Letter of Support from Cecil Walker

"It is easy to say you are Prairie Band Potawatomi it is much harder to walk the path as a Prairie Band Potawatomi.

I believe in our democratic system. I believe in the election of Tracy. Do I always agree with her, no, but that is a good thing. Do I want her removed, absolutely not. She has been the first with education, successful business experience and fore site to sit in the Chair position. The leaders of this recall vote are not qualified in my opinion to run the Tribe. That is why they were probably not re-elected.

I do believe Tracy has and will continue to hold this office with integrity and sound ethics. You do not need to be raised on the reservation to know what is needed on our reservation. If that is the case how does Badger know what is needed since he was not raised on the reservation. I was raised on the reservation and I am very proud of where I come from. I still have strong ties to home. As to all of you I to have my vision of what our Tribe will one day be and will be able to provide for our People.

The arguments I have read are all opinion and personal observation. Business is not based on opinion or personal observation, it is based on facts and the decisions should be made from facts. Tracy has not violated our constitution therefore there is no basis of fact to recall her.

Politics in itself is a strange bedfellow. As we see on a daily basis the fighting and infighting of Republicans and Democrats. Unfortunately our own council has built many surf domes around their position. I do not always agree with their decision or their work ethics. But we, the people elected them. Therefore I will support them and debate with them if I disagree with their position on an issue. I will also accept their decision in the end. They have a right to their opinion, that is why we elected them. I, like all of the Tribal members, have a right to our opinion. We each have a right to debate and negotiate with the Council. The bottom line, we the people elected each of the Tribal Council members. If we do not like the job they are doing then we do not vote for them in the next election. But until that time we work with them and support our Council' final decision.
It is important for the Tribal Council to work as a whole with the interest of the Tribe as their guide. Their decisions will affect many generation of our people to come.

As to the Shab be nay land, those contracts were set in place many years ago by another council. Time has proven they were not good decisions. I feel the Council today has done an excellent job working on the Shab be nay land development and have made fair decision for all parties both Indian and non-Indian in the work they have performed on this development. That is the Potawatomi way to be fair, honest and just to all with sound ethics and morals. That is what my Grandfather, Joseph Nioce taught me. He also taught me that fairness, honesty, ethics and morals were ours to give away or keep. No man can take this away from you unless you allow this to happen. He was and is right.
It is easy to say you are Prairie Band Potawatomi it is much harder to walk the path as a Prairie Band Potawatomi.

Our support belongs with the general election results, and I will support Tracy."

Cecil Walker

Comments

[Leslie]

We too, support Tracy and believe she is a strong leader who will continue to guide the tribe to success. It is unfortunate that there is a small group led by Badger that continue to seek the downfall of our tribe. Right always wins and the Truth will always be discovered.
Everyone must be there to vote against the recall..

[Jerry Briscoe]

I was saddened to read about the recall of our tribal chair, Tracy Stanhoff. I support, and will continue to support our tribal chair. Those that feel Ms. Stanhoff has not upheld the office have a right to voice their concern(s), yet, it is not what you say, but how you are saying it. I am disheartened that this "recall" attempt will create a divisiveness among our people, both on the reservation and off. Is this what we want to accomplish, or is this the message we want to send to our community. We are a sovereign nation. Our forefathers fought hard for our sovereignty - and yet, there are some that wish to tarnish that history by creating discourse. We are free to voice our concerns, and I know personally, that Ms. STanhoff has an open door policy and has welcome tribal members within - whether they agreed with her policy or disagreed. the fact remains - we elected her into office - can't we support that decision to move forward and more importantly, the message we send to our future leaders on the reservation and off - that we CAN work together for our future. We don't have to always agree - but we find a compromise and continue to move forward.

Jerry Briscoe
Tribal Member
KCMO

[rezcat1]

I agree with Cecil and Jerry-this recall is a waste of time. The people have elected Tracy and she is doing nothing wrong. The people that started this recall have been causing problems for quite some time. Tracy has been moving the Tribe forward and is working hard. I will be there to vote no on the recall.

rezcat

[rezcat1]

I agree with Cecil and Jerry-this recall is a waste of time. The people have elected Tracy and she is doing nothing wrong. The people that started this recall have been causing problems for quite some time. Tracy has been moving the Tribe forward and is working hard. I will be there to vote no on the recall.

rezcat

[joe]

One of the "gripes" these people, Badger, George and Mami had was that the Chairperson was wasting money. Wellllllll, guess what people, Badger, George and Mami just cost us $20,000 for the recall... according to the minutes from the last meeting. TALK ABOUT WASTING MONEY!!!
Also, if you are one of those people who signed the petition mistakenly you can still contact Voncile at the government center and get your name off the petition. We need to band together to stop the recall now before it costs us anymore money!!!