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, Sept. 4 including one designed to solve an upcoming vacancy on the Cherokee School Board. Several of these were tabled for more discussion before being brought to the floor for a vote.
First off, Ord. No. 562, submitted by Michael LaVoie on behalf of the EBCI (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) Natural Resources Department, was deemed read and tabled. It will sit for 25 days before it can be acted upon. It seeks “to establish a deer hunting season and other changes needed to natural resources law”.
The whereas section of the legislation states, “Currently, the Tribe allows for the hunting of various animals, but not deer; and it is now possible to establish a deer season which balances increased hunting opportunities for enrolled members and the responsible management of the deer population.”
The legislation seeks many small changes to Cherokee Code Chapter 113 which governs the Natural Resources Department.
The ordinance would amend Section 113-5(a)(6) {Hunting offenses}, under hunting offenses to drop the term ‘deer’ and simply read, “It shall be unlawful to hunt, trap, kill, or take any bird of prey or elk.”
Section 113-5(b)(5) {Fishing offenses} would be amended to delete the line, “Destruction of fish in tribal holding facilities shall be unlawful.” And, it would replace that line with, “Using non-native bait determined by the Department to be invasive shall be unlawful.”
The main portion of the ordinance adds a section relating to deer hunting under Section 113-8 (Big Game) which would set the hunting season for white-tailed deer from Nov. 30 to Jan. 1. and deer could “only be harvested using archery weapons”.
Ord. No. 563, submitted by Aniwodihi (Painttown) Rep. Michael Stamper, Kolanvyi (Big Cove) Rep. Perry Shell, and Kolanvyi Rep. Richard French, seeks to amend Cherokee Code Section 115-9 dealing with how a vacancy on the School Board is handled. It was also deemed read and tabled during Thursday’s session and will sit for 25 days before it can be acted upon.
Currently, it reads, “If a vacancy occurs within the School Board due to death, resignation, or removal, the Tribal Council shall call a special election within 30 calendar days of the vacancy…”
The legislation seeks to remove the language “due to death, resignation, or removal” to make it easier for a special election to be held in the event of a vacancy on the School Board.
The whereas section of the legislation describes the need for the change. “Death, resignation, or removal are not the only ways a vacancy on the School Board could be created; and a vacancy on the School board will be created on Oct. 1, 2025, when a School Board member’s term expires, but no election was held for a successor because no eligible applicant filed to be a candidate before the filing period closed.”
It continues, “Tribal Council has the authority to call special elections to fill vacancies of other tribal officials in other contexts, and also doing so here is in the best interests of students, parents, guardians, Cherokee Central Schools, and the entire tribal community.”
Dinilawigi then voted unanimously to table Ord. No. 451 (2025) and Ord. No. 484 (2025).
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.”
Tabled Ord. No. 484 (2025) was submitted by EBCI 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.”
Attorney General McConnell asked that Ord. No. 536 be withdrawn, and Dinilawigi unanimously granted that request.
Ord. No. 536, submitted by Michael LaVoie, EBCI (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) Natural Resources Dept., was deemed read and tabled in the Aug. 7 session. Attorney General McConnell noted that this legislation would be resubmitted at a later date.
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.”
Attorney General McConnell also asked that Item No. 28 be withdrawn. That piece of legislation is a resolution that was not given a number, which called for a referendum vote to amend the EBCI Charter and Governing Document Section 17 regarding who can run for office. He noted that the required petition was not submitted with the resolution and should be withdrawn, and Dinilawigi granted that request.
That legislation, submitted by Solomon Saunooke and Jacob Ivey, sought the referendum to amend Charter Section 17 to add the phrase “or who has been impeached and removed from office” as one of the reasons a person would be barred from running for elected offices of the EBCI.
Dinilawigi Vice Chairman David Wolfe asked that Tabled Res. No. 533 (2025) be withdrawn, and Dinilawgigi unanimously granted that request. This resolution requested that the Senior Miss Cherokee pageant be placed under the EBCI Royalty Board and be given a budget.
Vice Chairman Wolfe also asked that Tabled Res. No. 549 (2025) be tabled, and Dinilawigi unanimously granted that request. That legislation would authorize the EBCI to purchase Upper Cherokee Community Parcel No. 114, 109-B, and 109-C which are collectively known as the Cherokee Lodge properties.
