More on the General Council Meeting.
"Besides being a great way to socialize and meet our friends and family the meeting serves as a time for the Council to hear the People. Many interesting and thoughtful questions were asked by the People, many are suffering from unemployment, homelessness, health care problems, and drug and alcohol abuse; these are issues that should be a critical concern to the Tribal Council. Any member can get a copy of the meeting minutes and read about all the questions and answers. I would highly recommend getting a copy from Jim Potter, the Secretary.
Here are just a few of the interesting questions:
Directed to Dan Kennedy our General Manager for the Casino:
"When will they re-open the bingo parlor?"
"Why are the slots so tight (meaning people were not winning)?
"Has anyone won the $15,000 mystery jackpots?"
"Why are tribal members not able to get jobs in the casino?"
To Ryan, the Tribal Treasurer:
In regards to the Shab-eh-nay deal and the "government" house there, I asked who is allowed to use the house?
His answer was only tribal members, but I asked, then why was his family (not enrolled members) allowed to stay in the house during the fourth of July holiday parade and a Drum, scheduled to be in the parade and was made up of our enrolled members, forced to stay in a hotel at a cost to the tribe of over $4,000 dollars, when they could have stayed at the house for nothing? Ryan gave no explanation. From what I have read on the blog, there are alot of things going on in our government house that are suspicious and we are paying for it, shouldn't there be accountability to the spending of tribal money? Ryan had no explanation again.
Finally, based on the presentation Ryan was giving us regarding our finances and the need to cut spending, and in the interest of creating a government that is accountable to the people, I suggested the following motion:
"A Tribal Council Accountability Program"
All Tribal Council members salary reduced by 25 percent, based on the fact that they do not work full-time hours, frequently miss their own Tribal Council meetings, do not show up for work (dereliction of duties) and are not working on the business of the tribe. Also based on the fact that a measure was passed years ago freezing their salary, in another words they should have never given themselves a raise.
Tribal Council and their assistants must immediately turn over their P-cards this is a system that has allowed them to spend our money without oversight or accountability.
Tribal Council must keep a log of their use of tribal vehicles detailing where they are going, on what tribal business, who they are visiting, and how much time they spend on each trip.
Tribal Council must keep a daily log of their hours working for us, starting with when they arrive to work, who they are meeting with, how long they spend in each meeting, when they leave and come back from lunch and when they leave to go home at the end of the day.
My motion was seconded. The reaction of the Tribal Council was stunned to say the least, but Rey immediately ruled that I was out of order and so I was forced to abandon my motion for now. It was suggested, by other tribal members, that I put my motion on the agenda for the next General Council Meeting in October. I am definitely considering that option.
One observation I had was that very few young people spoke up or seemed involved in the proceedings. Young people need to speak up and voice their concerns, they shouldn't be afraid to share their opinions. Casino employees were also too quiet, they need to speak up and voice their concerns about what they see happening in their community. They should not fear retaliation, that is against the law. I would challenge young people and the casino workers to visit the government center, see what your elected officials are doing. Most importantly, attend the next General Council Meeting, speak up for what they believe is right and implement change and accountability in our government. The meeting adjourned and we headed out to the Kickapoo Powwow, we saw many of our tribal members enjoying the Kansas heat, dancing and eating fry bread. That night we had a meal with our relatives and caught up on what's happening in their lives. It was good to see them and re-connect.
The next day, having re-connected with family and made new friends, I left the reservation with a bittersweet feeling. I am beginning to understand the "pull" that my grandmother once felt but could not explain, the desire to embrace your ancestors and their way of life in this beautiful countryside, but knowing that your family across the country needed you more. Wanting to be on land that is so flat that you feel you are at the edge of the earth and that at any moment your next step would be into a breath-taking array of the known and unknown. But always the hesitation that pulls you back, and back into the reality of your familiar life that lies miles away. What reassures me is that I can always return and be at that edge of the earth, that the reservation or our land as we know it will always be there. I know we have so much dissension in our tribe but our common goal is the improvement in the lives of all our people, we have so much work to do and I will be back to make sure that happens. I hope to see all of you there too!"
Leslie
Leslie, thank you for your eloquent account of your trip. Not only are your blog entries informative and thought-provoking, they are beautifully written as well. I am glad that you took the time to visit the rez, we were glad to see and hear from you. I agree that we definitely need the tribal council to be accountable-in every sense of the word-to the people of the tribe.
Please keep writing- you have fans!!
rezcat1
Posted by: rezcat1 | July 25, 2007 at 05:01 PM
Leslie I'd send you some cash to cover some of your travel expenses to come to the next general council meeting to bring up the motion 'A Tribal Council Accountability Program.' I say let the general council decide if they want accountability from the tribal council like showing up for work.
Posted by: Mark | July 25, 2007 at 06:12 PM
Thanks Mark and rezcat, your responses mirror the feelings of the majority of people that were at the meeting.
Posted by: Leslie | July 25, 2007 at 09:40 PM