By ROBERT JUMPER
Tutiyi (Snowbird) and Clyde, N.C.
As we enter the last laps of the mid-term election process, it is a good idea sometimes to go grab a cup of coffee (or tea if that is your beverage of choice), get in a comfy, peaceful place, and ponder those things you hear or pick up during an average day on the Rez. You know, things that you don’t know the answer to, and you are really not sure if there is a good answer for them. Like, when someone is asked, “Why are we doing it this way?” and they answer, “Because this is the way we have always done it.” Or, if you ask someone, “Shouldn’t the government share this important piece of information?” and they respond, “If the government wants you to know, they will tell you.” You know, those things that make you go “Hmmmm…”
I thought we might ponder in commentary just a few of those allegedly bottomless questions that may or may not ever be answered to our satisfaction. Things we just put on the bookshelf of the mind and let collect dust throughout a political season, which for us is never-ending. For example…
Does the tribe factor in that you can never truly own a piece of property on the Qualla Boundary when they start talking about assessing a “fair market value” to properties they are “selling” to tribal members?
We all know that outside the territorial homelands of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, property rights are slightly different. You may actually buy and sell property, to whosoever you choose lock, stock, and barrel if you like. But because our land is held in trust by the federal government, Cherokee land cannot be sold to anyone other than another tribal member (for our own protection). My understanding is that the provision is in place to prevent us from selling away our homeland, piece by piece. Back in the day, land was much more abundant on the Boundary because many of our people would move away when they came of age to work. After all, before the tribe’s foray into adult gaming, living wage jobs were pretty scarce on the Boundary. But now the jobs are here, and more of us are staying and wanting to buy and build on the Boundary. So much so, in fact, that lines or lists have formed of people who want or need parcels to build homes on or are seeking a spot in one of the housing complexes that the tribe has established. Wouldn’t it be unfair to say the market value is fair if the standard that has weight is based on full ownership of the property, when ownership looks more like a lease agreement than an ownership transfer? Hmmmm…
Do we have a right to view all sessions of Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) except for those items deemed confidential by the Code, necessitating a vote to go into closed session with a majority of the weighted vote needed to take the discussion off the air?
You may assume that the video presentations of Dinilawigi sessions are the official record of the meetings, since there is no consistent written transcript nor official minutes distributed to the tribal community, but you would be wrong. While the videos are provided on the EBCI Communications social media, EBCI Communications serves as the conduit for the tribal government. EBCI Communications does not make the decisions on when and if sessions are served to the public. The decisions regarding the viewing of those videos are made at the discretion of the government and are not subject to regulation by law. Now, because there is no law regulating the video distribution of the Dinilawigi sessions, the video stream and recording may be blocked or removed by the governmental leadership.
Sometime in the past two years, a policy was implemented that effectively banned the release of any financial information to the general public. But it also effectively blinded most stakeholders and stockholders of the EBCI, which is the tribal community, from seeing or hearing financial information. A very confusing division of types of information resulted from this new policy: public information, community information, and confidential information. So far, the struggle between “transparency” and “tribal security” has not found a middle ground. With the combination of the ability to discuss and deliberate off-air at will and the current embargo on and hazy definition of privileged information, do we really have checks and balances in our government? Hmmmm…
Do we have the right to see and review all legislation that is being presented at a Tribal Council session for consideration and vote?
Current law requires that proposed ordinances be tabled at least 25 days (Cherokee Code Sec. 117-38) so the community has time to see the proposed law, and Dinilawigi representatives may inquire of their community members as to support for the direction of the ordinance. But before a piece of legislation comes up for a vote, during the discussion process, and at the discretion of the Dinilawigi, a “substitution” may replace the language of a proposed ordinance. And this essentially new ordinance (because the substituted language has not been seen by the community and has differing language from the original proposed ordinance) may be voted on without another thirty-day waiting period. And since some or all of the discussion as to why the substitute language has been introduced does not have to happen in the public eye (see the previous paragraph), the community may not know exactly what is in a piece of legislation until minutes before it is voted into law (sometimes we don’t know until after the vote and the language is requested and published). Hmmmm…
Listen, I am not trying to be critical of those who are charged with being “keepers of the tribe’s purse strings”. I have my friend and Aniwodihi (Painttown) representative, the late and honorable Tommye Saunooke, for that term. I remember her every time I think of it. I am being a little sarcastic, but that is in my nature. It is a natural thing to shake our fists at government. It does some things we just don’t understand, many times because we are kept in the dark, sometimes for legitimate reasons, sometimes not, and sometimes out of negligence. As “they” say, it is just the nature of the beast. And it isn’t that I think I am the one-stop shop for information and wisdom. I know that I am far from it. But I know what I know. I know that more heads are better than one when an important decision hangs in the balance. I know that knowledge is more powerful when it is shared than when it is hoarded. I know that if we were crabs in a bucket and we feel better pulling those down back into the bucket who are trying to climb up rather than climb out with them, we are destined to die at the bottom of a bucket.
In another life, I was once removed from a management position that I enjoyed and, according to the excellent performance evaluations I received year after year and the kudos I got from the network of professionals with whom I collaborated, I was pretty good at. But for some reason, one never really revealed to me, I was told that I was being replaced. Now, when I got an audience with my boss, he told me that the company simply decided to go in another direction. No mention of my doing a poor job, just that I didn’t fit their (his and his consultants’) vision. I will never forget his parting words. “It’s nothing personal. Don’t take it personally.” Hmmmm…
As we start the final lap of this election season, in advance, I would like to thank each and every Dinilawigi representative for their service and for taking on the great responsibility of legislating for our community. I think you have worked well in a very challenging environment. Having a two-year window to make a difference for your community must be a nerve-racking proposition. With the relatively small number of voters in each community, it is not beyond reason that successfully being seated on Council could be decided by a handful of votes, which would make electioneering and governance even more of a challenge. And thank you to those who are seeking offices from outside. You have contributed to your community in various ways and now seek to sit in the seats of governance. I appreciate you for stepping forward to offer your wisdom and experience to make your community better. All, incumbent or not, who have that heart for service are commendable.
Just a quick note to Aniwodihi Representative Dike Sneed. Dike, I want to thank you for your valuable service to our tribe. You brought forth good legislation and stood tall when some of that legislation proved unpopular. Standing for your beliefs, especially when it goes against the grain of popular opinion, is never easy, and you did it with heart and integrity. And in that spirit, you now go home voluntarily to take care of your family. I wish you well as you continue your life journey. I am praying for you and yours.
