Inner Voice Meeting Summary December 2, 2009
The
annual meeting of the Inner Voice Organization was held at the New Town
Civic Center on December 2nd, 2009 at 5:00. The attendance was very
good with the Civic Center full with adults and children. A prayer was
offered and a meal was served, condolences were offered to people in
mourning. The members of Inner Voice explained the agenda and the
ground rules to the crowd.
The first issue was the enrollment issue. The proposed change under consideration would be from lineal descent as it now is to 1/8th degree of Indian blood of the Three Affiliated Tribes. Two members of the Elders’ Organization presented information about the proposed election to amend the Constitution as it pertains to tribal membership. They advise there is considerable confusion about the voting process as it now exists. They are
proposing that polls be set up on the reservation rather than voting by mail. There
were questions about the vote and the wording on the ballots. Someone
was also concerned about the numbering of the ballots and how this
would compromise their right to a secret ballot.
There was a question about the off-reservation people who have always
had the privilege of voting by mail in matters of the constitution. Would this deny them the right to vote. Superintendent
Bemer explained that they could still register to vote but they would
have to vote at a polling place on the reservation. No action was called for on this issue at this time
Note for Elbowoods.com readers: The reason this type of election is called a “Secretarial Election” is because it is conducted by the Secretary of the Interior or his designee (in this case, the Superintendent of the Agency). Any amendment to the Tribal Constitution must be voted on and approved by the people of the Three Affiliated Tribes.
There
was considerable concern and discussion about oil and gas development
and the responsibility of the BIA and OST officials on the reservation. Superintendent Howard Bemer and “One-Stop Shop” representative Jeff Hunt were in attendance at the meeting. Several
people voiced concern about the leasing of tribal minerals without the
benefit of competitive bidding. Superintendent Howard Bemer explained
his position on the leasing of the tribal lands. He wanted to know why
everyone was mad about certain companies getting tribal land and
flipping their leases to other bigger companies for a profit. He said
it was speculating and in the white world it is just business. A woman
said she didn’t like his attitude in the way he was trying to
trivialize the issue. She asked why the BIA would let carpetbaggers and
fly-by-night companies with no standing in the oil industry receive
IMDA’s and blocks of tribal lands. She said these companies sprung up
overnight and are now in control of our minerals. He then mentioned
that he doesn’t get involved in tribal politics and he said that the
Aberdeen regional office signed off on these IMDA’s. A man got up and
said the way he understood it was that these companies who were
“flipping” leases on fee patent land owned by individual landowners are
writing themselves in the lease for 2-4% of the royalty. Example you
get 18% royalty and someone is getting up to 4% off your land on top of
the flip. Another man wanted to know why the superintendent lets the
TBC draw down JTAC funds when there are regulations on what JTAC can be
used for. I think he said 30% was specifically for community
development. There were other questions about him being the trustee and
why is he not doing his job. There was a vote to stop drawing down on
the JTAC funds and it was passed unanimously. There was also a vote
passed unanimously to ask the TBC for the IMDAs for our tribal lands.
(Note for Elbowoods.com readers: JTAC stands for the “Joint Tribal Advisory Committee”
appointed by then Secretary of Interior Hodel in 1986. Their report
resulted in a $149.2 million Economic Recovery Fund (ERF) for the Three
Affiliated Tribes. The annual interest from this fund is to be used to replace the infrastructure lost as a result of the Garrison Dam and for other economic recovery purposes as approved in a plan developed by the people of Fort Berthold . The $149.2 million is a permanent fund in the US Treasury and the Three Affiliated Tribes
share of receipts from Pick-Sloan power administered by the Western Area Power Administration.”
A speaker talked about the IMDA process and gave detailed review of the
events leading to the approval of several IMDA’s by the Area Director. These negotiations took place behind “closed doors” and without the benefit of input by any landowners. He
said many of the decisions were made in haste without thorough review
by the council before they approved them. He expressed concern that a
number of the clauses in the Agreement are not in the best interests of
the people of the Tribe. For example, the “take-in-kind” provision that may exist in the document. He recommended that these Agreements be reviewed and analyzed and cancelled if the review so warrants.
(Note for Elbowoods.com readers: IMDA stands for “Indian Minerals Development Act” wherein the Tribe can enter into agreements with oil companies. The 4 IMDA’s or leases mentioned in this discussion are: JT Energy; Black Rock Resources; Dakota 3; and Spotted Hawk.)
The
Inner Voice position is why weren’t other enrolled members afforded
this opportunity, why did just a couple tribal members get tribal lands
to lease this looks like it violates the Ethics ordinance and is a Conflict of Interest.
If it is just business as the Superintendent says then the highest
bidder would have got the lease and he would have made sure that
happened.
There
was a presentation on our debt which really just asked questions about
our tribal debt. Some questions such as who do we owe and how much do
we owe, and what is the pay back plan. There was a vote that passed
unanimously to ask the TBC to provide us with this information.
Councilperson Judy Brugh arrived at mid-point in the meeting. She
said she was there to listen. She expressed her concern about the Inner
Voice website as to why we do not require real names to post. A woman
said that if the Tribal Council
would host such a forum where people could make comments, ask questions
and receive written replies, then there wouldn’t be a need for
elbowoods.com. The next speaker said the Council’s complaint about the
website Elbowoods.com is petty compared to the gigantic issues we are
having right now. The tribe changes minutes and withholds tapes and
minutes from the public. Another woman spoke
about the Wells-Fargo lawsuit and said the tribal attorneys and the
Council people who voted on this contract and then reneged should be
held responsible for the $6.2 million judgment, not the people of the
Tribe. The
next speaker said that as elected officials, Council members take an
oath to uphold the Constitution and to act in the best interests of the
people – they are to serve the people of the Three Affiliated Tribes,
not the reverse. As such, tribal land is owned by all members of the tribe (we are the people) and not by the business council. Their
failure to understand and follow this basic principle of tribal
government could result in the destruction of the reservation. They must uphold the Constitution and protect the people of the reservation.
A speaker brought up the conflict-of-interest situations that exist within our tribal government. Several
people who are employed by the tribe (by the people) are taking
advantage of their employment situation and becoming involved in
business ventures paid for by the tribe. Most corporations (and we are
a corporation) prohibit this practice and prosecute those who violate
these standards.
A
discussion on the need for change in our Constitution and By-laws was
lead by an individual who was on the last Revision committee. The parameters of the 1934 Constitution do not fit today’s modern tribal business world. The
people need protection in our constitution against abuse of power,
unrestricted borrowing and debt accumulation and unethical behavior by
elected and employed people. The power of
referendum needs to be given to the people as a means to keep the
balance of power in the hands of the members of the tribe.
(Note to readers of Elbowoods.com): Referendum means the ability to refer issues and proposed actions to the people for their vote
The
Inner Voice supports Constitution Revision that protects peoples
rights, Separates Powers, Judicial Review (any tribal enrolled member
can file a complaint against TBC if they violate the constitution),
Debt provisions, and has Referendum and Recall procedures for the
people.
There
were other questions and issues raised by people at the meeting;
however, due to the lateness of time, they could not be addressed. Several of these are pipelines, housing, finances, audits, etc.
Inner-Voice thanked Judy Brugh for being there and listening to our concerns.
There was a vote that passed unanimously to invite the Council to a general assembly type meeting and the date was set for 12/20 @ 2:00 at the New Town Civic Center so people off the reservation can attend.
There might be some things missed in this summary so please excuse us we are trying to do the best we can. We needed more time for discussion on each issue.
A closing prayer was said and the meeting ended.
