1President and Tribal Administrator become two jobs
Right now it's unclear if this is one job or two. Separating them keeps too much power from landing with one person.
Tribal Council · Citizen Vote
Updating Our Constitution and By-Laws
Our Constitution and By-Laws were written in 2004. Some parts are unclear or no longer work. We are asking registered voters to approve updates that fix them.
Read the redline version (every word that changes)The major changes at a glance
Here are the major changes we are asking you to approve. The update also includes smaller edits, like reorganizing sections, clearer word choices, and formatting. Those smaller edits do not change how our government works. You can see every change in the redline version.
Why we're voting again
In 2019, every ballot said yes. The changes still failed.
The old rule says 40% of all eligible voters must take part. With no election rules, "all eligible" included people we had no address for and people no longer active. That bar was nearly impossible to reach.
The council has since passed an Election Ordinance. Now "eligible voters" means citizens who registered to vote.
The major changes
2Elections once a year, not every 3 months
The current wording calls for elections every quarter, which was never the intent. Council seats would be 3-year terms, staggered so only some seats are up each year.
3Council meets at least every 3 months
The council can keep meeting monthly. If a meeting is canceled for weather or another reason, the council is still following the rules.
4Remove BIA election language
We are not an IRA tribe, so the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) does not run our elections. The BIA has confirmed this. The By-Laws still suggest otherwise, so we would remove that wording.
5Define our territory and handle inactive members
- Territory: The Constitution never says where STC territory ends. We would define it as the area within 100 miles of STC. (See map.)
- Returned mail: A jurisdictional member could be disenrolled after 2 years of documented returned mail.
6Blood quantum for jurisdictional members: 1/6 to 1/16
The fraction gets smaller with each generation. Under today's rule, many members' children and grandchildren can't join.
Changes 5 and 6 affect only jurisdictional members. Base roll members, whose membership comes from family origin, are not affected.
You've already said yes
Voters approved the Constitution and many of these changes in 2017 and again in 2019. Both times, the changes never took effect because of the 40% rule, not because people voted no.
With the new Election Ordinance, only registered voters count toward that 40%. This time, your vote can finally make these changes official.
Read the redline version