the ICRA is a habeas corpus petition, which was irrelevant to Ms. Martinez's complaint.
-A Closer Look At Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez: Membership By Sex,
By Race, And By Tribal Tradition by Lucy A. Curry Wisconsin Women's Law Journal Vol.16:161 pg.161-162
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