On Oct. 5, a federal district court in Texas ruled that the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was unconstitutional because it was a race-based preference law.

Citing a need to better serve tribal members’ housing needs, Tribal Council passed an ordinance to combine the services of Qualla Housing Authority (QHA) and tribal Housing and Community Development at the Dec. 6 session. Travis Smith, secretary of Housing and Community Development, said, “The services of Qualla Housing, they’re not going away.”

With 25 days left before Tribal Council can adopt changes to the Tribe’s election laws, Tribal Council voted to retable a proposed ordinance Dec. 6 with changes and amendments. With an ordinance passed in September, changes can be made to election laws until Dec. 31. The election year is now defined as Jan. 1 – Sept. 30 that a general election takes place.

The right to petition for a redress of grievances is one of the fundamental rights guaranteed to American citizens, and it’s reaffirmed in the Indian Civil Rights Act and the tribal code of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Resolutions #483 (1996), #639 (2001), #1030 (2005) authorized the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to purchase property at Cooper’s Creek for the purposes of Housing.