Just Like Starting Over

An employee joked to me recently that instead of calling our Oath of Office ceremony “Swearing In”, we should really call it a “Swearing At”. That was probably in light of some of our most recent Council meetings. I doubt that employee really expected anything too ugly to occur on Wednesday, September 12 at 11 a.m. in Council Chambers, but then again, who ever does? It’s a time for celebration, in theory.
I had only been sworn in once before, three years prior obviously. Even then there was a degree of tension. What I remember is one person being ready to go after Angie, Buddy, and myself already, reading off an email from one of our supporters that was none too popular amongst the locals. As if trying to read it off during our swearing in wasn’t enough, the issue had to be revisited at length during our first Council meeting later on that night. Not surprisingly, one of the same people who chose to raise the issue was present two weeks ago, alleging that I or somebody on my behalf had coerced a Tribal elder into endorsing me during the election this year. Ridiculous. Even after three years, the cast of characters remains the same.
It certainly hadn’t changed Wednesday. After being sworn in and taking our Oath of Office a number of people, Tribal and non-Tribal alike, lined up to shake our hands and offer congratulations. Not once but twice I was drawn close to two different individuals who would whisper in a low voice so nobody else could hear, one making an accusation towards me and indicating that if I did it again they would “drop” me, the other taking exception with what I had written in the August issue of “Tilixam Wawa” and more or less saying that if I continued that they would no longer be my friend.
Not the best way to start off my second term.
But realistically, I shouldn't claim to be shocked. As the politics of Grand Ronde have grown more partisan, a point I need to keep repeating, they have also grown nastier. It just seems like the side I am on doesn’t tend to do things like this. Or this:
Just before lunch I was handed a Meeting Request Form signed by four Council members and the subject of which was written rather cryptically. It simply read “Enrollment Issue”, and the meeting request time was for 1:30 that same day, a little more than one hours notice. I asked the Council member who had handed me the request, and he indicated that they wanted to stop the present Constitutional Election and re-submit the language. The language would be the same, but split up into three parts. Specifically, the definition of Grand Ronde blood would be a separate amendment. Also, this was considered an emergency.
After a little research of our Operating Procedures, I informed the rest of Council that even in emergencies, at least 12 hours notice is required for any meeting, unless all nine Council members waive that notice in writing. Typically, 24 hours notice is necessary unless the situation is an emergency. I was later that afternoon handed another Meeting Request Form, this one reading “Operational Procedures”. This too, was an emergency, evidently.
I emailed out a request to schedule the meeting on Enrollment the next day at 1:30, followed by the Operating Procedures. Little did I know that neither of those would occur at those times, but more on that later. I would also get wind later on in the day that there would be a Special Tribal Council Meeting Friday morning to handle the enrollment stuff.
As everybody has heard, the Council meeting that afternoon featured a new election of Chair and Vice-Chair. Cheryle Kennedy replaced me six votes to three. Reyn Leno was awarded the Vice-Chair position over Kathleen Tom by the same margin. Everybody was very gracious and professional about the whole thing, which is how it should be.
In all honesty too, I am not angry or sad about no longer being the Chair. I knew my fate in that regard once the election results were in. Cheryle had to deal with being replaced by me last year, and now the opposite occurred. It would be hypocritical of me to be bitter. These are our Tribal laws.
But I must admit to being bothered by a couple of things. One is that the meeting on Enrollment, to stop the election and re-submit language, was held the following morning while I was speaking at the Tribal meth conference. I walked in at 9:20 or thereabouts and the conversation was being wrapped up. Our Tribal Council Relations Coordinator’s update, which usually occupies that time slot, had been canceled and the agenda amended to incorporate the Enrollment Discussion, and that of the Operating Procedures (although they just added Wednesdays as possible Work Session days, nothing I didn’t expect). A major decision, as we don’t really know how many if any Tribes have ever called off a Constitutional Election, had been discussed and decided in less than 30 minutes, with no Staff Reports and not even a Record of Instruction. And neither Wink, Kathleen, or myself were told it would happen that morning. The following morning, the resolutions to stop the election and re-submit language would pass at a Special Tribal Council Meeting.
Why am I bringing all this up? Why the long, tedious narrative? Well, frankly you almost had to be there to believe how it all went down. It was brazen, efficient, and legal, but also a far cry from how we had been conducting business the last two years. Furthermore, as I have not listened to the recording from that morning, I can’t vouch for how the conversation went, or what led up to it. It was either pre-planned and/or pre-discussed, and I was not a part of those, or the new faction in charge is incredibly efficient. So efficient that what took me, Angie, Buddy, Wink, and Kathleen months to decide was reviewed and re-adjusted in 20 minutes. Clear answers did not come forth during the Special Tribal Council meeting either. It just happened.
So is this just a freak occurrence or a new, in saying new I mean a return to the old, way of doing business? I’d like to give the new-look Council a chance, but stuff like last week makes me apprehensive already.
All I can do really, is just tell people how it appears through my own eyes, and let them draw their own conclusions.