By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – The Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) is established in the EBCI Charter and Governing Document. Laws regarding its meetings can be found throughout the Charter and Governing Document as well as Cherokee Code.
Section 8 of the EBCI Charter and Governing Document established the seat of government for the Tribe as being “centrally located within the Qualla Boundary, North Carolina”.
Section 10 of the Charter describes Annual Council and Special Council meetings, “There shall be an Annual Council held on the first Monday in October of every year, and in cases of emergency the Principal Chief may call a Special Council, but no business can be transacted in either Annual or Special Council unless a quorum of the members shall be present, with a quorum consisting of a majority of the members of Council elected at the last preceding election. The Principal Chief shall have the right to call a Grand Council of all enrolled members to attend and he shall preside over such meeting.”
Cherokee Code (CC) Section 117-13(a) outlines when regular meetings are to be held. “The Tribal Council shall meet at least one day in each month in the Tribal Council Chambers with the regularly scheduled date to be the first Thursday of each month. The Tribal Council Community Reports and Requests for Time shall be the Wednesday immediately preceding the Tribal Council session on the first Thursday of each month. The Tribal Council Budget session shall be the Tuesday immediately preceding the Tribal Council session on the first Thursday of each month. Nothing prohibits Tribal Council from calling additional Tribal Council sessions.”
The process of Dinilawigi going into a closed, or executive, session is outlined in CC Section 117-13(b) which states that they may into into such session for a variety of reasons such as personnel matters involving tribal employees, pending or threatened litigation, sovereignty issues, and more.
That section ends with the following, “No final action may be approved or taken by the Council while in executive session. Council may hold an executive session closed to the public only upon a motion duly made and adopted during an open session. Every motion to close a meeting shall cite one or more of the permissible purposes.”
Ord. No. 522, passed on March 14, 2019, was dubbed “Becky’s Law” as the late Becky Walker, an EBCI tribal member who was very active in tribal matters, submitted the legislation. The legislation created CC Section 117-30.1 involving public comment during Dinilawigi meetings.
CC Section 117-30.1(a) begins, “There shall be opportunity provided to community members to voice their opinions on actions contemplated by the Tribal Council.”
That section ends with, “The Chairman of Tribal Council shall ensure that, above all, all comment and debate between elected officials and members of the community reflect the highest and traditional standards of decorum and respectfulness expected of and modeled to our future generation of Cherokee leaders.”
Ord. No. 473, submitted by Tsisqwohi Rep. Boyd Owle, was passed on June 1, 2021 and amended Cherokee Code regarding debate and public comment.
The whereas section of that legislation states, “The Primary laws governing debate and public comment in Tribal Council proceedings are Cherokee Code 117-16 and Cherokee Code 117-30.1. These laws are intended to give people an opportunity to offer relevant and respectful debate and public comment while respecting the need of Tribal Council to be efficient and to hold proceedings that are efficient and respectful. These laws do not provide adequate guidance regarding what kinds of debate and comment are allowed and have proved ineffective to address offensive behavior.”
CC Section 117-16(a) states, “Each Council member shall be limited to five minutes of debate or discussion on each resolution, ordinance, or matter under consideration by the Council. Any Council member may yield all or a portion of his time on any matter to another Council member.”
That section was unchanged by Ord. No. 473, but CC Section 117-16(b) was amended to add that the five minute limit is to apply to work sessions as well. That Section now reads, “The time limits expressed in this section shall apply to all matters before the Council and to all session of Tribal Council, including work sessions, except when by majority vote the Council shall suspend the time rule for a specific matter under consideration.”
CC Section 117-16(c) was amended to add time to persons presenting a resolution or ordinance. It reads, “Persons in the audience wishing to be recognized must gain recognition from the Tribal Chairman and shall be limited to five minutes of debate or discussion on each resolution, ordinance, or matter under consideration by the Council, unless they are presenting a resolution or ordinance and, if so, presenting shall be limited to ten minutes.”
Two of the biggest changes that Ord. No. 473 brought was bringing the public comment law from CC Section 117-30 to CC Section 117-16.1. With that change, 117-16-1(c)(1) was also added and reads, “Any person providing comment or debate to Tribal Council must conduct himself or herself in such a manner so as to bring honor and dignity to the Council Chambers. A person is out of order and may lose the privilege of addressing Tribal Council if he or she:
- Offers remarks without first being recognized by the Chairman as having the floor and the privilege to speak
- Fails to confine their remarks to the merits of the ordinance or resolution at hand
- Engages in disruptive activity
- Interrupts or attempts to interrupt the person who has the floor
- Speaks in a malicious and abusive manner
- Engages in personal attacks
- Conducts himself/herself in a less than respectful manner
- Knowingly makes false or untrue statements or comments during Council proceedings
CC Section 117-16.2 outlines work sessions of Dinilawigi which are scheduled by the Chairman.
CC Section 117-25 speaks to the role of the Council House with subsection (a) stating, “The Council House shall serve as a community center for the Tribe and for the holding of meetings that may benefit the Tribe. The Council House shall not be used for dances, entertainment or religious meetings.”
CC Section 117-25 outlines who controls the activities within the Tribal Council House. The law was greatly expanded with Ord. No. 141, submitted by then-Ugvwiyuhi (Principal Chief) Richard G. Sneed and passed on March 1, 2018, with several sections being added including the two below.
CC Section 117-25(b) speaks to control over the Chambers during a meeting. “During Tribal Council sessions and meetings of Tribal Council, the chairman of Tribal Council, or substitute presiding officer if the chairman is absent, shall control the access to, use and security of the Council chambers and the lobby area in front of the Council Chambers.”
CC Section 117-25(d) adds, “At all times, visitors to the Council House, including to the executive offices, shall treat those within it civilly and with respect, and shall respect the building itself as the Tribe’s primary meeting place. Persons within the Council House, including within the executive offices, shall conduct themselves in a professional, courteous manner. Persons who fail or refuse to so conduct themselves may be asked to leave. Persons who do not leave when asked shall be removed from the premises by law enforcement upon request of the Tribal Official in charge of the area where the offending behavior occurred.”
