By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) tabled several ordinances during the Orders of the Day portion of its regular session on Thursday, Aug. 7. Several of these were tabled for more discussion before being brought to the floor for a vote.
First off, Ord. No. 536, a new ordinance submitted by Michael LaVoie, EBCI (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) Natural Resources Dept., was deemed read and tabled. It will sit for 25 days before it can be acted upon.
That legislation seeks to amend the Cherokee Code regarding underground storage tanks. The whereas section of the legislation states, “Regulation of USTs (underground storage tanks) is an important topic because they often serve as holding containers for gasoline and petroleum products, which can cause environmental damage if leaked into the ground or into a water source; and updating regulation is also important because doing so is needed to maintain the Tribe’s memorandum of agreement with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through which the UST owners and operators have access to North Carolina’s Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund.”
Two ordinances, which were deemed read and tabled during last month’s regular session on July 10 were tabled during Thursday’s session. Ord. No. 517 was tabled for more discussion between the programs involved, and Ord. No. 518 was tabled for a work session.
Tabled Ord. No. 517 (2025), submitted by Michael McConnell, EBCI Attorney General, seeks to amend Cherokee Code Sec. 75-55 regarding the makeup of the Cherokee One Feather Editorial Board.
The Whereas section states, “Editorial decisions of the One Feather, such as what stories and editorials to publish, are made by the Editorial Board established in Cherokee Code Sec. 75-55; and Sec. 75-55 states that the Editorial Board shall consist of all members of the One Feather staff, one member appointed by the EBCI Executive Committee, one member appointed by Tribal Council, and a staff member from the EBCI Office of the Attorney General designated by the Attorney General.”
Further on in the Whereas section, it states, “The practice of an attorney advising a governing board and also being a member thereon and casting votes on editorial matters presents a potential conflict of interest that, depending on the circumstances, may violate the Rules of Professional Responsibility; and having a member of the Office of the Attorney General serve as a voting member of the Editorial Board blurs the line between attorney and client…”
The legislation seeks to amend Sec. 75-55(a) to remove the language designating “a staff member from the EBCI Office of the Attorney General as designated by the Attorney General” on the Cherokee One Feather Editorial Board.
The is the sole change sought with this legislation.
Tabled Ord. No. 518 (2025), submitted by Brandi Claxton, EBCI Interim Secretary of Treasury, and Michael McConnell, EBCI Attorney General, seeks to amend the amounts for tribal levy and privilege tax.
The Whereas portion of the legislation states, “Cherokee Code Section 105.1 imposes a Tribal Levy on all retail sales of goods or merchandise on tribal land, and the current levy rate is 7.5 percent.”
It goes on to state, “Section 105-30 imposes a short-term rental privilege tax on operations of hotels, motels, tourist homes, tourist camps, campgrounds, rental cabins, and similar type businesses; and currently Cherokee Code Sec. 105-31 imposes a four percent (4%) tax on the sales price for each room for every day or night the room is rented, and Cherokee Code 105-33 requires the Tribe to allocate the collected funds to various tribal programs; and the levy rate has not been adjusted since 2011 [Ord. No. 785 (2011)] and the short-term rental privilege tax rate has not been adjusted since 2018 [Ord. No. 59 (2018)] and is substantially below the rate imposed by surrounding destination communities.”
This legislation seeks to amend Sec. 105-1 to raise the Tribal Levy from 7.5 percent to 9 percent as well as amend Sec. 105-31 to raise the Privilege Tax from 4 percent to 5.5 percent.
This legislation also seeks major changes to Sec. 105-33 (Use of funds). It would amend Sec. 105-33(a) to read, “All funds collected by the Eastern Band pursuant to this article shall be deposited into the Tribe’s General Fund.”
If passed, Sec. 105-33 parts (b) through (h) would be deleted.
Ord. No. 484, deemed read and tabled during the June 5 regular session, was tabled during Thursday’s session.
Tabled Ord. No. 484 (2025) was also submitted by Attorney General McConnell and just cleans up some language in Cherokee Code Sections 95-12 and 95-13.
The whereas section states the purpose of the proposed amendments to Sec. 95-12 and 95-13. “Taken together, those sections state that the first employment preference shall be given to any ‘Local Indian’, an archaic phrase that has outlived its usefulness and which is defined as enrolled members of the EBCI and ‘any member of another federally recognized tribe who resides within the exterior boundaries of the Reservation’.”
It goes on to state, “Sec. 95-12 and Sec. 95-13 should be amended to strike the definition of ‘Local Indian’ and clearly state that EBCI enrolled members and their spouse and children shall have the first preference in employment.”
Ord. No. 451, deemed read and tabled during the May regular session, was tabled during Thursday’s session. It was stated that another work session needed to be held on the legislation.
Tabled Ord. No. 451 was submitted by (EBCI) Ugvwiyuhi (Principal Chief) Michell Hicks and seeks to amend Cherokee Code Sec. 130-B which covers how appointments are made to the CIHA Governing Board.
This ordinance would amend Section 130B-3(b) to state that the Principal Chief appoint 10 members of the Governing Board – up from eight. Currently, the law reads, “Except for the initially appointed Board members, in selecting a nominee to fill a vacancy or renew the expiring term of a Board member, the Principal Chief shall select from a panel of two or more potential nominees recommended by the current Governing Board.”
The proposed ordinance would change that language to state, “Except for the initially appointed Board members, in selecting a nominee to fill a vacancy or renew the expiring term of a Board member, the Principal Chief shall solicit applications and resumes by public notice of the opportunity.”
The legislation would also add a sentence to Section 130B-3(b) stating, “Nominations and appointments shall be made so that at any one time a majority of members of the Governing Board are health care professionals currently licensed and in good standing with the appropriate licensing body and who have practiced and earned their primary income under that license for not less than 5 years. Retired health care professionals, who were licensed and in good standing when they retired, may also be nominated and appointed. When possible, nominations and appointments should be made so that the Governing Board includes in its membership a physician, a dentist, an attorney, and an auditor or certified public accountant.”
Res. No. 445, deemed read and tabled during the April 3 regular session, was tabled during Thursday’s session.
Res. No. 445, submitted by Tutiyi/Tsalagi Gadugi (Snowbird/Cherokee County) Rep. Adam Wachacha and Aniwodihi (Painttown) Rep. Dike Sneed, states in the whereas section, “Many tribal leaders have expressed concern that the $500 per acre rule presented in Res. No. 467 (1989) is outdated and that continuing to apply it is contrary to Tribal Council’s responsibility to be good stewards of tribal resources, including the Tribe’s land and money”.
The legislation seeks the following, “The following requirements when tribal land, without improvements thereon, is sold to enrolled members of the Tribe:
- Tribal Council will determine the value of each parcel by considering the totality of the circumstances for the parcel, including but not limited to, its history, what the Tribe paid for the parcel, potential alternative uses, and the fair market value (as determined by Tribal Council).
- The sale and purchase must be for housing purposes.
- If a certificate of occupancy (“CO”) is not issued for the parcel within three years of the Tribal Business Committee approval date of the parcel being sold to the enrolled member(s), the Tribal Business Committee may, upon notice to the tribal member at issue, cancel the sale and transfer and thereby cause the property to revert to the Tribe.
- If the parcel is not used for housing purposes within three years of the sale and reverts to the Tribe, the enrolled member who purchased the property shall be entitled to reimbursement of the purchase price.”
