By MIKE PARKER
Tribal Council Chairman
On Monday, Nov. 13, Mike Stamper, Painttown Representative, attended a fundraising event for House Representative Jake Johnson in Raleigh, N.C. He is the House Deputy Majority Whip leader, a Republican from the 113th district, and he represents the counties of Henderson, McDowell, Polk, and Rutherford. Rep. Johnson will be integral to future deliberations regarding commercial gaming in the state. It was a great meeting and a well-received event. We look forward to many more meetings with Representative Jake Johnson and a long-standing friendship between himself and the Tribe.
During the week of Oct. 18-21, Cherokee Tribal Council and Executive Representatives attended the Alaskan Federation of Natives (AFN) annual convention held in Anchorage, Alaska. Representing Tribal Council were: Vice Chair David Wolfe, Birdtown Rep. Jim Owle, Birdtown Rep. Boyd Owle, Painttown Rep. Dike Sneed, Cherokee Co. – Snowbird Rep. Adam Wachacha, Cherokee Co. – Snowbird Rep. Bucky Brown, and Tosh Welch (Public Relations). Bill Taylor, EBCI governmental affairs liaison, represented the Tribal Executive office.
Delegates from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) attended to counter measures by the Lumbee of North Carolina, and Senator Tom Tillis (R-N.C.) to garner support from AFN for the Lumbee Fairness Act to be presented to Congress. EBCI was able to garner support from the Cook Inlet Region of Alaska, as Tribes in that Caucus were in opposition to supporting Lumbee Act and were prepared to object on a point of order. Kenaitze Tribe being the front runner of that group. AFN committee Legal and Legislative (L&L) approved support for Lumbee Fairness Act after a Committee Zoom call held prior to the convention, thus circumventing the normal process. No discussion was held on the floor.
Pipestem Law Firm was able to facilitate meetings with at least one corporation. Further work in Alaska for Cherokee Support would require an equal emphasis on both tribes and corporations as the dynamic in Alaska does not provide for treaty or land-based tribes.
NCAI
Delegates from EBCI attended the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Annual Conference held in New Orleans, La. on Nov. 12-17. This conference had a record-attendance as a vote for rules change was being conducted. This rules-change resolution was sponsored by the Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, the EBCI, and the Ute Tribe of Utah. An open debate was held at which EBCI Tribal Council Chairman Mike Parker presented the opening position of the EBCI in support of the proposed rule changes. In the debate, Big Cove Rep. Perry Shell and Yellowhill Rep. Tom Wahnetah also argued in favor of the proposed changes. Several additional tribal leaders spoke alternating both for and against the rules change. Cherokee leadership and lobbyists were able to address the Midwest, Eastern Oklahoma, and Alaskan Caucuses, to garner last minute support.
The following EBCI Tribal Council attended: Rep. Jim Owle, Rep. Boyd Owle, Rep. Tom Wahnetah, Vice Chair David Wolfe, Chairman Mike Parker, Rep. Perry Shell, Tosh Welch (PR); and Principal Chief Michell Hicks and Paxton Myers, Chief of Staff, represented the EBCI Executive Office. A big thank you to Bill Taylor, governmental affairs Liaison, for helping coordinate this meeting.
The vote took place on Thursday with 55 percent of the membership voting “No” and 44 percent of the membership voting “Yes” in support of the rules change. A total of 1 percent of voting membership abstained.
(Attached is Chairman Parker’s opening statement)
STATEMENT OF EBCI TRIBAL COUNCIL CHAIRMAN MIKE PARKER ON THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE NCAI CONSTITUTION
Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023
Good morning, members of the National Congress of American Indians. I am Mike Parker and I serve as Chairman of the Tribal Council of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. I appreciate the NCAI Executive Committee and staff that has carried out the requirements of the NCAI Constitution to allow consideration of these proposed amendments and set aside time for this debate on the floor of NCAI.
Working in close partnership with Chief Ben Barnes and his Shawnee Tribe, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has co-authored and proposed the first amendment to the NCAI Constitution that would clarify that only tribes with treaty and trust relations with the United States—the federally acknowledged tribes—would have the right to vote as tribal nations at NCAI. Groups recognized as tribes by states would continue to be a part of NCAI as Organization Associate Members but would not be able to vote as tribes.
In addition, we have worked with the Ute Tribe to support the second proposed amendment to the NCAI Constitution that would clarify that a person running for NCAI leadership must be a member of a federally recognized tribe. On behalf of the Eastern Band, we respectfully request your vote in favor of both of the proposed amendments to the NCAI Constitution. Let me tell you why we feel so strongly about these issues.
As one of three federally acknowledged Cherokee tribes—along with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee and the Cherokee Nation—we continue to face the growing number of groups that falsely claim to be Cherokee, wrongly seek to appropriate Cherokee language and culture, and wrongly seek to exercise rights as Cherokee sovereigns. All three of the Cherokee tribal nations do not acknowledge these other groups as Cherokee. Many of these groups are inappropriately recognized by states as tribes. In fact, at least nine state recognized groups claiming in whole or in part to be Cherokee are full voting tribal members of NCAI. Many more state recognized groups falsely claim to be other established tribes.
These false claims are not without harm and consequence. As one example, in the Southeast Region of NCAI, the voices of the Eastern Band Cherokee and other leaders of sovereign tribal governments have been drowned out by groups claiming to be tribes. In the Southeast Region, state recognized groups now are a majority of voting members of the region. In the NCAI Federal Recognition Task Force, the voices of established tribes that validly seek to discuss fairness in the recognition process, problems with fraud and appropriation, and the falsity of tribal identity through pan-Indianism and self-identification are quieted by those who only want to discuss ways to achieve federal recognition. We would like to discuss reacquisition of land, protection of our tribal resources, and new ideas about developing our reservation economies. But our sovereignty and our participation in NCAI are diluted by groups whose identity as tribes is, at best, in question.
We do not make these statements about tribal identity without considerable thought and experience. We understand that sovereignty is not delegated from the United States or a state. Indeed, sovereignty is inherent to a tribal nation that pre-existed the creation of the United States and whose current citizens descend from those persons who were a part of that pre-federal community. But self-identification as a tribe and acting like a sovereign are not enough. Certainly, state recognition as a tribe cannot be enough, particularly where we now know that that none of the state processes are rigorous enough to determine that a group’s claims to U.S. pre-existence and Native ancestry are valid. Accordingly, state recognition has proven to be an entirely unreliable basis for determining tribal identity. NCAI’s validation of state recognition processes undermines tribal sovereignty.
We now know more about state recognition than in the 1970s when NCAI leaders established the existing definition of tribal membership. For example, the MOWA Band of Choctaw, a state recognized “tribe” and “tribal member” of NCAI with full voting rights, sought federal acknowledgment through the Department of the Interior’s Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA) process. The OFA determined that 99% of the MOWA Choctaw members could not demonstrate any Native ancestry. Similarly, the “Ma-Chis Lower Creek Indian Tribe” is a tribal member of NCAI whose Chair served as the Southeast Regional Vice-President. The OFA found that the members of the Ma-Chis Creek could not demonstrate Native ancestry. The three sovereign Cherokee Tribal nations have disclaimed several alleged Cherokee groups, yet these groups possess full voting rights within NCAI.
While it is uncomfortable to discuss, the epidemic of fraudulent groups posing as tribes worsens each day. There are literally hundreds of groups claiming our identities, posing as Indian artists, and stealing our languages and ancestral remains. State recognized groups are submitting claims under NAGPRA to obtain the remains and ceremonial objects of ancestors from established tribes. There are ongoing nationwide initiatives aiming to enable groups comprised of non-Indians who falsely label their artwork as “Indian made” and gain access to sacred items like eagle feathers. Furthermore, federal grants, contracts, and funding originally designated for federally recognized tribes have been diverted to groups with uncertain tribal and Indian identities. NCAI should no longer support or endorse these actions.
These proposed amendments are a start to protecting and defending our cultures and identities. To be sure, the groups opposing these amendments acknowledge the existence of many fraudulent groups claiming to be tribes—yet they offer no other solution to this issue except to maintain the status quo. For NCAI to remain a leading voice in Indian country, it is imperative that we oppose fraudulent organizations claiming to be tribes.
Thank you for your consideration of the proposed amendments and for your continued leadership on behalf of sovereign tribal nations.
