By ROBERT JUMPER
Tutiyi (Snowbird) and Clyde, N.C.
“The Cherokee One Feather is hereby designated and recognized as the official publication of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians for the instruction and information of the Cherokee Community.” – Cherokee Code Chapter Section 75.1
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is more than sports. It is more than events. It is more than pageants. It is more than the latest photo opportunity. Don’t get me wrong. All these things have their place in our lives, but they should not be the constant singular focus of our beings.
We monitor your responses to social media posts very intently. Part of the mission of the One Feather is to ensure that we are providing information that is educational and informative specifically to the members of our tribe. As you are aware, we have a readership that extends far beyond the population of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. One of the reasons that this is so? Because we feel an obligation to our Cherokee community. It is critical to any conversation we have as tribal members to hear all voices, including those who are not members.
People read the One Feather for many different reasons. Many are looking for a cultural connection of some sort. Some want to be connected to the community and be “in the know” about what is going on that might affect them. Some are looking for specific info about their family members, sports and academic achievements, government or business accolades, and obituaries. Some are seeking business opportunities, requests for proposals to do work for the tribe, and legal announcements. And as we have attempted to expand access in all those areas, the readership has grown exponentially.
“It is imperative to have measures in place to ensure the freedom of press and to ensure the tribal publications have the autonomy and independence to report honestly and objectively. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians recognizes and respects the civil rights of its enrolled members. The Federal Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968, 25 USC 1302 has formally been adopted by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Therefore, the principles of free speech and free press, the rights of the people to assemble and petition for redress of grievances shall not be abridged.” – Cherokee Code Section 75.52
We have discussed in the paper many times the need for community voices. The Cherokee One Feather, as codified in our law, belongs to us, the enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. It is a tool designed to educate and inform. We, as tribal members, have the privilege and bear the responsibility of educating and informing each other. The staff, including the editor, assistant editor, reporter, sales coordinator, and subscription clerk, are facilitators of that public trust. Not governmental trust. The community’s trust.
Just a quick side note: The government’s role is similar in that government is a tool of the people. It is no accident that the Code section that governs the One Feather is patterned after the framework of our overall governance. Governments, particularly democratic-representative governments like ours, are created to ensure the rights of the people they serve. Government wielding power to the benefit of government is a perversion of the concept of republics. And that is the form of government that we choose as a people. That is why all who work for the tribe, including the staff at the One Feather, are called public servants. We serve at the pleasure of the community (our public) and are charged with providing for the public good at the public’s direction. There is no aristocracy in this type of government. Just workers who are serving the public good. In theory, you, as a tribal member, charge your elected officials to do the work of and for your benefit and use the level of outcomes to control the work with your one powerful civil right, your vote at election time. The result of that single vote trickles down the chains of authority within government.
“No Indian tribe in exercising powers of self-governance shall (1) make or enforce any law prohibiting the free exercise of speech, or the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition for a redress of grievances.” – United States Code Statute-Federal Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968, 25 USC 1302
While the tribal government recognizes the need for free speech and a free press, they sometimes balk at the release of information that, by all measurements, belongs to the members of our tribe. For example, there is no current law that sanctions the withholding of reports documenting governmental spending, grants to programs, and from the government to tribal programs and individual tribal members. In the Public Records of the tribe (Cherokee Code Chapter 132), there is a listing of material that is considered public record and then certain information that is considered “confidential”. The language in Chapter 132 even causes one to be unclear as to the definition of “public”. As it is written, the public could be interpreted as only publishable among tribal members, and the Code in that section only refers to access by tribal members. Yet the rest of the language speaks to what material may be public-facing or released in a generally public manner and what cannot.
As the tribal government struggles to define public information, down the chains of command information that would technically be deemed public by the Code has been blocked or simply delayed indefinitely. In some cases, the One Feather has been waiting for as long as five months for information that, in previous years, was provided within days of a request. Our job remains to attempt to get the information, no matter how long it takes, but it is the community that is being kept in the dark when this occurs.
The community isn’t interested in stale news. Or, I should say, they are frustrated by stale news. The information may still be relevant to them, but the interest will swing from the information itself to wanting to know why it took so long for them to be informed. News cycles that used to be months-long are now minutes-long. When someone is missing, for example, waiting to release that person’s information could have dire consequences for that person and their families. The protection of privacy or feelings at that point should be secondary to the welfare of the missing. When someone is missing, minutes matter, and any information available should be broadcast through as many outlets as possible. Indeed, that was the whole idea behind the Amber and Silver Alert networks. Any “critical to the community” information should be sent to as many media outlets as possible in the shortest timeframe possible. And while we are at it, we should always remember that there are members of our tribe living all across the United States and even around the globe.
As a member of the tribe and a supervisor for a few decades (four to be exact), I understand how difficult it is to worry about information release when you are up to your neck in mounds of decisions that must be made. It seems like you have a hundred critical decisions to make, and you only have an eight-hour day to complete them. And most leaders have not had the type of communications training that would help make public information release more efficient. This is why the tribal government needs a dedicated program focused on government-wide public relations, with trained public information officers (PIO) who have the training and authority to handle public information requests and press releases. One will not work without the other. You may have all the training needed, but you cannot deliver information if you do not have the authority. Or you may have all manner of authority, but if you do not have the training to properly release it, the outcome is the same. In a government as large as that of EBCI, it will take more than one or two dedicated individuals to do this job effectively. There should be a PIO for every division (every Secretary) with the authority and autonomy to release information per tribal Code and the expertise to distribute that information in the most effective manner for our tribe.
And then there is you. If you want to be informed, if you believe you should be able to access information that affects you directly as a tribal member, it will be up to you whether it gets to you. Sure, there are things we do and will continue to do as we attempt to fulfill our roles of service at the One Feather. But public servants rarely listen to the media. They listen to those who they serve and that is you. We are so grateful for those of you who voice your opinions, whether it is through participating in the One Feather weekly surveys or commenting on posts on One Feather social media. Some of you even take time to put your thoughts in long form by writing commentaries on things in tribal life that are important to you. The community desperately needs your voice. Don’t forget that 2025 is an election year. It is a time of decision when tribal voters will need all the information they can get to make informed decisions. I challenge you, beginning now until October 2025, to be loud and proud. Speak your mind to your fellow enrolled members and those in the leadership of our government. It is up to all of us to shape the future of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. And every one of our opinions matters and deserves hearing.
