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NMI Registry draws over 600 in two months
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Posted on Oct 23 2005
Over 600 individuals have now registered for the NMI Descent Registry, according to the Marianas Public Lands Authority.
This figure includes people of NMI descent from Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, as well as from off-island who have signed up since the registry was launched on Aug. 12, 2005.
The number is expected to rise once MPLA succeeds in implementing a program that will spare low-income residents the fee for obtaining the birth certificate requirement.
People who wish to sign up with the NMI Descent Registry are required to bring their passport and a certified copy of their birth certificate, which can be acquired from the Commonwealth Recorder’s Office for $10.
MPLA is planning on assisting low-income applicants by obtaining their birth certificates directly from the Commonwealth Recorder at no cost to the people.
The registry was launched in August on Saipan and in the succeeding month on Rota and Tinian.
Patterned after the Native Hawaiian Registry, the Northern Marianas Descent Registry aims to be the sole comprehensive list of all indigenous people from the Northern Marianas.
The registry can be used to determine whether a person is eligible to receive a homestead, whether a person can own land in the Commonwealth, and whether a person can vote on any proposed amendment to Article XII of the Constitution.
It can also be used to determine whether a person is eligible to receive educational, medical, housing, or other indigenous assistance or programs created by the Legislature. (Agnes E. Donato)
