By ROBERT JUMPER
Tutiyi (Snowbird) and Clyde, NC
We have heard our tribal governmental administration say on multiple occasions that they prioritize hiring tribal members for tribal government positions. This commitment benefits every enrolled member, at least on the surface. In a highly political environment, the application of Indian preference may either be a blessing or a curse depending on whether you are being considered for hire or the one who is receiving services.
To achieve true benefit from the tribal affirmative action law, commonly termed “Indian preference”, we must balance preference in hiring with the needs of our community. Affirmative action, as defined by the Oxford Languages Dictionary is “the practice or policy of favoring individuals belonging to groups regarded as disadvantaged or subject to discrimination.” I hope that this is the definition we are using and not just that we are doing this because we are “sovereign” and want to exclude other races so only one race reaps the benefit. There is a term for that, and I think we all understand what that is.
Within the current tribal Indian preference policies for our tribe, the minimally-qualified tribal applicant has a preference in hiring even if there are non-tribal candidates with far superior credentials. Do we all understand what that means? It means that, hypothetically, a person just out of college with a couple of years of experience could land a job, say, overseeing the finances of our tribe over someone who has a doctorate in business administration and twenty years of experience, depending on how the job description is written. All indications are that we are in a period of rebuilding or restructuring our tribal finances while the federal government (and most state and municipal governments) are bracing for recession-like conditions. In a climate where our financial strategy must be very calculated and precise, our laws and policies might say that we pick the person to guide us in that strategy who potentially is the less qualified candidate.
Faced with the choice of best care for your medical needs, do you want a minimally-qualified nurse or doctor? Who do you want holding your heart in their hands when that time comes? There are some things you don’t need statistics for, it is simply good common sense. And that is not a slam on anyone. It is about ability, not ethnicity. When we have needs in our day-to-day lives, we want the best quality products and services, not the ones that are in or just out of their trial period. We like to talk about the one person who will get a job or contract but not the hundreds, potentially thousands in the community who may get a lesser quality product or service because we passed over the most qualified candidates.
During a February EBCI (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) Planning Board meeting, presided over by Ugvwiyuhi (Principal Chief) Michell Hicks, the following statements were made (for full context, watch the video of the Planning Board session available on EBCI Communications Facebook page):
EBCI Project Management Manager Rebecca Bowe stated, “We have been having an open dialogue with TERO (Tribal Employee Rights Office) on how we can draw more interest in the projects because they are a good size that I would think would suit a lot of people. The other thought is that right now, East Tennessee and North Georgia are booming construction areas. The competition or the need to go outside of those areas is not a big draw for folks, and so we are leaning on the local resources, and you end up with a lot of the same folks on all of our projects, which isn’t a bad thing necessarily, but to make it more competitive, I think that’s how we’re going to drive prices down.”
Operations Secretary Anthony Sequoyah (addressing Jacob Crowe, TERO Compliance Officer representing TERO on the Planning Board): “I am hearing from other contractors that we are going to have to break our habit of using the same contractors on every project because we are beating our contractors who bid. We are stretching them thin. We have got to be more I say competitive by trying to bring more people in. And I am hearing that from some of the local contractors.”
Elawodi (Yellowhill) Representative Tom Wahnetah said, “I think another obstacle for the general area of Asheville and around with the contractors is they’ve bid before and then where our TERO vendors get the second bid and wind up getting the contract. They are just tired of wasting time bidding and not getting the contract because they get beat by that second bid for the TERO vendors. I think that is something we need to look at also. And I think maybe breaking up the contractor at risk section into different groups, you know the dirt work, the building, you know, kind of break them up to and that would allow other contractors to be part a of it without having to do all.”
Ugvwiyuhi Hicks commented, “I think these are some of the reasons that we need to sit down with TERO. We need to get into some deep dive on some of these thoughts and concerns. How do we find a better way to benefit all? We want (our) people to stay busy, we want the jobs out in these local TERO companies, but we also want to make sure the tribe is getting their opportunity with more efficiency.”
The last statement from Ugvwiyuhi Hicks is very important. While it is right and proper under an affirmative action philosophy to want to provide good jobs, award contracts, and make board appointments to tribal members, whether that is individuals filling positions in tribal government and entities, contractors bidding for tribal projects, or people being appointed to boards and committees, we must not lose the focus of why the job, project or board seat exists. It is not for the betterment of one individual who might obtain a job, a contract, or even a piece of property. The government is supposed to make life better for the membership as a whole, to equally lift up the entire population of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
During a recent confirmation hearing, a candidate was denied an appointment. During the hearing, Ugvwiyuhi Hicks said, “I would like to summarize this for the public. The boards and committees that I’ve had the opportunity to interview folks for have been a great sequence of conversations. Since this administration has been in office, there have been 13 openings (excluding the Police Commission who are primarily appointed by community clubs). Without question, many applications or resumes have come through. Of the 13, we have brought forth 10 new names for these positions. There have been three individuals that have rolled over. There was one that rolled over on the TCGE from the Tsisqwohi (Birdtown) Community. There was one gentleman who rolled over on Kituwah Economic Development from the Kolanvyi (Big Cove) Community. On Audit and Ethics, there was a lady there who rolled over from the Tsisqwohi Community. I feel comfortable with the process. I believe we can develop more defined criteria and create a points system. We didn’t go that route; however, I know lots of notes were taken over multiple interviews. I just want to get out in front of the thought that we continue to put the same old people on the boards. We are bringing new names. We also must remember that if we have individuals for this tribe, whether male or female that bring experience to the table that can make a difference, then we have to make sure we continue to protect ourselves and keep that experience alive.”
You know that many of our people say that we should be thinking, planning, and strategizing for what the next seven generations will encounter. We, at the One Feather, have said many times that the policies, resolutions, and ordinances we try to work under are not for those of us currently working here. We work to propose changes in the law that will support the concept of free press and speech because we know it will make our tribe better and stronger in the future to do so. We plan for the next and future editors, reporters, and staff of the newspaper so that they will be able to communicate important information to our community and that the One Feather will be able to document freely and accurately the history of the EBCI-government and community.
The words of our Ugvwiyuhi are encouraging. That forward future focus is what I am hearing in his presentations to Dinilawigi (Tribal Council). But it is going to take long, hard, diligent work on the part of our government to overcome the perception and impression that many have concerning hiring, contract awards, and appointments. The Ugvwiyuhi mentioned it himself; the perception that we appoint the “same old” people and that we award contracts likewise.
And he implied he doesn’t want that, or at least that is not the goal. He said that he wants what we used to call in business “aces in their places”; ensuring that the people with the best attributes are leveraged for the betterment of our community. Because everything we do now will impact the next generation of community members.
According to the Annual Report released by the administration, there are 16,415 of us. And that number will surely grow from generation to generation. When we, for example, issue land to one, it has an impact on 16,415. When we award a contract for community services to one contractor, it impacts the whole of our community. When an appointment is made to one, that one appointment impacts our entire community. When we hire people for positions of service, the hire reaches beyond today in the positions’ effectiveness for the entirety of the community. These impacts may seem small in the present, but their effect will amplify over time and affect more people than just those involved today. We need to be steadfast in making decisions that avoid impulse decisions, that is seeing and immediately wanting, and instead inspire diligent consideration and fairness for all enrolled members.
The following may seem corny or out of place, but it is nonetheless true. When it comes to the governance of our community, the government would do well to consider a quote from a science fiction movie from the early 1980s. The character Spock must decide whether to save his life or sacrifice it for the lives of the entire crew of his ship. He chooses to save the crew and when asked why he sacrificed himself, he says, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one”. If you work for the tribal government, that should be your motto. And if you are in a position of power considering making an appointment, a hire, or awarding a contract, it should be your guiding principle.
People who have spoken up on this issue have been criticized. They have been wrongly accused of being against Indian preference. That is not the case at all. Indian preference does not need to come at the cost of quality goods and services. Our people can get any post-graduate education they want and have the same opportunities to work and gain experience as anyone else. Surely, if there are two equally qualified candidates, the one who is of our tribe should have preference. It would be the task of the government to see that they are indeed equally qualified and ensure that the needs of all tribal members outweigh the needs of the few or the one. May the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians live long and prosper.
