Some changes in the Constitution for discussion would be:
Term limits
Tribal Council positions as full time paid positions with regular office hours
Tribal member employees able to sit on Tribal Council
Geographic limitations for Tribal Council members
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This Blog is for the discussion of the Coquille Tribal Constitution. We feel that is time to review the Tribal Constitution and to consider recommendations for changes to better fit where and who we are as a Tribe today.
The first problem with changing the Tribal Constitution is, that you need to have a quorum (2/3 of the eligible voters) of the Tribe to vote at an election called by the Secretary of the Interior.
ReplyDeleteBut before you even get that far, there are only two ways to even remotely get the Secretary of the Interior to call for that election. One, to have a majority of the Tribal Council petition the Secretary of the Interior for that election.
Second, the General Council could petition the Secretary of the Interior with a signed petition of at least 1/3 of the General Council, as described in article IX of our current Constitution.
The interesting thing about this latter statement, is that the Constitution states the petition must be signed by at least 1/3 of the General Council, but does not state that those who sign the petition must be of an age to vote in the actual election.
Finally, suppose we do go through all the hoops and get a petition signed by 1/3 of the General Council, and somehow convince the Secretary of the Interior to call a special election, do we have the resources and infrastructure to hold 2/3 of the eligible voters of the Tribe at one time in the same place?
I am not saying that there are not things in the Constitution I would not like to see changed, but there are some very severe obstacles in the way of changing them. Perhaps that is why in the past, the Tribal Council has chosen to simply ignore the Constitution and do whatever they wanted instead of doing the right thing.
Sincerely,
John Thomas
Tribal Member
John certainly brings up some interesting points. Certainly some things in the Constitution are open to interpretation. Reading Article IX- Procedure for Amendment of Constitution, It states: "This constitution may be amended by two-thirds (2/3) majority of the qualified voters of the Coquille Indian Tribe VOTING in an election called for that purpose by the Secretary of the Interior." There are two ways of interpreting the Article.
ReplyDelete1. It takes 2/3 majority of eligible Tribal voters. (2/3 of eligible Tribal Members
2. It takes 2/3 majority of those eligible Tribal members voting (participating) in a election.
Our tribal constitution, as I understand it, was not a well thought out document, but more of a "boiler plate" document, a template, borrowed from other tribes so we could get federal recognition,(federal funding). As such, there is a lot of gray area in the make up of that document.
ReplyDeleteBrady Metcalf
Coquille Indian Tribe
Like anything else of a legal nature, when you start out, you have absolute freedom without any restrictions. As needs arise, rules,(laws), are put in place to define a given situation, which restricts the freedoms enjoyed to that point.
**To clear up one item from an earlier post, with regard to the 1/3 signatures of the General Council, and being of voting age. By definition the General Council consists of all eligible voters of the tribe, which is approximately 659 Native American souls, give or take a few, or a couple dozen, or whatever.
I am in support that we need an open forum to explore changes that should be made within the Tribal Constitution (as well as other changes in general) and sincerely hope that we can maintain such an environment as professional and courteous. I applaud Denni for putting this idea on the table.
ReplyDeleteMight I suggest a forum-based medium instead of a blog? It would allow us to keep our topics on track as well as better organized for those to post within. There are also more management tools within a forum atmosphere in which posts could be easily moderated and any slanderous or attacking commentary can/would result in an IP ban. This would protect us from repeatedly experiencing the same nonsense that occured during the election with anonymous slanderous emails. Suggested host: http://informe.com (free)
A forum structure could grow to be a useful tool where we can discuss more than just the constitution. There is room for talks regarding culture, genealogy and events. Topics in which I think we all should readily feed our mind and spirit with.
I have experience hosting several forums and would be willing to help set something like this up for us to use as long as I don’t have to administrate the entire thing. *wink* Let me know what you think.
As far as line item interpretation of the Tribal Constitution, we should really leave those definitions to those who have the legal right to interpret them. Before beginning discussion regarding line items and purposed changes, it would be nice to have a definition from the tribal attorney in accords to the specifics. This will diminish our margin of error when it comes to suggesting or discussing changes. That’s my humble opinion.
Much love to my Tribal Family,
Anati Neiffer
Tribal Member
Good start. Did anyone have trouble with the blog?
ReplyDeleteComment two brings up exactly what I'm wanting to discuss. The CIT constitution has no definitions of the terms and phrases used. Anati (good to hear from you), the Tribal attorney feels that this work needs to be done, but that he can't work on it unless he is directed by Tribal Council. His opinion is that, defining items in the const. would be considered an amendment.
Well, everyone must know I have a motive behind starting this; I want to run for TC this year and as an employee of CIT, under present interpretation of the const. I am not allowed to sit on TC. One argument against this is that a person can't devote enough time to TC if they have a full time job. I accept that, but Tribal members with jobs elsewhere are not restricted from being on TC. The Siletz Tribe now has six out of nine tribal employees on their TC. They aren't having any significant problems. The const. Article VI section 4a reads, "No member of the Tribal Council may be employed by the Tribal administration office while serving as a member of the Tribal Council". So, what does "administration" mean? At the time this was written every CIT employee worked in the "admin. office". So my #1 motive here is to define administration.
Thanks for contributing, keep it coming, Denni
THIS JUST IN.....
ReplyDeleteAt the Mid-Winter Gathering, I posed a hypothetical question to our CFO. I asked:
If all of the Tribal Council Members, past and present, retired TODAY, and began to draw their Tribal Council Pensions, what would be the difference between the Tribe's payout under the old pension plan versus the new and improved "vote myself a pension increase" plan?
The answer I received is that if everyone retired today, the INCREASE in the "Tribal Council Servce Fund" payout under the new plan would be $12,390.00/month, or an ADDITIONAL $148,680.00/year. Not too shabby.
But of course, everyone will NOT retire this year. (Although both the Vice Chair and one Tribal Council Representative have stated that they will not seek another term on the Council.) So the ACTUAL numbers are much easier to digest. In 2009 the pension plan paid out $40,800.00. In 2010 the ACTUAL pension payout will only increase to $99,600.00. A measley $58,000.00 more than last year. Or just $18,000.00 more than the total amounts cut from the budgets of the Elder Committee, ($30,000.00) and the Fish and Wildlife Committee, ($10,000.00).
For the record, I have stated previously that I do not begrudge the Tribal Council just compensation for their dedication and service. But I do QUESTION THE PROPRIETY of the Council voting themselves an arbitrary pension increase at a special meeting, held outside of the service area(pretty much as far away from the main body of Tribal Members as you could get...and still be in Oregon),at a time when the WHOLE WORLD is making drastic cutbacks wherever possible.
Add to this already dubious scenario the fact that the Council stated that the increase would NOT take effect UNLESS funds were available. But then the Council tapped into non-spendable funds from the "pools", MAKING them spendable and thus MAKING the funds "available".
And if you figure in the 2 Council Members who will not seek another term, with roughly 20 years each on the Council, our "actual" payout INCREASE would wind up being around $106,000.00 for the calander year 2010 or 2011 when these 2 Council Members retire. Ho-hoo!
So why not eliminate the "Tribal Council Service Fund" completely and make ALL Tribal Council positions PAID positions? The present Council Members have argued that it is a full time job. So let's eliminate the pension and make volunteer service to the tribe a career. Or not.
Brady Metcalf
General Council
Coquille Indian Tribe
Tribal Council positions are paid positions. I have the salary schedule if you are interested.
ReplyDeleteJohn Thomas
Tribal Member
For all the logical and organizational reasons put forth, I wholeheartedly agree with Anati that these conversations would be better served in a forum based structure.
ReplyDeleteLinda Mecum
General Council
Dai s'la
ReplyDeleteI feel opposed to the idea due to the potential of conflict of interest and the amount of time involved with performing both duties being too great. However, as you said, the Constitution only refers to Administration employees, not other employees or other positions. Past Tribal members who've run for Council positions include Casino employees and CEDCO Board members. In these cases, no one ever discussed whether or not Article VI section 4 applies to those positions. It seems we would prefer to see if the person wins before addressing the issue. So while I disagree with the idea, there is no doubt we need to discuss it further. And don't forget that in the early 1990s a Tribal member resigned from Council after accepting employment with CEDCO.
Denise, I wish you had been forthright about your intentions at the Mid-Winter Gathering just to have a better perspective of where you were coming from. When I think about it, I find it funny that my response included thoughts of how I would, hypothetically at this point, consider running for Council. (my response summary as I recall: I think the conflict of interest and time involved are too great, I personally would want to experience the perspective of being a Tribal member observing and participating in Tribal programs and activities while being employed outside of the Tribe before considering running for Council; and that if other Tribes allow Council members to be employed I would want to learn more). That's what came out of my mouth....better than tobacco smoke I guess.
Regarding how it works with the Siletz, I did a google search of something like 'siletz conflict of interest' and found several links to posts from their web page's forum. From there you will find several examples of Siletz Tribal members who would not agree with the statement that there are very few problems with having six of nine (wasn't that a Star Trek character?) Siletz Council members being employed by the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. I'm not sure if there is some loop-hole in their security or if the forum is open to the public, but it is there to see. Be warned, some of the posts contain a hint of anger.
At our Mid-Winter Gathering forum, several Tribal members expressed their opinions on the idea. Some based their views on their experience. When this is discussed at a meeting, I hope their comments are reiterated for the record.
Thank you
Chris Tanner
Whoops:
ReplyDeleteI just checked on this. I meant Denni , not Denise. Sorry about that ;)
--Chris Tanner
Was there any record kept of Tribal Member comments at the last General Council Meeting? The Secretary was away at a funeral service. I personally thought that having to sign in in order to make comment was just another way to stifle input from the General Council. If all reports/meetings were made to adhere to their scheduled time frame, in some way, instead of allowing everything to run over, there would be plenty of time for "public" comment from the General Council.
ReplyDeleteBrady Metcalf
In my opinion, the meeting is over when the General Council is done, and to heck with the "schedule." It takes what it takes. If the General Council has something to say, the Tribal Council should be there to hear it.
ReplyDeleteKippy and Cassie were keeping track of comments at the MWG General Council meeting. I agree; the sign-in and leaving no avenue for response from Tribal Members did nothing to promote constructive conversation. I'm happy to say that our new Events Coordinator is already working on having General Council gatherings on a different day from ANY other meetings or presentations. I agree, the General Council meeting is over when we are finished talking, no matter what time it is. I'm remembering a comment Cassie made awhile back, that GC meetings should be like sitting around your living room.
ReplyDeleteDenni Hockema
Actually there was an avenue for response. it was called raising your hand. Several Tribal members used this traditional form of response to address the issues brought up by other Tribal members.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I felt empowered by the method and I heard many tribal members speak who have not spoken up in the past, myself included. It was the most civil and informative public forum I've been to since the one in June 2007. Perhaps it wasn't the best opportunity to score political points but those meetings aren't held for that purpose anyway.
Before the meeting ended, we were asked if anyone else had time to speak. One was even asked by name. Only then did the meeting end.
Chris Tanner
Aloha! I know the Mill sells Coke products, but The Pepsi Refresh Project is giving away money to people/organizations who submit project proposals in several categories including culture, education, & health. You can submit a simple on-line "fill in the blanks" proposal for $5,000.00 , $25,000.00 , $50,000.00 , or $250,000.00.
ReplyDeleteThese grants are awarded by the number of votes received from the on-line public.
It seems to me that if we,as a tribe, got together and voted everyday for a proposal submitted by one of our own, we might be able to fund a worthy tribal project with Pepsi's money. Any takers? The next submission deadline is May 1st.
I have submitted a proposal in the $50,000.00 "Education" category, pending approval, to expand the "Duane R. Metcalf Memorial Scholarship Foundation". If my proposal is approved on April 1st, it would be great if any and all tribal members with internet access would cast 1 vote everyday for this additional funding. To date we have awarded over $10,000.00 in scholarsips.
OOPs! Pepsi had the wrong date on their "refresh everything" website. Approval date is May 1st not April 1st. So I am still in the running, (pending approval). And what's not to approve? Our 501c3 has ZERO administrative costs. That means that should we garner enough votes to be awarded the $50k, every penny of it goes to fund scholarships. How simple is that? My idea has already been accepted as one of the 1000 ideas they accept each month. Let's hope for the best. I hope I can count on your support. Mahalo.
ReplyDeleteBrady Metcalf
Okay my tribal brothers and sisters! The game...is...ON!! We have 30 days to vote once a day on the "refresheverything" website. If you type "annually fund scholarships in rural Hawaii" into the Pepsi search box, it takes you to the $50k idea. Please, please, PLEASE VOTE...EVERYDAY. We're currently ranked #189 after only 1 day. So we've got a little catching up to do. Let's show 'em what we got! And now, back to your regularly scheduled blog entry....
ReplyDeleteOkay, been there, seen that done that, tried that. It was never even close, but if nothng else, we tried. A big MAHALO to all of you who particpated in the "refresh everything" program. Please continue to vote for worthy causes thru the end of the month. I believe many good things will come about because of this generous program.
ReplyDelete