The Cherokee One Feather invited all candidates in the 2023 EBCI (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) Election to weigh in on various topics. Each candidate was given a 250-word limit per topic. Below are the responses we received by our deadline. Candidates are listed in the order they will appear on the ballot per the EBCI Board of Elections.
Economic Development
Alan B. Ensley
We need to refocus our economic development to our trust lands, here on the Qualla Boundary and in Snowbird and Cherokee County. We have invested off-boundary to diversify our revenue streams, in anticipation of competition in the market to our tribal casinos, but it is time to focus on our tribal lands now.
Our communities have been very vocal in wanting the Tribe to develop businesses our local people can use and enjoy. In addition, we need to encourage both tribal members, and outside business owners, to develop businesses as well as make it easier for outside business owners to locate to Cherokee, thereby bringing in outside capital into our local economy.
We can offer business incentives to both and build a strong economy that serves the community and the visitors.
We can offer more courses to our tribal members who want to start a business and we can conduct the market research to advise folks which types of businesses will most likely succeed.
We can work with our current economic development entity, Kituwah, LLC to focus on our trust lands and ensure we are driving visitation from our property at exit 407 in TN.
Teresa McCoy
We live in an area ripe for economic development. Our environment, natural beauty, and opportunity for diversification have been our greatest assets. We have always been a manufacturing community and we can be that again. Going out of state away from our community, placing our Tribe in financial turmoil. Up until this crazy spending spree, we had the capital to provide fresh new ideas. I support the completion of the Ceremonial Grounds, a new Bingo Hall, Qualla LLC, and any economic development that can put our members to work at home. Here. I propose we clean up our own house and put our downtown area back on the map, develop a natural Sanctuary for bears, get the current bears out of those pits, and remove the stigma that we stand for animal cruelty. Grant writing can produce funding for us to assist the business folks with repairs and cleanup money, we clean the downtown area, and most importantly we get our own members who craft from home a place to sell. We have the talent, just not government support. We should already have been the Santa Fe mecca of the South! Our artists can help us all. We should look to manufacturing and increase marketing to put us on the diversification map, people to work, incomes increase, and Cherokee will thrive again. Let’s reinvent a Business Peoples Committee to meet with me monthly to begin the process to grow together. The Vice Chief’s should be a working office.
Role of Business Committee
Alan B. Ensley
Business Committee was originally established to help members of the tribe to lease their land to businesses. It has now grown from individual landholders to overseeing contracts over $50,000, to approve leasehold mortgages, and to approve loans to contract businesses.
I have always been in favor of televising business committees when it comes to contracts. Any contract under $50,000 does not come through business committee, as they are only required to be signed by the Chief. I believe that it is important for our tribal members to know where our tribal dollars are spent.
It is important to have the enrolled members best interest at heart, whether it being an entrepreneur or leasing their property.
Teresa McCoy
Cherokee code section 117-33 (a, b, and c) establish the Business Committee. The role of the Committee is to handle leases for the tribe. This Code needs to be rewritten as soon as possible to the favoritism and politics we hear about. It should not be used to help certain individuals get deals the rest of the membership should have had an opportunity on. When any available travel property comes open for a small business or project all members of the tribe should have notification and a fair and equal shot at submitting a proposal for the property. Fair and equitable leases across the board should be enforced, and a Tribal Tax Office should be developed. Collecting accurate levy owed would boost our accounts. This important code and the policies/guidelines need to be updated. It has not been updated since 10/13/2014. Again, poor leadership. The Business Committee must stay alert and on top of Business activity on the Boundary. Time to reactivate the local Business community’s input and quarterly meetings with business folks. It is time to remove all favoritism and impeach those who deny enrolled members equal opportunities. Accountability is paramount. Communication is a necessity. I was asked to sit in for the Chairman, I did, and what I saw was nowhere near what it used to be. I am disturbed by the political promises I witnessed. Demand accountability. Again gaming dollars dropping. Per cap too. Elect accountable people.
Appearance of Qualla Boundary
Alan B. Ensley
We live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. We need to ensure our tribal lands are protected and kept clean and inviting for our people and our visitors. We need to continue to sponsor community beautification projects, provide landscaping and gardening products and enforce the laws currently in code to address damaged or burned-out buildings. We want our people to take pride in our town and we can lead that effort by providing them with what they need to keep their places neat and orderly.
Teresa McCoy
I love our Boundary. It is my safe place. My pride, my home. But to be honest, it has become worn dirty, and trashy in many places, and we need to do better. The quality of our drinking and recreational waters has become seriously dangerous in some areas, and our clean-up and sanitation programs need manpower and equipment ASAP. I will seek the manpower needed to accomplish this, working with the Chief’s office. We have homes needing clean-up assistance, roadsides are trashy, tree removal and river banks needing cleanup and cutting. This is fixable. I would lobby for a Grant Writing Department with no less than 15 members seeking any and every grant available. I would assign no less than five of them to seek and secure Natural Resources Enhancement Grants and pay roadside cleanup crews really well to keep us beautiful, and safe. First impressions are real. DC is pouring money into grants for energy, and repairing our country. Roads and environmental projects. What are we waiting for? Leadership perhaps? I have good plans! Let’s build an animal sanctuary and teach the relationship between our people and wildlife. Let’s teach why the importance of our culture demands that we protect life, all life, importantly, ours. We have the vistas, the clean air, and small streams with clean running water. Time for us to clean it up and show the world we are Cherokee, we love our home, we respect our home, and are willing to protect our home.
Role of Cherokee language
Alan B. Ensley
I have always supported our speakers and every effort to revitalize our language. We need to ensure we are adequately funding our programs and our speakers that support and teach the language. We need to incorporate more of the language in our daily operations at the Tribe. Answering the phones in Cherokee and adding both the syllabary and phonetics to all office building signs, etc. Only by using the language everyday will we all be better speakers. I support having signs and kiosks throughout town to educate ourselves and our visitors as well. Our language makes us who we are and as tribal leaders we need to make every effort to provide all resources necessary to preserve our language.
Teresa McCoy
Cherokee people have one of the earliest, indigenous American Indian functional spoken, and written languages in the United States. Today we are one of the few tribes to have this status. That is phenomenal. It is one of the criteria for Federal Recognition. We are connected to it, and we have taken massive strides to continue and protect it. Council has stepped up and provided resources to continue the teaching of Cherokee members interested in helping all of us to learn it. Our speakers are eager to teach, and continually consult the two other Cherokee tribes to learn and teach even more. To a Cherokee, the sound of the language brings an instant connection to our history and to our personal well-being. We know immediately that we are still connected, still alive and Cherokee. To hear our children speak and sing brings joy, and to watch the speakers step up to teach is miraculous. Let’s focus on preservation. I mean preservation. Record, video, and house these projects in our future archives to let our youth in the future hear and learn it too. We must start this yesterday! We are faced with the extinction of our language, and many traditions. We MUST retain them so our future can experience the safety of tribal life. Language, culture, tradition, history, land and blood, and family is who we are. To lose any of these would impact us forever. The role of our language is the connecting fabric of our tribe.
Development of Cultural Tourism
Alan B. Ensley
I think we should expand the cultural corridor and include the old elementary site. We can build mixed use space that will allow our people to have businesses on the first level and provide housing on the upper levels. The EBCI needs to make sure we’re providing up-to-date market research to our business owners and potential business owners that emphasizes cultural tourism. The people that want a cultural tourism experience aren’t interested in our gaming operation and we need to utilize our economic development LLC, Kituwah, LLC to bring some of those amenities to our cultural tourism efforts. We also need to ensure all our development at the exit 407 property in TN are partnering with our cultural attractions and driving visitation to Cherokee.
Teresa McCoy
We are sitting on a gold mine for Cultural Tourism. Local tourism should be the forefront of business opportunities here at home. We have members with brilliant ideas who just need the support to accomplish them. We must complete the Cultural District, the Ceremonial Grounds, the Archives, the parking decks, the revitalization of Saunooke’s Village and the Downtown area. Let’s partner with the Smoky Mountain Railway and stop the train in Mother town for Historical education. A small Indian Village perhaps, like the current one, or develop a “low impact” one like the one at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. Mother town is a place for healing. Significant History. Imagine walking for miles along the rivers, with historical signs, medicine, and our ability to preserve the beauty. Placing modern signage, clean resting areas, Elk platforms with parking, more fishing tournaments, and an Animal sanctuary for jobs, to teach and protect wildlife. Lift the stigma of Bears in Pits off our Cherokee backs. We could partner with government agencies to expand business opportunities in each community! I have so many plans. I have so many plans to expand this, clean up our town! I want to put pride of our people front and center! So many ideas and not enough space to cover them! I want to hear what everyone thinks too. I get excited for us to blossom and grow that levy! We can!
Why do you feel you are the best choice for Vice Chief?
Alan B. Ensley
No response received
Teresa McCoy
Can we continue financially, and sustain our way of life anymore? The short answer is no. We must tighten up spending, especially in Indiana, Kentucky, and Virginia. I will support improving our lives. HERE. We must build our families, Communities, Health Care, Housing, Infrastructure, HERE. We have to focus on our traditions, remove politics, and increase our tax base. We must focus on the housing situation and seek “AFFORDABLE” housing and purchase the land to do it. Stop homelessness. Time to seek food sovereignty, stop hunger. Seek open dialogue with Federal and State Officials and we must be heard. Travel Business Diversification leans to gaming. We should look to other Tribal businesses to provide jobs and revenue, HERE. I have several plans and I will lobby for them. And yes, social services, Family Services and drug and alcohol assistance needs must work for our families. Our children must be raised HERE. Politics should never have a negative impact on families. I work period I read. I write, and I care. Elected or not we each have a responsibility to our children for generations in the future. We must rise up again. With working leaders you get positive results. Or, we can have four more years of increased debt, no emergency housing, healthcare issues, joblessness for our graduates, and deterioration of our culture and environment. I will produce the positive change needed to push us forward. Starting with repairing our school for our children’s safety. Sgi.
