ANYTHING BUT THE TRUTH....

By Lynne Weaver

Little more than a year after the Sault Tribe entered another phase of new leadership, the members of the tribe are more in the dark than ever before. All member meetings outside of the five units have ceased to exist. Members living throughout the lower peninsula of Michigan have been blindsided by their tribal leaders. Member loyalty is not something the board needs or wants since they have chosen to distance themselves from the majority of their constituents.

Instead the Sault Tribe Chairman and Board of Directors depend on the added cost of a public relations firm to state what is necessary to avoid direct communications with the members and the public. Our leaders have completely lost focus on the difference between truth and lies leaving the members right back where they were prior to the election of 2004; in the dark with the remaining employees afraid to open their mouth in protest. It’s not just the employees who have concerns about ‘crying out-loud’. Tribal members who use the medical, dental and Elder-care services also have to keep their tongues in check for fear of retribution and loss of services. Little is sacred to the Tribal Controllers, including the health and well-being of tribal Elders, with the exception of their own paychecks and positions of power.

Yet, there are still those that hang onto their belief that things are better now that their favorite leaders are working together again. Are they victims of Stockholm Syndrome, which is a psychological condition in which those taken hostage sympathize with or become emotionally involved with their captors? Victims of Stockholm Syndrome have no need for the truth because those whose minds are controlled have no need to know that their captor is a helluva liar.

With all the added costs to cover up the truth along with all the legal fees and other costs associated with trying to keep a sinking ship afloat, it makes me wonder how much could have been saved if across-the-board cuts were made that included the chairman and directors family members who are still employed at a nice better-than-a-living wage with no fear of losing their jobs in the future. Add to that, board perks of unnecessary travel, electronics equipment, free meals and trips to faraway places that bring nothing of value back to the tribe.

Nearly four hundred thousand dollars were spent to meet the demands of the membership to hold a Constitutional convention to plug the holes in the existing one, but the board refuses to allow the members to vote on the amendments. They also refuse to address the concerns of the members that the Election Committee is nicely packaged with family members of the elected chairman and several board members. Since other tribes have rotating committees and term limits, it is suspicious that the Sault Tribe does not. It makes me wonder if the members of the Sault Tribe will ever hear ‘Nothing but the Truth’ ever again.

Email me at lynne.mackbands@yahoo.com
Copyright 9/6/2009