One Foot Forward

Early today, we had a work session on the "Tilixam Wawa". I requested the meeting myself, because over much of the last month we've talked about reviving the publication, and constantly ask staff to put such-and-such in the Wawa.  But as is often the case, we don't always follow up, and in this instance that is what happened.

So I requested the meeting today in order to start putting together a plan for how the publication will be produced. We talked about deadlines, how often, who would contribute, what would be written, etc. all the normal things those producing a publication talk about. Nobody appeared to have a problem with Council members submitting articles, or expressing opinions, provided they don't go completely beyond the present editorial policy. I think people like hearing from their Tribal leaders.

But the publication cannot be completely Council driven, a point I raised in my attempt at a staff report. I think people will start to view it as grandstanding and campaigning.  In the event that only a few Council members submit anything, stretching that out to an 8-page issue might be difficult. It can't all be Tribal Council meeting minutes because then it becomes too dry to read. So we talked about staff producing articles, and some issues being themed, where we might cover certain topics that members would like to know about, like off-reservation gaming, like culture and history.  And oh yes, enrollment.

At the same time we have formed an informal working group whose main purpose is to stay on top of the Tribal website.  I love the "Tilixam Wawa". Don't get me wrong.  But print media is starting to fade away.  Not that it will completely die out, and for many of our Tribal members who don't get their news by the internet, getting the Wawa and "Smoke Signals" will continue to be how they stay updated on Tribal affairs.  But our website has flexibility and potential that can't be beat.  "The Seattle Times", for example, has gone completely digital.  The instant nature of e-news is hard to resist.

What are our plans?  For starters, we are looking at e-newsletters, press releases, and electronic versions of Tribal publications all accessible by Tribal members who provide us with their email addresses.  We've also discussed the idea of feeds.  In the brainstorming phase is a possible blogging section, one for not only Council but different departments.  Eventually, what I hope for is that any letter, publication, brochure, etc. mailed out or available to the membership can be found as a PDF file on the members-only website.  

I suppose this qualifies as a tangent. That's alright.  A lot of members have complained about keeping them in the dark, and in a lot of ways they are right.  But now, we can't be faulted for not trying.  Not anymore.  A lot remains to be done, for sure, but we've put one foot forward.