that originate from the band. This structure was approved by the Commission of Indian Affairs on April 15, 1969. The Seminole General Council, chaired by the Principal Chief and Assistant Chief, serves at the elected governing body. The Chief and Assistant Chief are elected at large every four years. On July 1, 2000, the Seminole Nation held a referendum for a constitutional amendment establishing new membership rules: it said that members had to have one-eighth blood quantum (essentially documented descent from an Indian member on the Dawes Rolls). The General Council prohibited representatives from the two Freedmen Bands from participating. As a result of the change, about 1200 Freedmen were excluded from membership and most benefits afforded to the tribe. The BIA said the referendum was invalid. The Nation sued the government, saying in Seminole Nation of Oklahoma v. Babbitt (later Seminole Nation of Oklahoma v. Norton) that it had the right to determine its own membership. Tribal headquarters are located in Wewoka, Oklahoma, the seat of Seminole County. The general council meets at the council house on the Mekusukey Mission Tribal Grounds south of Seminole. The Nation has been developing a new tribal constitution that will eliminate the role of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in tribal government operations. Tribal government departments include administrative, executive, fiscal affairs, treasury, domestic violence, Indian Child Welfare, family and social services, enrollment, gaming, housing, education, language, communications, elder services, environmental, law enforcement, dialysis, youth, child care, roads, and Head start. Tribal departments are funded with either tribal revenue or federal/ state funding. Language Historically, the Seminole spoke two mutually unintelligible Muskogean languages, Mikasuki (Mekusukey) and Creek. Creek was the dominant language in politics and society, so Mikasuki speakers also learned Creek. As of 2002, about one-quarter of the tribe still spoke Creek, and most of these, English; the remainder spoke only English. Mikasuki is extinct in Oklahoma (the latter is spoken among a majority of Mikasuki and Seminole in Florida). English is the primary language of most of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma. The tribe is establishing a Seminole Nation Language Program to revitalize its traditional Creek language. Location and land status Today, the tribe manages of land held in trust by the federal government as their reservation. They have approximately of fee-simple land. An additional are allotted to supplement the tribal land base. The Seminole Tribal Jurisdiction Area, where it provides