When I first heard of the Sergeant at Arms issue, my first thought went to memories of middle school. Having the esteemed title of Class President of my 8th grade class, I relied on the Sergeant at Arms to maintain order while the teacher was out of the room.
Although it was really all quite juvenile considering the mindset of 8th graders, a Sergeant at Arms is even present in the Senate and the House of Representatives. Their purpose is not just to keep order but their duties include escorting, holding the gavel, requesting the attendance of absent participants, decorum, administrative duties, protection, security and a host of other duties.
Just how far do we want to take this Sergeant at Arms position? Are we creating a new monster or doing what needs to be done? How will the BOD manipulate the position and how do the members feel having even more weapons at the hands of the BOD? Do the members feel it is necessary and will the presence of a Sergeant at Arms make them more comfortable and secure.
Will this create a new paid position and will this free up more tribal police to do what they need to do which is to protect the rest of the membership not in attendance?
This should not be a frivolous action but needs to be well thought out before any permanency is applied to it.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Sergeant at Arms...Protect our Freedom of Speech
Personally, I don't see the position of Sargeant at Arms as law enforcement. The purpose of a Sergeant at Arms is to protect our Freedom of Speech from those who try to take it away.
As early as middle school, students were appointed to Sergeant at Arms to preside over class meetings. Their duties were to simply remind the rabblerousers to keep their actions under control.
I have been to enough tribal meetings to see a need. For instance, without naming names, one well known for her ignorant and disruptive childish behavior sits in the front row and verbally harasses everyone, including members, who have an opinion....except her own buddies of course. Try to address the board and the membership with someone like that trying to shut you up and yelling over top your every word....Sergeant at Arms, do your duty.
It is not the job of the tribal police to remove someone for having a big nasty mouth but it was always the job of the Sergeant at Arms to tell such people to quiet down and ALLOW others to speak. If the audience applauded or called out their approval or disapproval after a presentation was made then that is always acceptable, as it should be. It was not acceptable for one or more persons to attempt to stop someone from presenting their point of view while at the podium or when another was called upon to ask questions or to speak.
Freedom of Speech is not prevented ( and should not be) by the presence of a Sergeant at Arms. It is not their purpose to violate anyone's Freedom of Speech. It should be their purpose to encourage and allow those freedoms. It is certain audience members and even some board members who are notorious for violating the Freedom of Speech of many who wish to express themselves.
But, the reality of this situation is that several of the Board of Directors will use the Sergeant at Arms to violate our Freedom of Speech when the speech is a criticism of their ability to properly represent the tribe and its members. The directors will have to take a class on what a Sergeant at Arms purpose is as well as being able to recite the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States which is Freedom of Speech. They should at least have a clear understanding of what it means and that a Sergeant at Arms is not there to protect them but to require order while another is speaking.
Many of us mumble and grumble or show approval of what a speaker is saying but our final acceptance or revolt of the subject matter should be held for the completion of the presentation through applause, verbal or otherwise. It is about respect and giving your fellow citizen the right to their opinion. It is about having the self control required to keep your emotions at a civil level until such time as it is acceptable to applaud, whoop and holler and that, to me, is always acceptable as your voice of approval or disapproval at the completion of a speech or presentation. If no one were allowed to do so, there would be no point in attending meetings and no point in even holding elections.
So it will be up to the tribal members to also review the purpose of a Sergeant at Arms and the meaning of the First Amendment...Freedom of Speech.. in order to prevent the board from using the Sergeant at Arms for their purposes only.
Lynne Weaver
Charles Forgravewrote:
Date: Sunday, January 27, 2008, 8:25 PM
Sault Ste. Marie, Mi...The board of directors of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians will be studying a Sargeant-At-Arms proposal in the coming weeks. Since the January 15Th meeting a few directors feel a Sargeant-At-Arms is necessary to maintain order.
There is emerging support for the resolution and tribal members may have to live with it..in one form or another. While some observers feel the proposal is yet another effort by the rougue board to curb citizen expression; others feel the additon of a Sargeant-At-Arms is necessary to maintain order and civility at meetings.
Though opposed to law enforcement involvement and board officials choosing the Sargeant-At-Arms... some directors feel the resolution is timely. Others directors see it as a pre-election effort by the rougue board to assert additional control, along with curbing citizen expression...and see the free and vigorous expression of ordinary citizens as a last stopgape to a board determined to assert illegal control over tribal affairs.
The Sargeant-At-Arms resolution will be discussed and fine turned in a workshop in the weeks ahead, before being brought before the board of directors for a decision.
Thank you, Charles Forgrave
As early as middle school, students were appointed to Sergeant at Arms to preside over class meetings. Their duties were to simply remind the rabblerousers to keep their actions under control.
I have been to enough tribal meetings to see a need. For instance, without naming names, one well known for her ignorant and disruptive childish behavior sits in the front row and verbally harasses everyone, including members, who have an opinion....except her own buddies of course. Try to address the board and the membership with someone like that trying to shut you up and yelling over top your every word....Sergeant at Arms, do your duty.
It is not the job of the tribal police to remove someone for having a big nasty mouth but it was always the job of the Sergeant at Arms to tell such people to quiet down and ALLOW others to speak. If the audience applauded or called out their approval or disapproval after a presentation was made then that is always acceptable, as it should be. It was not acceptable for one or more persons to attempt to stop someone from presenting their point of view while at the podium or when another was called upon to ask questions or to speak.
Freedom of Speech is not prevented ( and should not be) by the presence of a Sergeant at Arms. It is not their purpose to violate anyone's Freedom of Speech. It should be their purpose to encourage and allow those freedoms. It is certain audience members and even some board members who are notorious for violating the Freedom of Speech of many who wish to express themselves.
But, the reality of this situation is that several of the Board of Directors will use the Sergeant at Arms to violate our Freedom of Speech when the speech is a criticism of their ability to properly represent the tribe and its members. The directors will have to take a class on what a Sergeant at Arms purpose is as well as being able to recite the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States which is Freedom of Speech. They should at least have a clear understanding of what it means and that a Sergeant at Arms is not there to protect them but to require order while another is speaking.
Many of us mumble and grumble or show approval of what a speaker is saying but our final acceptance or revolt of the subject matter should be held for the completion of the presentation through applause, verbal or otherwise. It is about respect and giving your fellow citizen the right to their opinion. It is about having the self control required to keep your emotions at a civil level until such time as it is acceptable to applaud, whoop and holler and that, to me, is always acceptable as your voice of approval or disapproval at the completion of a speech or presentation. If no one were allowed to do so, there would be no point in attending meetings and no point in even holding elections.
So it will be up to the tribal members to also review the purpose of a Sergeant at Arms and the meaning of the First Amendment...Freedom of Speech.. in order to prevent the board from using the Sergeant at Arms for their purposes only.
Lynne Weaver
Charles Forgrave
Date: Sunday, January 27, 2008, 8:25 PM
Sault Ste. Marie, Mi...The board of directors of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians will be studying a Sargeant-At-Arms proposal in the coming weeks. Since the January 15Th meeting a few directors feel a Sargeant-At-Arms is necessary to maintain order.
There is emerging support for the resolution and tribal members may have to live with it..in one form or another. While some observers feel the proposal is yet another effort by the rougue board to curb citizen expression; others feel the additon of a Sargeant-At-Arms is necessary to maintain order and civility at meetings.
Though opposed to law enforcement involvement and board officials choosing the Sargeant-At-Arms... some directors feel the resolution is timely. Others directors see it as a pre-election effort by the rougue board to assert additional control, along with curbing citizen expression...and see the free and vigorous expression of ordinary citizens as a last stopgape to a board determined to assert illegal control over tribal affairs.
The Sargeant-At-Arms resolution will be discussed and fine turned in a workshop in the weeks ahead, before being brought before the board of directors for a decision.
Thank you, Charles Forgrave
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
TWO WOLVES
One evening an Elder Chippewa told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside all people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between two"wolves" inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The Elder Chippewa simply replied, "The one you feed."
He said, "My son, the battle is between two"wolves" inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The Elder Chippewa simply replied, "The one you feed."
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Coming Soon....Paquin's Day in Court
On February 14, 2008, Valentine's Day, Fred Paquin will have his day in court for the alleged beating of a woman he professed to care about.
Copied in part from Mayo Clinic.com
An abusive relationship: It's about power and control
Though there are no typical victims of domestic violence, abusive relationships do share similar characteristics. In all cases, the abuser aims to exert power and control over his partner.
Although a lot of people think domestic violence is about anger, it really isn't. Batterers do tend to take their anger out on their intimate partner. But it's not really about anger. It's about trying to instill fear and wanting to have power and control in the relationship. In an abusive relationship, the abuser may use varying tactics to gain power and control, including:
It may not be easy to identify abuse, especially at first. While some relationships are clearly abusive from the outset, abuse often starts subtly and gets worse over time. For example, abuse may begin with occasional hurtful comments, jealousy or controlling behavior. As it gets worse, the abuse may become more frequent, severe or violent. As the cycle of abuse worsens, your safety or the safety of your children may be in danger.
Copied in part from Mayo Clinic.com
An abusive relationship: It's about power and control
Although a lot of people think domestic violence is about anger, it really isn't. Batterers do tend to take their anger out on their intimate partner. But it's not really about anger. It's about trying to instill fear and wanting to have power and control in the relationship. In an abusive relationship, the abuser may use varying tactics to gain power and control, including:
- Emotional abuse. Uses put-downs, insults, criticism or name-calling to make you feel bad about yourself.
- Denial and blame. Denies that the abuse occurs and shifts responsibility for the abusive behavior onto you. This may leave you confused and unsure of yourself.
- Intimidation. Uses certain looks, actions or gestures to instill fear. The abuser may break things, destroy property, abuse pets or display weapons.
- Coercion and threats. Threatens to hurt other family members, pets, children or self.
- Power. Makes all major decisions, defines the roles in your relationship, is in charge of the home and social life, and treats you like a servant or possession.
Recognizing abuse: Know the signs
You may be a victim of abuse if you're in a relationship with someone who:
- Controls finances, so you have to ask for money
- Looks at you or acts in ways that scare you
- Acts jealous or possessive, or accuses you of being unfaithful
- Tries to control how you spend your time, who you see or talk to, where you go or what you wear. Wants you to get permission to make everyday decisions
- Gets angry when drinking alcohol or using drugs
- Scares you by driving recklessly
- Threatens to kill him or herself
- Hits, kicks, shoves, slaps, or chokes you or threatens you with violence or a weapon
- Forces you to have sexual intercourse or engage in sexual acts against your will
- Calls you names, insults you or puts you down
- Prevents you from going to work or school
- Stops you from seeing family members and friends
- Hurts, or threatens to hurt you, your children or pets
- Destroys your property
- Controls your access to medicines
- Blames you for his or her violent behavior or tells you that you deserve it
- Says that his or her abusive behavior is no big deal or even denies doing it
- Tries to force you to drop charges
- Tries to prevent you from calling the police or seeking medical care
Create a safety plan
Leaving an abuser can be dangerous. You're the only one who knows the safest time to leave. You may know you are in an abusive relationship and realize you need to leave as soon as you safely can. Or, you may be concerned about your partner's behavior and think you may need to get out at some point in the future. Either way, being prepared can help you leave quickly if you need to.
Consider taking these precautions:
- Arrange a safety signal with a neighbor as an alert to call the police if necessary.
- Prepare an emergency bag that includes items you'll need when you leave, such as extra clothes, important papers, money, extra keys and prescription medications.
- Know exactly where you'll go and how you'll get there, even if you have to leave in the middle of the night.
- Call a local women's shelter or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 799-7233 to find out about legal options and resources available to you, before you need them.
- If you have school-age children, notify the school authorities or school counselor about custody arrangements and warn them about possible threats.
If any of the above conditions sounds eerily familiar, there is help available. One very important thing to remember is this: It is NOT your fault no matter what you are told. You were most likely chosen as the victim because you are a nice person, lacking in self confidence, naive or passive.
If you are not seeking help then it may be because you have become accustomed to abusive behavior through earlier life experiences or you are afraid the abuser will find out before you make your escape. If you stay, your life is in danger and if you have children who are present during abusive situations, this will negatively affect their lives forever in one way or another.
It is not okay to physically abuse another human being and you do not deserve it. Seek help today.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Crazy Eight's
There is a new game available for Sault Tribe members. It is a game called Crazy Eight's and the game is played using a board and 13 pieces. There are 37,000 remaining pieces being played by the Crazy Eight's that Logic must win over.
For the Crazy Eight's, the object of the game has no set rules but is actually about breaking rules and cheating is allowed. There are 7 or 8 major players at any given moment but 8 seems to be the lucky number so they are referred to as the "Crazy Eight".
The remaining players represent the "Logic" cards. The object of the game for the Logic card is to use logic to convince members that Logic and Truth will win the game.
It takes fewer "Logic" cards to overcome the "Crazy Eight" cards for obvious reasons. The Logic card always trumps the Crazy card which is why you must have more Crazy cards in your hand in order to make Crazy decisions. The 13th player is the "Lead" who is required to push the Logic cards around the board and to convince the Crazy cards to follow. The final pieces are the 'payoffs' of which most are 'members' and the remaining pieces are thinly disquised 'ulterior motives'.
The job of the Crazy cards is to convince 'members' watching the game that rules are made to be broken and that it is acceptable to throw all the Logic cards out the window. The Crazy cards will try to catch those that are not paying attention and stuff them in their pockets where they will remain until the Logic card finds them and pulls them back where they are returned to a new position on the Logic side of the board.
The Crazy card's must convince members in their pockets to stay there and must make promises they have no intention of keeping in order to do so. The member cards are later cashed in by the Crazy cards for 'secret rewards'.
On the other hand, the Logic cards don't attempt to put the 'members' in their pockets but allow them to be 'free' to decide for themselves which side of the board they will be on. If their power to convince others to practice "logic" is strong enough then the members are safe. Otherwise, all members go to the dark area until the next game is played and Logic wins over the Crazy Eight.
The only way to overcome the Crazy cards when they appear to be winning is for the members to refer to the rules by tossing their own cards on the board. Members outnumber all other cards and therefore hold the power to overturn the board. The Members are then required to pick new cards with the final objective to be fewer Crazy cards and more Logic cards in order to win the game. The prize....Respect and Dignity which is all that is left when the Crazy Eight cards are played for too long.
During the marathon games some players rotate every 2 years with all actually staying on board for a 4 year period unless they are removed when too many members are 'free' to play the Logic cards to decide who will stay and who will go.
When members aren't sure who is who, they must use their own logic to decide. A hint can be found on page 25 of our own Sault Tribe newspaper where all Crazy Eight's are pictured. Make sure you are actually looking at the real Sault Tribe paper and not the one endorsed by the Crazy Eight's as the truth. The Crazy Eight's will try to convince the members that what they say is truth just because it comes out of their mouths but actions speak louder than words and Logic always wins.
Lynne..."Wind Weaver"
For the Crazy Eight's, the object of the game has no set rules but is actually about breaking rules and cheating is allowed. There are 7 or 8 major players at any given moment but 8 seems to be the lucky number so they are referred to as the "Crazy Eight".
The remaining players represent the "Logic" cards. The object of the game for the Logic card is to use logic to convince members that Logic and Truth will win the game.
It takes fewer "Logic" cards to overcome the "Crazy Eight" cards for obvious reasons. The Logic card always trumps the Crazy card which is why you must have more Crazy cards in your hand in order to make Crazy decisions. The 13th player is the "Lead" who is required to push the Logic cards around the board and to convince the Crazy cards to follow. The final pieces are the 'payoffs' of which most are 'members' and the remaining pieces are thinly disquised 'ulterior motives'.
The job of the Crazy cards is to convince 'members' watching the game that rules are made to be broken and that it is acceptable to throw all the Logic cards out the window. The Crazy cards will try to catch those that are not paying attention and stuff them in their pockets where they will remain until the Logic card finds them and pulls them back where they are returned to a new position on the Logic side of the board.
The Crazy card's must convince members in their pockets to stay there and must make promises they have no intention of keeping in order to do so. The member cards are later cashed in by the Crazy cards for 'secret rewards'.
On the other hand, the Logic cards don't attempt to put the 'members' in their pockets but allow them to be 'free' to decide for themselves which side of the board they will be on. If their power to convince others to practice "logic" is strong enough then the members are safe. Otherwise, all members go to the dark area until the next game is played and Logic wins over the Crazy Eight.
The only way to overcome the Crazy cards when they appear to be winning is for the members to refer to the rules by tossing their own cards on the board. Members outnumber all other cards and therefore hold the power to overturn the board. The Members are then required to pick new cards with the final objective to be fewer Crazy cards and more Logic cards in order to win the game. The prize....Respect and Dignity which is all that is left when the Crazy Eight cards are played for too long.
During the marathon games some players rotate every 2 years with all actually staying on board for a 4 year period unless they are removed when too many members are 'free' to play the Logic cards to decide who will stay and who will go.
When members aren't sure who is who, they must use their own logic to decide. A hint can be found on page 25 of our own Sault Tribe newspaper where all Crazy Eight's are pictured. Make sure you are actually looking at the real Sault Tribe paper and not the one endorsed by the Crazy Eight's as the truth. The Crazy Eight's will try to convince the members that what they say is truth just because it comes out of their mouths but actions speak louder than words and Logic always wins.
Lynne..."Wind Weaver"
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Members Call for Peaceful Removal of Rogue Board
While some members of the Sault Tribe want the rogue board removed at any cost, others are concerned for the safety of innocent bystanders. Government wheels turn slowly and impatience is brewing while we wait for a response from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Without BIA intervention, the process of drafting removal petitions must be precise, with proper reference points made to the Constitution and Bylaws of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians and applied to the violations of the individual board members elected to represent the best interests of the tribe and it's members.
On our board, we have Fred Paquin, Chief of Police who was recently arrested and charged with the physical assault of a female tribal member and employee of the tribe when she fought off his sexual advances. Prior to his arrest, he threatened to retaliate against the family members of the victim should she move forward with her complaint.
Paquin's history of abuse precedes this recent act. Another female employee (under Paquin's supervision) who was sexually harassed was fired after filing a complaint with the tribe's former HR director.
Paquin was also caught on camera in the midst of gaming violations selling raffle tickets within the confines of our Detroit Greektown casino....and the list goes on.
Several members of the Board of Directors seemed to feel he fit right in with their picture of just exactly what was needed as the person to head operations and appointed him CEO of the casino after making a move to remove the Tribal Chairman from the position. According to our Constitution, the Chairman also performs the role of CEO of Casino Operations. They also tried to remove the Chairman's authority over Paquin to prevent the Chairman from suspending Paquin from his duties as police chief until a court of law decides his guilt.
Protests from hundreds of tribal members regarding the lawless actions of a majority of the board has become a war with several members of the board determined to save the accused police chief by tampering with the laws that govern our tribe. Members of the tribe are joining to process removal petitions against several of the elected directors.
Those directors are attempting to control the members through threats of squashing the voting rights of more than half of the tribe's eligible voters and by violating an amendment to our constitution which eliminates the possibility of the former chairman from running in any tribal election while he is in litigation with the tribe. Former Chairman Bouschor arranged for the payoffs of several key employees prior to the evening that he was ousted from his seat as Chairman and CEO of our tribal owned casinos.
But all of this is just the tip of the iceberg. Fill in the blanks and we have a blockbuster film.
Hmmm.....
Without BIA intervention, the process of drafting removal petitions must be precise, with proper reference points made to the Constitution and Bylaws of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians and applied to the violations of the individual board members elected to represent the best interests of the tribe and it's members.
On our board, we have Fred Paquin, Chief of Police who was recently arrested and charged with the physical assault of a female tribal member and employee of the tribe when she fought off his sexual advances. Prior to his arrest, he threatened to retaliate against the family members of the victim should she move forward with her complaint.
Paquin's history of abuse precedes this recent act. Another female employee (under Paquin's supervision) who was sexually harassed was fired after filing a complaint with the tribe's former HR director.
Paquin was also caught on camera in the midst of gaming violations selling raffle tickets within the confines of our Detroit Greektown casino....and the list goes on.
Several members of the Board of Directors seemed to feel he fit right in with their picture of just exactly what was needed as the person to head operations and appointed him CEO of the casino after making a move to remove the Tribal Chairman from the position. According to our Constitution, the Chairman also performs the role of CEO of Casino Operations. They also tried to remove the Chairman's authority over Paquin to prevent the Chairman from suspending Paquin from his duties as police chief until a court of law decides his guilt.
Protests from hundreds of tribal members regarding the lawless actions of a majority of the board has become a war with several members of the board determined to save the accused police chief by tampering with the laws that govern our tribe. Members of the tribe are joining to process removal petitions against several of the elected directors.
Those directors are attempting to control the members through threats of squashing the voting rights of more than half of the tribe's eligible voters and by violating an amendment to our constitution which eliminates the possibility of the former chairman from running in any tribal election while he is in litigation with the tribe. Former Chairman Bouschor arranged for the payoffs of several key employees prior to the evening that he was ousted from his seat as Chairman and CEO of our tribal owned casinos.
But all of this is just the tip of the iceberg. Fill in the blanks and we have a blockbuster film.
Hmmm.....
"We the People"
Abramson made it clear a long time ago she was not for the people, as did Hoffman and several others. If anyone has any doubt that Bernard Bouschor is still pulling the strings, they really need to wake up.
One thing is certain and I will say it again...7 or 8 directors do not own this tribe. They are making up the rules as they go and trying to take control. The constitution of this tribe seems to no longer exist. There are no rules, no tribal code, no election code and therefore no laws and there will be no double standards. What works for the corrupt directors will work for the members as well.
This tribe is about 37000 strong. There is a lot to do to prepare the removal petitions. Each unit should appoint a Removal Committee to make the task easier. One petition per director stating one reason....FRAUD! Another petition for each director stating PERJURY. I have
been told that only one petition can be used to remove a director. Nonsense...they have committed more than one offense so lets charge them with all, and....the rules have changed.
Obtain a copy of the Oath of Office they swore to uphold. I have not seen a copy but my guess is there is a certain promise to act in the best interest of the tribe and to represent the people of this tribe. They swore to whatever language is spelled out in that Oath and if they have broken that oath without regard for this tribe then have they not committed PERJURY and FRAUD?
We the People have determined that said director has committed the Act of Fraud amd Perjury against the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians which is punishable by the immediate removal from the Board of Directors and banishment for a period of 5 years from the Sault Tribe.
A jury chosen from an equal number of members from each unit shall decide if the director for whom the allegations made will be charged with the above crimes amd they will decide their fate. There is no need to go through a lengthy process.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for the following duties.....removal petition duty, signature collection duty, sponsors for each petition (me, me, me), jury duty, a panel of 5 judges should be easy enough to round up, and enough deputized police officers to serve the removed directors with their notice and to escort them off tribal property. Any officers refusing to uphold the Will of the People will be terminated. Volunteers are also needed to replace the current Election Committee and Director.
The word "CAN'T" cannot be part of this discussion. WE the People are passing the New Constitution once the removal process is complete because the Constitution we have now has been violated to the point that it no longer is operational. The Board of Directors is no longer operational and it appears our judicial system has disintegrated as well. "At the Will of the People" needs to be added in regards to those we placed in charge of handling the business of the tribe so the people have control over our own tribe.
The tribe is going broke because the BOD has turned their backs on the business of this tribe all for the sake of Power and Greed. They have abused their positions by their failure to do the job they were elected to do. The leeches are waiting in the wings to grab what is left because the BOD has been distracted by Lawlessness, Power and Greed.
While the BOD deflected attention away from Tribal Operations, the ties that bind us together have loosened and the assets of the tribe have been allowed to sink. The Board of Directors have completely failed in their duties. They did not represent the tribe and are being given notice that their term of office has been terminated. Newly appointed directors will hold the seat until a special election can take place, preferably much sooner than planned.
There is work in progress on petitions for Lana and Fred. We need to offer our time and assistance to get through this period. It may be too late to save the assets of our tribe. It may be necessary to sell the casino's that are failing, to parties that know how to operate them. Maybe we can retain a small interest in those casinos.
If anyone is concerned for their jobs and are afraid to act, it is already too late. Your job will be gone anyway when the tribe folds. You can wait and go down with the ship or you can jump ship and join the manpower required to haul that ship in for major repairs. That job you have now is not secure. There is no security in any tribal positions if the remaining assets are swooped out of our sight.
All sounds like doom and gloom but it isn't. The rest of us aren't in this for the money obviously so we have little to lose and what you do have will be gone if you don't join the
United Govermental Reform Movement and start the process of taking back our tribe. We may start out with nothing other than necessary services such as medical, dental and family services but that is what is important right now.
If anyone doesn't want to be bothered or the task seems too daunting, then please don't complain but step aside so the strong can carry this out. We will do what we can to take care of you. New rules, new constitution, new direction, starting now.
The only thing holding any of this up is the lack of leadership to push this forward. I just laid if all out for the process to begin. This is our choice, it is up to us now. No one person can do it alone. Several leaders are needed in each unit to carry this out.
Lynne...."Wind Weaver".. weaving winds of change. In our culture, our name can be delivered to us in the most unusual and unexpected fashion. Mine came from one who detests what I stand for.....rather ironic.
Wind Weaver for United Governmental Reform.......Please pass these messages on.
Donna Marble wrote:
Cathy Abramson made it clear tonight she was not for the people. She will not be on the Board of Directors after this election. She said it doesnt matter how I vote so I am voting no! She said we let the people say what they want now its my turn. She made this comment multiple times throughout the meeting(isnt she suppose to be a voice for the people). She doesnt want a Democracy she wants a Dictatorship. Her and Well I guess little nephew have a lot to learn about the people. DJ was right HE MADE NO CAMPAIGN PROMISES. And with that he did nothing for the people. Anybody up for removing these board members please contact me. Let's get the ball rolling. Time is running out. We were told tonight we were going to be broke. Ya know whose fault that is? Vic Mattson, Christi Little and the Board of Directors (NOT THE CHAIRMAN). So lets get rid of them for giving us false reports and projections for the last year or more. Vic Mattson would not even answer to the Chairman and Christi took her voice from Vic. Good direction there. Sorry Vic and Christi you have to go! The people will decide since our BOARD does not have the balls. Again lets get the petitions going, DJ and Cathy should be the first to go since they dont believe in voiceing their members oppinions. I encourage everyone to watch the tape of tonights meeting so you can see exactly what Cathy said. You will agree with me. Send this to all your families and friends. It should be posted on the Sault Tribe Web Site within the week and to watch her on tv. They will find out what not who what they voted in to office!
Vicious Vipers, a bunch of slithering snakes. They went against all the people in that came to be part of a board meeting. Shirley wake up! This isnt about you! It's about the people. We are tired of hearing your ignorant comments, so keep it closed if you dont know what you are talking about. Most of your votes came from outside your unit, nobody in your unit would be foolish enough to vote for you. And you wanted polls, WAKE UP LADY! You had a chance at being a reputable bod but now there is no hope. And please take it personal because it was intended to be. I will no longer take this crap. WE THE PEOPLE HAVE TO TAKE THE CONTROL BACK!
Thats all for tonight, catch ya later
Donna Marble
One thing is certain and I will say it again...7 or 8 directors do not own this tribe. They are making up the rules as they go and trying to take control. The constitution of this tribe seems to no longer exist. There are no rules, no tribal code, no election code and therefore no laws and there will be no double standards. What works for the corrupt directors will work for the members as well.
This tribe is about 37000 strong. There is a lot to do to prepare the removal petitions. Each unit should appoint a Removal Committee to make the task easier. One petition per director stating one reason....FRAUD! Another petition for each director stating PERJURY. I have
been told that only one petition can be used to remove a director. Nonsense...they have committed more than one offense so lets charge them with all, and....the rules have changed.
Obtain a copy of the Oath of Office they swore to uphold. I have not seen a copy but my guess is there is a certain promise to act in the best interest of the tribe and to represent the people of this tribe. They swore to whatever language is spelled out in that Oath and if they have broken that oath without regard for this tribe then have they not committed PERJURY and FRAUD?
We the People have determined that said director has committed the Act of Fraud amd Perjury against the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians which is punishable by the immediate removal from the Board of Directors and banishment for a period of 5 years from the Sault Tribe.
A jury chosen from an equal number of members from each unit shall decide if the director for whom the allegations made will be charged with the above crimes amd they will decide their fate. There is no need to go through a lengthy process.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for the following duties.....removal petition duty, signature collection duty, sponsors for each petition (me, me, me), jury duty, a panel of 5 judges should be easy enough to round up, and enough deputized police officers to serve the removed directors with their notice and to escort them off tribal property. Any officers refusing to uphold the Will of the People will be terminated. Volunteers are also needed to replace the current Election Committee and Director.
The word "CAN'T" cannot be part of this discussion. WE the People are passing the New Constitution once the removal process is complete because the Constitution we have now has been violated to the point that it no longer is operational. The Board of Directors is no longer operational and it appears our judicial system has disintegrated as well. "At the Will of the People" needs to be added in regards to those we placed in charge of handling the business of the tribe so the people have control over our own tribe.
The tribe is going broke because the BOD has turned their backs on the business of this tribe all for the sake of Power and Greed. They have abused their positions by their failure to do the job they were elected to do. The leeches are waiting in the wings to grab what is left because the BOD has been distracted by Lawlessness, Power and Greed.
While the BOD deflected attention away from Tribal Operations, the ties that bind us together have loosened and the assets of the tribe have been allowed to sink. The Board of Directors have completely failed in their duties. They did not represent the tribe and are being given notice that their term of office has been terminated. Newly appointed directors will hold the seat until a special election can take place, preferably much sooner than planned.
There is work in progress on petitions for Lana and Fred. We need to offer our time and assistance to get through this period. It may be too late to save the assets of our tribe. It may be necessary to sell the casino's that are failing, to parties that know how to operate them. Maybe we can retain a small interest in those casinos.
If anyone is concerned for their jobs and are afraid to act, it is already too late. Your job will be gone anyway when the tribe folds. You can wait and go down with the ship or you can jump ship and join the manpower required to haul that ship in for major repairs. That job you have now is not secure. There is no security in any tribal positions if the remaining assets are swooped out of our sight.
All sounds like doom and gloom but it isn't. The rest of us aren't in this for the money obviously so we have little to lose and what you do have will be gone if you don't join the
United Govermental Reform Movement and start the process of taking back our tribe. We may start out with nothing other than necessary services such as medical, dental and family services but that is what is important right now.
If anyone doesn't want to be bothered or the task seems too daunting, then please don't complain but step aside so the strong can carry this out. We will do what we can to take care of you. New rules, new constitution, new direction, starting now.
The only thing holding any of this up is the lack of leadership to push this forward. I just laid if all out for the process to begin. This is our choice, it is up to us now. No one person can do it alone. Several leaders are needed in each unit to carry this out.
Lynne...."Wind Weaver".. weaving winds of change. In our culture, our name can be delivered to us in the most unusual and unexpected fashion. Mine came from one who detests what I stand for.....rather ironic.
Wind Weaver for United Governmental Reform.......Please pass these messages on.
Donna Marble wrote:
Cathy Abramson made it clear tonight she was not for the people. She will not be on the Board of Directors after this election. She said it doesnt matter how I vote so I am voting no! She said we let the people say what they want now its my turn. She made this comment multiple times throughout the meeting(isnt she suppose to be a voice for the people). She doesnt want a Democracy she wants a Dictatorship. Her and Well I guess little nephew have a lot to learn about the people. DJ was right HE MADE NO CAMPAIGN PROMISES. And with that he did nothing for the people. Anybody up for removing these board members please contact me. Let's get the ball rolling. Time is running out. We were told tonight we were going to be broke. Ya know whose fault that is? Vic Mattson, Christi Little and the Board of Directors (NOT THE CHAIRMAN). So lets get rid of them for giving us false reports and projections for the last year or more. Vic Mattson would not even answer to the Chairman and Christi took her voice from Vic. Good direction there. Sorry Vic and Christi you have to go! The people will decide since our BOARD does not have the balls. Again lets get the petitions going, DJ and Cathy should be the first to go since they dont believe in voiceing their members oppinions. I encourage everyone to watch the tape of tonights meeting so you can see exactly what Cathy said. You will agree with me. Send this to all your families and friends. It should be posted on the Sault Tribe Web Site within the week and to watch her on tv. They will find out what not who what they voted in to office!
Vicious Vipers, a bunch of slithering snakes. They went against all the people in that came to be part of a board meeting. Shirley wake up! This isnt about you! It's about the people. We are tired of hearing your ignorant comments, so keep it closed if you dont know what you are talking about. Most of your votes came from outside your unit, nobody in your unit would be foolish enough to vote for you. And you wanted polls, WAKE UP LADY! You had a chance at being a reputable bod but now there is no hope. And please take it personal because it was intended to be. I will no longer take this crap. WE THE PEOPLE HAVE TO TAKE THE CONTROL BACK!
Thats all for tonight, catch ya later
Donna Marble
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
"For the People..."
Our tribal system of government, the political portion of which can be found in Article 6 of the Constitution of the United States, helped our tribal citizens to reap enormous benefits inherent in tribal self governance.
The 1836 treaty and all treaties are for all the people, not a few. Our tribal government is bound by the United States Constitution to the limited function of protecting our Liberty and Property. Our tribal government is expected to limit their own actions and to further the rights and benefits to our tribal citizens.
To reinvigorate our tribal democracy we must understand the problem. We need to embrace the"first time ever" tribal constitution to help us establish a real government, for the members, by the members, once and for all.
The 1836 treaty and all treaties are for all the people, not a few. Our tribal government is bound by the United States Constitution to the limited function of protecting our Liberty and Property. Our tribal government is expected to limit their own actions and to further the rights and benefits to our tribal citizens.
To reinvigorate our tribal democracy we must understand the problem. We need to embrace the"first time ever" tribal constitution to help us establish a real government, for the members, by the members, once and for all.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Massaway...No More Sliding Under the Radar
Not only did we vote down double dipping, we voted to stop Bouschor and Shagen from running. What part of the vote of the people does Massaway and those other corrupt directors not understand?
It is simple...we voted and it is going to stay that way until we 'unvote' it. One way or another, the members will prevail and there will be several directors wondering what they are going to do for a living..... and it could be sooner rather than later.
This is our tribe...not the property of 7 or 8 directors who choose to think it belongs to them. The only reason they want polling sites is to eliminate the vote of the At large members because they know that is the only very slim chance they will have to stay in office.
To pass it off on the election committee only convinces me all the more that several members of the board are in collusion with the election committee and they have created another addition to the argument that the time is also up for the current election committee members and their fearless leader/'s, whoever they may be.
To expect members to accept that ridiculous excuse is saying that they (the rogue board, as they have come to be known) think the members are stupid. We are not stupid, as they will eventually find out. There is no problem that we cannot solve together no matter how many the rogue board intends to pile on us.
Lynne Weaver
----- Original Message -----
Sandra wrote:
Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2008
Do I get the impression you are a Bouschor man??
And why would anyone want Bouschor and Shagen back?
Who were the attorneys you mentioned?
Did the people not vote down double dipping?
I was under the impression WORKSHOPS was to learn about new things.
Not to discuss Tribal business.
I know all about the election fraud.
BUT I do believe " Some people" do not want some of us voting because
we cannot be persuaded to vote one way or the other.
WE can do what we feel is right of our own free will, Keith Massaway !!
<kmassaway@msn.com> wrote:
Subject: FW: electionDate: Sun, 13 Jan 2008 10:08:35 -0500
From: kmassaway@msn.co>>>
The board is currently working on these issues. I have to state that we have met the last two days and the chairman did not attend the 12 hours of workshops we had on these matters.>>
1. The law states that the election ordinance can be changed with a positive majority of the board at any time.>>
2. Double dipping is now an amendment to our constitution and that can not be changed in any way.>>
3. According to our constitution we will not stop anyone from running for any office. This was explained to us by our own tribal attorneys. If we have this personal law to stop someone from running it is an unconstitutional law. The constitution is supreme law. Even our chairman has said that law is unconstitutional on tape.>>
4. Poling sites were brought up because of election fraud. Hundreds of people call saying they did not receive ballots Others say people steal ballots from the mail. We cannot have a secure system if these things can happen. This election ordinance change was a total shock to the board when it was brought up at mondays workshop.
The election committee did show and explain almost all other tribes and political organizations have polling because a vote is counted by representation. The election committee did also state that this change was a unanimous vote of their board.
The election committee also said that absentee ballots are available to all tribal members over the age of 60, all service members and the handicapped. The board did not ask for these changes but have always stated that we should not interfere with the election board and have always approve their changes without question.>
The board did ask that the polling question be separated out of the all inclusive draft and be put on a piece of legislation of its own.
The board did not get any raises. It has been over 5 years since the last raise to the boards wage.>>
if you have anymore questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at any time. Keith>
It is simple...we voted and it is going to stay that way until we 'unvote' it. One way or another, the members will prevail and there will be several directors wondering what they are going to do for a living..... and it could be sooner rather than later.
This is our tribe...not the property of 7 or 8 directors who choose to think it belongs to them. The only reason they want polling sites is to eliminate the vote of the At large members because they know that is the only very slim chance they will have to stay in office.
To pass it off on the election committee only convinces me all the more that several members of the board are in collusion with the election committee and they have created another addition to the argument that the time is also up for the current election committee members and their fearless leader/'s, whoever they may be.
To expect members to accept that ridiculous excuse is saying that they (the rogue board, as they have come to be known) think the members are stupid. We are not stupid, as they will eventually find out. There is no problem that we cannot solve together no matter how many the rogue board intends to pile on us.
Lynne Weaver
----- Original Message -----
Sandra wrote:
Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2008
Do I get the impression you are a Bouschor man??
And why would anyone want Bouschor and Shagen back?
Who were the attorneys you mentioned?
Did the people not vote down double dipping?
I was under the impression WORKSHOPS was to learn about new things.
Not to discuss Tribal business.
I know all about the election fraud.
BUT I do believe " Some people" do not want some of us voting because
we cannot be persuaded to vote one way or the other.
WE can do what we feel is right of our own free will, Keith Massaway !!
<kmassaway@msn.com> wrote:
Subject: FW: electionDate: Sun, 13 Jan 2008 10:08:35 -0500
From: kmassaway@msn.co>>>
The board is currently working on these issues. I have to state that we have met the last two days and the chairman did not attend the 12 hours of workshops we had on these matters.>>
1. The law states that the election ordinance can be changed with a positive majority of the board at any time.>>
2. Double dipping is now an amendment to our constitution and that can not be changed in any way.>>
3. According to our constitution we will not stop anyone from running for any office. This was explained to us by our own tribal attorneys. If we have this personal law to stop someone from running it is an unconstitutional law. The constitution is supreme law. Even our chairman has said that law is unconstitutional on tape.>>
4. Poling sites were brought up because of election fraud. Hundreds of people call saying they did not receive ballots Others say people steal ballots from the mail. We cannot have a secure system if these things can happen. This election ordinance change was a total shock to the board when it was brought up at mondays workshop.
The election committee did show and explain almost all other tribes and political organizations have polling because a vote is counted by representation. The election committee did also state that this change was a unanimous vote of their board.
The election committee also said that absentee ballots are available to all tribal members over the age of 60, all service members and the handicapped. The board did not ask for these changes but have always stated that we should not interfere with the election board and have always approve their changes without question.>
The board did ask that the polling question be separated out of the all inclusive draft and be put on a piece of legislation of its own.
The board did not get any raises. It has been over 5 years since the last raise to the boards wage.>>
if you have anymore questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at any time. Keith>
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Lessons...Wind Power
Some among us have the awesome talent to turn negative into positive with incredible ease.
Although I was not terribly bothered by the name calling by our 'resident tribal name caller' when he referred to me as "Wind Weaver' ,
it inspired one of our extremely talented members to write this.
Lesson learned...turning negatives into positives equals hope. Never give up Hope.
Wind Weaver.
It actually turns out to be a "good name.
"WIND" is powerful.
An action of the element AIR.
Air is one of the FOUR sacred elements.
AIR
EARTH
WATER
FIRE
To Weave with Air is powerful like a Tornado, or Hurricane.
The wind weaves the grass into a tapestry of beautiful horizons.
The wind weaver spoke her prayers from the mountain top.
The wind weaver set down to write her poetry that could make a grown up cry.
The wind weaver sang her praise to the young and made the world laugh.
The wind weaver moved the audience with her voice,
the oracle,
spreading her message throughout the land.
NODIN means WIND.
To run with the WIND.
Chi Nodin is BIG WIND...............powerful.
Wind Weaver
Light Weaver
Dream Weaver
Thank you my friend.
Although I was not terribly bothered by the name calling by our 'resident tribal name caller' when he referred to me as "Wind Weaver' ,
it inspired one of our extremely talented members to write this.
Lesson learned...turning negatives into positives equals hope. Never give up Hope.
Wind Weaver.
It actually turns out to be a "good name.
"WIND" is powerful.
An action of the element AIR.
Air is one of the FOUR sacred elements.
AIR
EARTH
WATER
FIRE
To Weave with Air is powerful like a Tornado, or Hurricane.
The wind weaves the grass into a tapestry of beautiful horizons.
The wind weaver spoke her prayers from the mountain top.
The wind weaver set down to write her poetry that could make a grown up cry.
The wind weaver sang her praise to the young and made the world laugh.
The wind weaver moved the audience with her voice,
the oracle,
spreading her message throughout the land.
NODIN means WIND.
To run with the WIND.
Chi Nodin is BIG WIND...............powerful.
Wind Weaver
Light Weaver
Dream Weaver
Thank you my friend.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
United Governmental Reform Movement
Yes, there is something we can do. We need the removal petitions ASAP. The authority given the board to uphold the Constitution has been returned to us by several members of the BOD. Therefore, removal petitions should be circulating everywhere, since there is no longer a constitution that these board members will adhere to.
They have chosen to ignore the Election code as well. Apparently, they intend to hold an election their way and without regard for the laws of this tribe. We aren't letting that happen though, are we? The Sault Tribe police should be called in to remove them for chronic lawlessness. No double standards...we will make up the laws as they suit the situation and this situation calls for immediate action.
7 or 8 directors about to be removed do not have the authority to do what they plan to do, it is really that simple. There are 37,000 members of this tribe up against a handful of corrupt individuals.
This new situation validates what I have been pushing for several years....term limits, not only for the Board of Directors, and Chair but the election committee, as well. The election committee is controlled, and has been for years, by Unit one. Why isn't the election moved from Unit to Unit with new committee members each time? It's pretty clear we need some major changes and we can work together to make them.
Be a part of the United Governmental Reform Movement.
Lynne Weaver
Aaron Payment wrote:
ALARMING ELECTION COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS - WILL THE BOARD ACTUALLY VOTE FOR THESE?Tribal Board will vote on Election Code Changes: Tuesday - January 15th at 5pm in Kinross Recreation Center.Members urged to attend to voice your opinionIn January 2006, the Tribal Board enacted the current Tribal electionlaw to say that there shall be no revisions to the Tribal election lawwithin six months of any given election. That means, any changes forthe 2008 election would have to have already happened by July of 2007. Nonetheless, the Board met (yesterday and today) to go over possiblechanges to the election code. Among the most alarming changes include:1. LIMITING MEMBER VOTING TO POLL SITES IN THE UP: This proposal would require Tribal Members who live outside of theservice area to travel to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to vote. ForDetroiters, that would be a 5 hour drive. For those who live on theEast Coast, a 20 hour drive one way. For those on the West Coast, 2days one way. We current have an absentee system that works wellenough (it would be better if an outside accounting firm handle andcount the ballots). The election committee proposal is offensive to the 62% of our Memberswho live outside of the UP of Michigan. It also disadvantages those who live in the rural areas of the UP. Forexample, if you live in Escanaba, you'd have to travel to Manistique (60miles) to vote. If you live in Marquette you'd have to travel toMunising (45 miles). If you live in Newberry or Naubinway, you'd haveto travel to Hessel (60 minutes). If you live on Mackinac Island, youwould have to pay the ferry costs ($18) to get to the main land and votein St. Ignace. It is discriminatory and would be step backward as wecurrently enjoy a voter turn out of about 70% of registered voters. Theoutcome will clearly cause us to drop to say 40% like presidentialelections (see attached).2. REJECTING 86% MEMBERS' VOTE TO AMEND OUR CONSTITUTION TO PROHIBITDOUBLE DIPPING? They have not included the language in the draft election laws from theConstitutional Amendment (Secretarial election) that prohibits doubledipping. This action would contradict 86% of our Membership in theirvote which amended our Constitution. Lana Causley, Cathy Abramson andothers voted against allowing the people to vote to amend ourConstitution to prohibit double dipping so it will be interesting to seeif they violate the will of the people. 3. OVERTURNING REFERENDUM TO QUALIFY BOUSCHOR AND SHAGEN TO RUN? During this meeting, select Board members advocated eliminating thereferendum outcome language in the Election code which current prohibitsBernard Bouschor and Paul Shagen to run for office. Now we know whyBouschor has been attending Tribal meetings and coalescing with Paquinand others. Recall that in January 2006, we held a referendum that hadover 70% of the people say these two were not eligible during the courtcase to recover the $2.66 million Bouschor, Shagen and others stole. This was done by referendum (again 70% of the people voted for it) andis final and binding per our Constitution. Those who voted againstholding the referendum in the first place, Cathy Abramson, DennisMcKelvie, Lana Causley, and Fred Paquin. It will be interesting to seeif they vote to lift this prohibition and violate the will of thepeople.
They have chosen to ignore the Election code as well. Apparently, they intend to hold an election their way and without regard for the laws of this tribe. We aren't letting that happen though, are we? The Sault Tribe police should be called in to remove them for chronic lawlessness. No double standards...we will make up the laws as they suit the situation and this situation calls for immediate action.
7 or 8 directors about to be removed do not have the authority to do what they plan to do, it is really that simple. There are 37,000 members of this tribe up against a handful of corrupt individuals.
This new situation validates what I have been pushing for several years....term limits, not only for the Board of Directors, and Chair but the election committee, as well. The election committee is controlled, and has been for years, by Unit one. Why isn't the election moved from Unit to Unit with new committee members each time? It's pretty clear we need some major changes and we can work together to make them.
Be a part of the United Governmental Reform Movement.
Lynne Weaver
Aaron Payment
ALARMING ELECTION COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS - WILL THE BOARD ACTUALLY VOTE FOR THESE?Tribal Board will vote on Election Code Changes: Tuesday - January 15th at 5pm in Kinross Recreation Center.Members urged to attend to voice your opinionIn January 2006, the Tribal Board enacted the current Tribal electionlaw to say that there shall be no revisions to the Tribal election lawwithin six months of any given election. That means, any changes forthe 2008 election would have to have already happened by July of 2007. Nonetheless, the Board met (yesterday and today) to go over possiblechanges to the election code. Among the most alarming changes include:1. LIMITING MEMBER VOTING TO POLL SITES IN THE UP: This proposal would require Tribal Members who live outside of theservice area to travel to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to vote. ForDetroiters, that would be a 5 hour drive. For those who live on theEast Coast, a 20 hour drive one way. For those on the West Coast, 2days one way. We current have an absentee system that works wellenough (it would be better if an outside accounting firm handle andcount the ballots). The election committee proposal is offensive to the 62% of our Memberswho live outside of the UP of Michigan. It also disadvantages those who live in the rural areas of the UP. Forexample, if you live in Escanaba, you'd have to travel to Manistique (60miles) to vote. If you live in Marquette you'd have to travel toMunising (45 miles). If you live in Newberry or Naubinway, you'd haveto travel to Hessel (60 minutes). If you live on Mackinac Island, youwould have to pay the ferry costs ($18) to get to the main land and votein St. Ignace. It is discriminatory and would be step backward as wecurrently enjoy a voter turn out of about 70% of registered voters. Theoutcome will clearly cause us to drop to say 40% like presidentialelections (see attached).2. REJECTING 86% MEMBERS' VOTE TO AMEND OUR CONSTITUTION TO PROHIBITDOUBLE DIPPING? They have not included the language in the draft election laws from theConstitutional Amendment (Secretarial election) that prohibits doubledipping. This action would contradict 86% of our Membership in theirvote which amended our Constitution. Lana Causley, Cathy Abramson andothers voted against allowing the people to vote to amend ourConstitution to prohibit double dipping so it will be interesting to seeif they violate the will of the people. 3. OVERTURNING REFERENDUM TO QUALIFY BOUSCHOR AND SHAGEN TO RUN? During this meeting, select Board members advocated eliminating thereferendum outcome language in the Election code which current prohibitsBernard Bouschor and Paul Shagen to run for office. Now we know whyBouschor has been attending Tribal meetings and coalescing with Paquinand others. Recall that in January 2006, we held a referendum that hadover 70% of the people say these two were not eligible during the courtcase to recover the $2.66 million Bouschor, Shagen and others stole. This was done by referendum (again 70% of the people voted for it) andis final and binding per our Constitution. Those who voted againstholding the referendum in the first place, Cathy Abramson, DennisMcKelvie, Lana Causley, and Fred Paquin. It will be interesting to seeif they vote to lift this prohibition and violate the will of thepeople.
FAX Number to BIA Office of the Director---1-202-208-6334
A member of our tribe provided the fax number to the BIA director so if you have a fax machine available this would speed things up.
FAX NUMBER to BIA Office of the Director---1-202-208-6334
Miigwetch to all those who are responding to this call for assistance. We couldn't do it without all of you and the response has been wonderful.
Lynne Weaver
FAX NUMBER to BIA Office of the Director---1-202-208-6334
Miigwetch to all those who are responding to this call for assistance. We couldn't do it without all of you and the response has been wonderful.
Lynne Weaver
Monday, January 7, 2008
Letter to BIA
The letter below will be sent to hundreds if not thousands of tribal members via email attachment. If you don't receive it and want it please email me and I will send it to you in Word format or as a PDF file.
Thank you,
Lynne Weaver
Thank you,
Lynne Weaver
Letter to BIA...print, sign and mail please
______________________, 2008
Mr. Jerold L. Gidner, Director
Bureau of Indian Affairs
1849 C. Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20240
Dear Director Gidner:
As a duly enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, I am joining with many other Tribal members to notify you of the Constitutional crisis that is now facing our Tribe. We are aware of the Bureau of Indian Affair’s (BIA) previous decisions to intervene in crisis situations like this.
The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians is a federally recognized Indian tribe organized under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. We gained federal recognition in 1972 by an administrative order of the Secretary of Interior and our Constitution was ratified in 1975. We presently have an antiquated and outdated constitution with no separation of powers or checks and balances. As you are well aware, with this flawed constitution, our government is ripe for internal conflict and strife with no reasonable internal remedies for violations of our Constitutional rights.
We are currently experiencing internal strife with a dysfunctional Board of Directors. Despite all of our attempts to preserve the rule of law, and to safeguard our Constitutional rights, the Tribal Board of Directors has violated them at will. We are seeking your immediate and timely intervention. At this time, it is absolutely imperative that you act decisively to prevent an internal and complete breakdown in our Tribal government.
There are several recent actions of our Tribal government which clearly violate our Constitution, as well as, the Constitution of the United States of America. Here are just a few examples:
1. In May of 2007, against the advice of legal counsel, the Tribal Board of Directors voted to institute mandatory drug testing of all employees, even those employees not in "safety sensitive" positions. This action, by our Tribal Board of Directors was in direct violation of the U.S. Constitutional 4th Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizures. As a consequence, the Tribal Chairperson refused to enforce this illegal search and seizure.
2. The Board of Directors routinely and purposely passes laws and amendments to our ordinances by Motion rather than by Resolution thereby depriving our rights as citizens to challenge the actions of our governing body via our Constitutional Right to Referendum. Additionally, Board members routinely and purposely add items to the agenda at the last minute in violation of the five (5) day notice requirement for placing items on the agenda. Given, the Tribal Board meets weekly, this is an unacceptable and deceptive practice depriving the Membership an opportunity to participate in the governance of our Tribe.
3. The Tribal Board recently took action to make Managerial changes to our governmental structure by Motion rather than by Resolution (which violates our Parliamentary Meeting Ordinance, as well as, our Tribal Constitution requiring such actions be passed by resolution), purposely depriving our Membership an opportunity to challenge their actions via Right of Referendum.
4. An illegal meeting of our Tribal Board of Directors was called on 12-21-07, in violation of the Constitutional requirement of (5) days notice, to discuss removing our Tribal Chairperson from office. The stated reason was for his refusal to follow Managerial changes made by Motion rather than Resolution. This has created conflict between the Chairperson's desire to uphold the Constitution and laws of our Tribe against a Board of Directors who would ignore our Constitutional rights and laws.
The Constitution of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians is a flawed document. When there are violations of the Constitution, there is no remedy for the Membership to gain judicial review of the illegal actions of the Board of Directors. Recently, the Board of Directors announced their intentions to remove our duly elected Chairperson without due process, or without even following our existing laws or Tribal Constitution. This explosive situation is a time bomb waiting to go-off with many Members simply refusing to accept such illegal actions of the Tribal Board of Directors. As you know, with situations like this, there exists the potential for additional escalation and citizen response.
The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians has over 37,000 members and is the largest tribe east of the Mississippi. We own and operate five (5) Indian casinos in the upper peninsula of Michigan and are the majority owners of a Michigan licensed casino located in Detroit, Michigan – the Greektown Casino. In all operations, we employ approximately 5,000 employees. Sixty percent of our governmental operations are funded through gaming revenue. As a Tribe who has expanded gaming to try to meet the needs of our Members, our Tribe has invested heavily in other gaming venues utilizing complex financing arrangements. The viability of our continuing operations depends a great deal upon our government stability and adherence to the rule of law – both Tribal, State, and Federal. The recent actions of the Tribal Board of Directors jeopardizes the financial stability our Tribe further warranting swift and immediate intervention by the BIA to preserve and protect the assets of our Tribe.
This situation presents an opportunity for your office to intervene to pre-empt an already dysfunctional situation from further denigrating into wholesale lawlessness. We are aware that the BIA has intervened in the past to prevent situations like this from getting worse. We ask that you monitor and evaluate our situation closely to determine whether or not you should immediately intercede to prevent the further disintegration and total collapse of our government.
Sincerely Yours,
_________________________________
SIGNATURE
_________________________________
PRINT FIRST NAME LAST NAME
_________________________________
STREET ADDRESS
_________________________________
CITY ST ZIP CODE
Mr. Jerold L. Gidner, Director
Bureau of Indian Affairs
1849 C. Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20240
Dear Director Gidner:
As a duly enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, I am joining with many other Tribal members to notify you of the Constitutional crisis that is now facing our Tribe. We are aware of the Bureau of Indian Affair’s (BIA) previous decisions to intervene in crisis situations like this.
The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians is a federally recognized Indian tribe organized under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. We gained federal recognition in 1972 by an administrative order of the Secretary of Interior and our Constitution was ratified in 1975. We presently have an antiquated and outdated constitution with no separation of powers or checks and balances. As you are well aware, with this flawed constitution, our government is ripe for internal conflict and strife with no reasonable internal remedies for violations of our Constitutional rights.
We are currently experiencing internal strife with a dysfunctional Board of Directors. Despite all of our attempts to preserve the rule of law, and to safeguard our Constitutional rights, the Tribal Board of Directors has violated them at will. We are seeking your immediate and timely intervention. At this time, it is absolutely imperative that you act decisively to prevent an internal and complete breakdown in our Tribal government.
There are several recent actions of our Tribal government which clearly violate our Constitution, as well as, the Constitution of the United States of America. Here are just a few examples:
1. In May of 2007, against the advice of legal counsel, the Tribal Board of Directors voted to institute mandatory drug testing of all employees, even those employees not in "safety sensitive" positions. This action, by our Tribal Board of Directors was in direct violation of the U.S. Constitutional 4th Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizures. As a consequence, the Tribal Chairperson refused to enforce this illegal search and seizure.
2. The Board of Directors routinely and purposely passes laws and amendments to our ordinances by Motion rather than by Resolution thereby depriving our rights as citizens to challenge the actions of our governing body via our Constitutional Right to Referendum. Additionally, Board members routinely and purposely add items to the agenda at the last minute in violation of the five (5) day notice requirement for placing items on the agenda. Given, the Tribal Board meets weekly, this is an unacceptable and deceptive practice depriving the Membership an opportunity to participate in the governance of our Tribe.
3. The Tribal Board recently took action to make Managerial changes to our governmental structure by Motion rather than by Resolution (which violates our Parliamentary Meeting Ordinance, as well as, our Tribal Constitution requiring such actions be passed by resolution), purposely depriving our Membership an opportunity to challenge their actions via Right of Referendum.
4. An illegal meeting of our Tribal Board of Directors was called on 12-21-07, in violation of the Constitutional requirement of (5) days notice, to discuss removing our Tribal Chairperson from office. The stated reason was for his refusal to follow Managerial changes made by Motion rather than Resolution. This has created conflict between the Chairperson's desire to uphold the Constitution and laws of our Tribe against a Board of Directors who would ignore our Constitutional rights and laws.
The Constitution of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians is a flawed document. When there are violations of the Constitution, there is no remedy for the Membership to gain judicial review of the illegal actions of the Board of Directors. Recently, the Board of Directors announced their intentions to remove our duly elected Chairperson without due process, or without even following our existing laws or Tribal Constitution. This explosive situation is a time bomb waiting to go-off with many Members simply refusing to accept such illegal actions of the Tribal Board of Directors. As you know, with situations like this, there exists the potential for additional escalation and citizen response.
The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians has over 37,000 members and is the largest tribe east of the Mississippi. We own and operate five (5) Indian casinos in the upper peninsula of Michigan and are the majority owners of a Michigan licensed casino located in Detroit, Michigan – the Greektown Casino. In all operations, we employ approximately 5,000 employees. Sixty percent of our governmental operations are funded through gaming revenue. As a Tribe who has expanded gaming to try to meet the needs of our Members, our Tribe has invested heavily in other gaming venues utilizing complex financing arrangements. The viability of our continuing operations depends a great deal upon our government stability and adherence to the rule of law – both Tribal, State, and Federal. The recent actions of the Tribal Board of Directors jeopardizes the financial stability our Tribe further warranting swift and immediate intervention by the BIA to preserve and protect the assets of our Tribe.
This situation presents an opportunity for your office to intervene to pre-empt an already dysfunctional situation from further denigrating into wholesale lawlessness. We are aware that the BIA has intervened in the past to prevent situations like this from getting worse. We ask that you monitor and evaluate our situation closely to determine whether or not you should immediately intercede to prevent the further disintegration and total collapse of our government.
Sincerely Yours,
_________________________________
SIGNATURE
_________________________________
PRINT FIRST NAME LAST NAME
_________________________________
STREET ADDRESS
_________________________________
CITY ST ZIP CODE
Sunday, January 6, 2008
BIA Intervention Requested
I have just been informed that a letter to the BIA has been drafted requesting their assistance for the horrendous attrocities and lawbreaking by several members of the BOD. Please do not ignore this unless your preferred form of government is communism because that is the form of government that is attempting to take over this tribe.
Why would these directors show such blatant disregard for the members? What is the real reason behind their desperation?
Chairman Payment cannot do this alone. When you receive the letter, please sign it and send immediately. To follow will be petitions to remove these directors who are in violation of the constitution and laws of our tribe.
One thing to remember....the actions of these 8 members of the board are ILLEGAL! They are violating our constitution and violating our rights as members. At no point should we accept illegal acitivities by the Board of Directors. These desperate acts must be stemming from the fact that these 8 know they will never be reelected in an honest election....not in a million years.
If they should attempt to carry through with these illegal acts then we must go on, business as usual, and not validate their actions as final. If someone came in to rob a bank and said "I am robbing this bank and since I am on the board of directors of this bank then it is okay that I be able to rob this bank".....would you say "okay"?
If we sit back and accept their actions as legal, the next move they will make will be to remove the Mackinac Band and the At Large members from the Sault Tribe. Before long, the only remaining members will be Unit One and only the core families. The current actions of the board, I believe, is the result of the new constitution and the positive changes that it will bring to our tribe. The new constitution offers more protection for the members and lays the groundwork for more accountability from the board.
You haven't seen retaliation until you see what this corrupt board has in store for you if you choose to ignore what is happening right now. The letter to the BIA will be posted on this site so please print it, sign it, put a stamp on it and mail it right away.
Thank you,
Lynne Weaver
MEDIA RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 7, 2008SAULT STE. MARIE, MISAULT TRIBE BOARD DIRECTS LEGISLATION TO REMOVE CHAIRPERSON PAYMENT FROM OFFICE AND MAKE HIM INELIGIBLE TO RUN FOR RE-ELECTION IN 2008SAULT STE. MARIE, MI - Tribal Chairperson Aaron Payment announced today that at a meeting on 12-21-07, a faction of the Tribal Board of Directors met in direct violation of the Sault Tribe Constitution and Bylaws. The Constitution has several meeting and notice requirements which were violated. At this meeting, the Board took action to direct several resolutions be drafted to deal with an organizational change announced the day before by Payment. One such resolution was the removal from office of the Chairperson which would render Payment ineligible for re-election just (11) eleven days before the start of the 2008 Tribal Chairperson election cycle. At press time, Payment had not formally announced his candidacy.At the center of the controversy is an administrative change Payment made to protect an alleged victims’ family member from retribution from Fred Paquin, Tribal Board Member and now suspended Chief of Police. The suspension was due to an internal investigation and a confirmed Detroit Free Press report (see link below) that Paquin admitted to threatening the alleged victim and her family members’ jobs. A family member of the alleged victim works at the Tribal Detention Center which administratively reported to Paquin as Chief of Police. According to Payment, “Given her formal statement to the Michigan State Police and a formal administrative complaint to the Human Resources Division of the Tribe, I decided not to allow Paquin an opportunity for retribution. Despite advanced notification of the reasons for the change, Director Cathy Abramson introduced a motion to place the Detention center back underneath the Chief of Police placing the victim’s family members at risk. The Tribal Constitution (Bylaws Article I, sec. (7)) and Tribal law (Chapter 14.111, sec. (2)(c)) require such actions to be done by resolution so the Membership can invoke their Right of Referendum (Article IX) to over-turn such decisions. Given the Board voted on this change in violation of Tribal law, I reversed their decision to protect the victim and her family, and to preserve the integrity of Tribal law and to safeguard the Tribal Members’ Constitutional Right of Referendum.”In response to this action, with just 24 hours notice (the Constitution and Bylaws require 5 to 10 days notice - Bylaws Article I, sec. (1)(2)(3)(4)) the Tribal Board met to discuss how to remove Chairperson Payment from office with the agenda item listed as Chairperson Payment’s Media release (organizational chart change). Five of the duly elected Board members refused to attend the meeting because it did not comply with the Constitutional (5) five notice requirement which affords citizens their Constitutional right for advanced and published notice of the meeting, the agenda items to be discussed, and an opportunity to plan to attend public meetings of the Tribal Board of Directors. According to Todd K. Gravelle, Unit 1 Tribal Board Member and attorney, “*are board members voting on issues during a workshop, violating the constitutional requirement for 5 days notice to even have a meeting as well as calling meetings outside of meetings? If any of [the] above is true, there are (3) three separate violations of the constitution that I can see by my count. What other violations occurred at this meeting?”During the 12-21-07 meeting several options were discussed on how to “fire” Payment. When one Board member clarified the Board did not hire the Chairperson, the people elected Payment, the discussion moved to how to remove Payment from office. When it was clarified that the Removal Ordinance (16.105 (3) (a) - (d)) requires cause inclusive of a criminal conviction, the response was to rescind this law to create a clear path to removal without cause. In addition to planning how to remove Payment from office, the Tribal Board Members who attended the 12-21-07 meeting directed the expenditure of Tribal dollars to obtain a legal opinion to limit the Chairperson’s authority and to define the Tribal Board as having the ultimate and singular authority to make any decisions they wish, and to not subject any of their decisions to judicial review or reversal regardless of whether or not such decisions violate Tribal law, or the Supreme law of the Tribe - the Constitution and Bylaws. Additional action taken during this meeting was to schedule a follow-up meeting on 12-27-07. However, the five Tribal Board Members who did not attend the 12-21-07 were not notified until 3 minutes before the meeting was to begin in St. Ignace, MI which made it impossible for them to attend as they reside in Manistique, Cooks, Munising and Sault Ste. Marie, MI.According to Payment, “It is a scary notion that the Board could meet without complying with the Constitutional notice requirements, and make several decisions including spending Tribal dollars. On its face, this is clearly a violation of the Constitution and is therefore a removable offense. However, if a majority faction believes they are not subject to their own laws, then we have a Constitutional crisis and a resulting lawlessness that begs direct intervention by the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Indians Affairs.”At the 12-21-07 Tribal Board meeting, a faction of the Board directed these resolutions be brought to the January 15, 2008 Tribal Board meeting which will be held at 5pm in Kincheloe, Michigan at the Kinross Recreation Center. Link to December 13, 2007 Detroit Free Press Article: For more information about this media release, please contact the Office of Tribal Chairperson at (906) 635-6050 or by e-mail at apayment@saulttribe.net.###
Why would these directors show such blatant disregard for the members? What is the real reason behind their desperation?
Chairman Payment cannot do this alone. When you receive the letter, please sign it and send immediately. To follow will be petitions to remove these directors who are in violation of the constitution and laws of our tribe.
One thing to remember....the actions of these 8 members of the board are ILLEGAL! They are violating our constitution and violating our rights as members. At no point should we accept illegal acitivities by the Board of Directors. These desperate acts must be stemming from the fact that these 8 know they will never be reelected in an honest election....not in a million years.
If they should attempt to carry through with these illegal acts then we must go on, business as usual, and not validate their actions as final. If someone came in to rob a bank and said "I am robbing this bank and since I am on the board of directors of this bank then it is okay that I be able to rob this bank".....would you say "okay"?
If we sit back and accept their actions as legal, the next move they will make will be to remove the Mackinac Band and the At Large members from the Sault Tribe. Before long, the only remaining members will be Unit One and only the core families. The current actions of the board, I believe, is the result of the new constitution and the positive changes that it will bring to our tribe. The new constitution offers more protection for the members and lays the groundwork for more accountability from the board.
You haven't seen retaliation until you see what this corrupt board has in store for you if you choose to ignore what is happening right now. The letter to the BIA will be posted on this site so please print it, sign it, put a stamp on it and mail it right away.
Thank you,
Lynne Weaver
MEDIA RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 7, 2008SAULT STE. MARIE, MISAULT TRIBE BOARD DIRECTS LEGISLATION TO REMOVE CHAIRPERSON PAYMENT FROM OFFICE AND MAKE HIM INELIGIBLE TO RUN FOR RE-ELECTION IN 2008SAULT STE. MARIE, MI - Tribal Chairperson Aaron Payment announced today that at a meeting on 12-21-07, a faction of the Tribal Board of Directors met in direct violation of the Sault Tribe Constitution and Bylaws. The Constitution has several meeting and notice requirements which were violated. At this meeting, the Board took action to direct several resolutions be drafted to deal with an organizational change announced the day before by Payment. One such resolution was the removal from office of the Chairperson which would render Payment ineligible for re-election just (11) eleven days before the start of the 2008 Tribal Chairperson election cycle. At press time, Payment had not formally announced his candidacy.At the center of the controversy is an administrative change Payment made to protect an alleged victims’ family member from retribution from Fred Paquin, Tribal Board Member and now suspended Chief of Police. The suspension was due to an internal investigation and a confirmed Detroit Free Press report (see link below) that Paquin admitted to threatening the alleged victim and her family members’ jobs. A family member of the alleged victim works at the Tribal Detention Center which administratively reported to Paquin as Chief of Police. According to Payment, “Given her formal statement to the Michigan State Police and a formal administrative complaint to the Human Resources Division of the Tribe, I decided not to allow Paquin an opportunity for retribution. Despite advanced notification of the reasons for the change, Director Cathy Abramson introduced a motion to place the Detention center back underneath the Chief of Police placing the victim’s family members at risk. The Tribal Constitution (Bylaws Article I, sec. (7)) and Tribal law (Chapter 14.111, sec. (2)(c)) require such actions to be done by resolution so the Membership can invoke their Right of Referendum (Article IX) to over-turn such decisions. Given the Board voted on this change in violation of Tribal law, I reversed their decision to protect the victim and her family, and to preserve the integrity of Tribal law and to safeguard the Tribal Members’ Constitutional Right of Referendum.”In response to this action, with just 24 hours notice (the Constitution and Bylaws require 5 to 10 days notice - Bylaws Article I, sec. (1)(2)(3)(4)) the Tribal Board met to discuss how to remove Chairperson Payment from office with the agenda item listed as Chairperson Payment’s Media release (organizational chart change). Five of the duly elected Board members refused to attend the meeting because it did not comply with the Constitutional (5) five notice requirement which affords citizens their Constitutional right for advanced and published notice of the meeting, the agenda items to be discussed, and an opportunity to plan to attend public meetings of the Tribal Board of Directors. According to Todd K. Gravelle, Unit 1 Tribal Board Member and attorney, “*are board members voting on issues during a workshop, violating the constitutional requirement for 5 days notice to even have a meeting as well as calling meetings outside of meetings? If any of [the] above is true, there are (3) three separate violations of the constitution that I can see by my count. What other violations occurred at this meeting?”During the 12-21-07 meeting several options were discussed on how to “fire” Payment. When one Board member clarified the Board did not hire the Chairperson, the people elected Payment, the discussion moved to how to remove Payment from office. When it was clarified that the Removal Ordinance (16.105 (3) (a) - (d)) requires cause inclusive of a criminal conviction, the response was to rescind this law to create a clear path to removal without cause. In addition to planning how to remove Payment from office, the Tribal Board Members who attended the 12-21-07 meeting directed the expenditure of Tribal dollars to obtain a legal opinion to limit the Chairperson’s authority and to define the Tribal Board as having the ultimate and singular authority to make any decisions they wish, and to not subject any of their decisions to judicial review or reversal regardless of whether or not such decisions violate Tribal law, or the Supreme law of the Tribe - the Constitution and Bylaws. Additional action taken during this meeting was to schedule a follow-up meeting on 12-27-07. However, the five Tribal Board Members who did not attend the 12-21-07 were not notified until 3 minutes before the meeting was to begin in St. Ignace, MI which made it impossible for them to attend as they reside in Manistique, Cooks, Munising and Sault Ste. Marie, MI.According to Payment, “It is a scary notion that the Board could meet without complying with the Constitutional notice requirements, and make several decisions including spending Tribal dollars. On its face, this is clearly a violation of the Constitution and is therefore a removable offense. However, if a majority faction believes they are not subject to their own laws, then we have a Constitutional crisis and a resulting lawlessness that begs direct intervention by the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Indians Affairs.”At the 12-21-07 Tribal Board meeting, a faction of the Board directed these resolutions be brought to the January 15, 2008 Tribal Board meeting which will be held at 5pm in Kincheloe, Michigan at the Kinross Recreation Center. Link to December 13, 2007 Detroit Free Press Article: For more information about this media release, please contact the Office of Tribal Chairperson at (906) 635-6050 or by e-mail at apayment@saulttribe.net.###
Friday, January 4, 2008
Removals Warranted
According to an independent review, it appears that the meeting called on 12-20-2007 by director's Paquin and Causley and conducted by Vice-chairperson Dennis McKelvie was in violation of the Constitution and Bylaws of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Article I, Sec. 2 and 6 and Article II, Section 4.
Violations of the Constitution and Bylaws is, of course. a violation of the laws of the Sault Tribe and cause for removal according to the Tribal Code 16.102 (1). The purpose of the meeting is actually in violation of 16.102 (1 ), (2), and possibly (3).
Eight directors attended this illegal meeting called by Paquin and Causley for the purpose of discussing and setting up the removal of the duly elected Chairman. Actions in the form of Illegal votes were taken during this illegal meeting, according to the Constitution.
As secretary of the BOD, Causley also failed to notify the entire board within the required 5 days (according to Article II, Section 4 of the Bylaws of the Constitution) and therefore is in violation of the laws of our tribe.
Paquin's participation is in violation of Article 1, Section 6 which states that:
No member of the board of directors shall cast a vote on any matter in which the board
determines by a majority vote that said member may have a personal interest in the matter.
It appears that the remaining 7 attending violated this as well by allowing Paquin to vote on the resolutions to remove Payment and retaliating against the chairman for suspending him for his arrest for the physical assault of a women he allegedly attempted to sexually assault.
According to 16.102 (2) of the Tribal Code
Removal of officials elected by tribal members is disfavored and is warranted only in serious circumstances.
Since the purpose for removal are rumored to be for changing the date of a picnic and taking necessary action to protect the rights of Paquin's alleged victim it seems that they are also in violation of the very purpose of the actions they conducted and voted on during their illegal meeting.
There's more....lots more. When there are so many of our tribal laws being violated by several members of the board, it is time for the tribal members to take action. We will follow the constitution, bylaws, and tribal code to the letter in taking the action necessary to correct the wrongs being perpetrated by several members of the board. When the very Board of Directors duly elected by the members fail to uphold the Constitution, Bylaws and Tribal Code they have sworn to do when they took their Oath of Office, it is time to replace them with those that will.
Hoffman with his resolve to investigate, threaten and intimidate those who voice their opinions is in violation of the Sault Tribes Bill of Rights (see below) and the laws which govern our tribe , has given cause for his removal as well....see below.
All members of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians shall be accorded equal
protection of the law under this constitution. No member shall be denied any of the rights or
guarantees enjoyed by citizens under the Constitution of the United States, including but not
limited to freedom of religion and conscience, freedom of speech, the right to orderly
association or assembly, the right to petition for action or the redress or grievances, and due
process of law. The protection guaranteed to persons by Title II of the Civil Rights Act of
1968 (82 Stat. 77) against actions of an Indian entity in the exercise of its powers of self government shall apply to members of the tribe.
Lynne Weaver
Constitution and bylaws
Removal findings
Violations of the Constitution and Bylaws is, of course. a violation of the laws of the Sault Tribe and cause for removal according to the Tribal Code 16.102 (1). The purpose of the meeting is actually in violation of 16.102 (1 ), (2), and possibly (3).
Eight directors attended this illegal meeting called by Paquin and Causley for the purpose of discussing and setting up the removal of the duly elected Chairman. Actions in the form of Illegal votes were taken during this illegal meeting, according to the Constitution.
As secretary of the BOD, Causley also failed to notify the entire board within the required 5 days (according to Article II, Section 4 of the Bylaws of the Constitution) and therefore is in violation of the laws of our tribe.
Paquin's participation is in violation of Article 1, Section 6 which states that:
No member of the board of directors shall cast a vote on any matter in which the board
determines by a majority vote that said member may have a personal interest in the matter.
It appears that the remaining 7 attending violated this as well by allowing Paquin to vote on the resolutions to remove Payment and retaliating against the chairman for suspending him for his arrest for the physical assault of a women he allegedly attempted to sexually assault.
According to 16.102 (2) of the Tribal Code
Removal of officials elected by tribal members is disfavored and is warranted only in serious circumstances.
Since the purpose for removal are rumored to be for changing the date of a picnic and taking necessary action to protect the rights of Paquin's alleged victim it seems that they are also in violation of the very purpose of the actions they conducted and voted on during their illegal meeting.
There's more....lots more. When there are so many of our tribal laws being violated by several members of the board, it is time for the tribal members to take action. We will follow the constitution, bylaws, and tribal code to the letter in taking the action necessary to correct the wrongs being perpetrated by several members of the board. When the very Board of Directors duly elected by the members fail to uphold the Constitution, Bylaws and Tribal Code they have sworn to do when they took their Oath of Office, it is time to replace them with those that will.
Hoffman with his resolve to investigate, threaten and intimidate those who voice their opinions is in violation of the Sault Tribes Bill of Rights (see below) and the laws which govern our tribe , has given cause for his removal as well....see below.
All members of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians shall be accorded equal
protection of the law under this constitution. No member shall be denied any of the rights or
guarantees enjoyed by citizens under the Constitution of the United States, including but not
limited to freedom of religion and conscience, freedom of speech, the right to orderly
association or assembly, the right to petition for action or the redress or grievances, and due
process of law. The protection guaranteed to persons by Title II of the Civil Rights Act of
1968 (82 Stat. 77) against actions of an Indian entity in the exercise of its powers of self government shall apply to members of the tribe.
Lynne Weaver
Constitution and bylaws
Removal findings
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