By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – The weighted vote used by the Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) has been in place since 2001. Dinilawigi tabled a resolution during an Annual Council session on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025 that seeks to evaluate the numbers based on a 2023 tribal census.
Res. No. 28 (2025) was submitted by James Bradley and Joey Owle, both EBCI tribal members from Wayohi (Wolftown), and asks “that the Tribal Council hereby fulfill its responsibility to provide for accurate and fair representation of the constituents of each community by determining an updated weighted vote for each tribal community within 90 days of the passage of this resolution”.
The EBCI Charter and Governing Document addresses the weighted vote in Section 19 which reads, “In order to provide equal representation to all members of the Eastern Band, the members of the Tribal Council shall, in their deliberations, cast votes on a weighted basis, with the weight of each vote determined by each Council member.
A tribal census, for the purposes of determining the weight of the votes to be cast by each Tribal Council member, shall be conducted prior to the 1981 tribal election and prior to the election each ten years thereafter to determine the number of enrolled tribal members residing in each township.
After the regular 1981 tribal election and each ten years thereafter, the Tribal Council, at its first regular meeting, shall determine the total number of votes to be cast in the Tribal Council and shall allot a voting authority to each Council member. The voting weight allotted to each Council member shall be determined by computing the mathematical ratio, fraction or proportion that exists between the number of enrolled tribal members residing in each township and the total number of enrolled tribal members. All Council members, including the Chairman, shall be entitled to vote on all issues.”
The current weighted vote was established with the passage of Res. No. 20 on Oct. 10, 2001. It set the weighted vote as follows: Kolanvyi (Big Cove) 7 percent, Tsisqwohi (Birdtown) 12 percent, Aniwodihi (Painttown) 6 percent, Tutiyi/Tsalagi Gadugi (Snowbird/Cherokee County) 6 percent, Wayohi (Wolftown) 12 percent, and Elawodi (Yellowhill) 7 percent.
That resolution provided the following statistics as well (population, percentage of population, each vote percentage, and each vote percentage rounded up for the weighted vote):
- Kolanvyi – 1,750; 13.88 percent, 6.94 percent, 7 percent
- Tsisqwohi – 3,148; 24.97 percent, 12.49 percent, 12 percent
- Aniwodi – 1,593; 12.64 percent, 6.32 percent, 6 percent
- Tutiyi/Tsalagi Gadugi – 1,394; 11.06 percent, 5.53 percent, 6 percent
- Wayohi – 2,986; 23.69 percent, 11.84 percent, 12 percent
- Elawodi – 1,735; 13.76 percent, 6.88 percent, 7 percent
The 2023 Census Report doesn’t supply raw figures, only percentages. According to the report, 39.35 percent of respondents live off of EBCI trust lands. Following are the percentages of where respondents live who related they reside on EBCI trust lands:
- Tsisqwohi – 16.96 percent
- Wayohi – 15.97 percent
- Aniwodihi – 8.84 percent
- Kolanvyi – 7.44 percent
- Elawodi – 7.19 percent
- Tutiyi/Tsalagi Gadugi – 4.24 percent
Anita Lossiah, an EBCI tribal member who was on the Census Committee, said, “A census is a survey of a whole population. This one was different because we incorporated demographic questions into that that crossed over into all of our areas, and it is very useful information. It is a snapshot of time at that point.”
She added, “We were very proud of the process. Our percentage of participation on the electronic format was greater than the state and the federal. So, we’re very happy about the participation rate.”
Kolanvyi (Big Cove) Rep. Venita Wolfe questioned the online-only process stating that tribal elders may have had issues with the technology. “If we do go forward with this, we need to have an actual census done.”
Tutiyi/Tsalagi Gadugi (Snowbird/Cherokee County) Rep. Adam Wachacha made a motion to table the issue for further discussion. “I think that the census did complete exactly what it was intended to do. It was even incentivized so there was a great deal of participation for individuals within our communities to participate. There were a lot of good questions that was on that census.”
James Bradley noted, “My opinion is that I think we should follow the tribal law as it is wrote today and then going forward for the next census that would need to be done in 2031…have a discussion in regards to that in a much better and more comprehensive way. I think the best thing to do is to follow what tribal law in what both Charter and Chapter 117 says. It is pretty clear in there to go ahead and use the information that was done in 2023.”
Aniwodihi (Painttown) Rep. Michael Stamper said he is ready to proceed with figuring out any adjustments to the weighted vote. “There was a great deal of advocacy put out there for everybody to try to make sure that it was accessible to everybody. If you did not have the technological means to do so, it was afforded to them. I agree with James here. This is something that is long overdue. I asked about it early on and it was kind of kicked to the side. I don’t see any issue with passing this.”
Aniwodihi Rep. Shannon Swimmer agreed with her colleague. “I feel that we shouldn’t just keep kicking it down the road because we can always find issues with any way that a census is taken, and I think this is long overdue. I think we’ve got good information that we can go with, and I think we just need to go ahead and pass it.”
Dinilawigi Vice Chairman David Wolfe said that, under the current system, five Dinilawigi representatives can outvote the other seven. “I submitted a resolution in 2021 taking one vote from each of the big communities and redistributing it to the smaller communities to make the smaller communities feel like they had a little more power. We’ve had some issues.”
That legislation was not passed.
Vice Chairman Wolfe also brought up the idea of two at-large representatives due to the large number of EBCI tribal members not living on tribal lands. “Not every enrolled member lives here. And, if you look at the equation from which we’re supposed to figure that ratio then some people are not represented.”
The issue was tabled for a work session. The One Feather will report in our events calendar once that session is scheduled.
