We The Members....
We, the members of the tribe known as the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe
of Chippewa Indians, in order to provide for the perpetuation of
our way of life and the welfare and prosperity of our people, to
preserve our right to self-government, and to protect our property
and resources, do ordain and establish this constitution and bylaws.

– Constitution and Bylaws

Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians

Here is the way, members of the Sault Tribe. The Constitution of
the Sault Tribe does provide a means to deal with a board that is
not protecting our property and resources and we, the members, have
a right to self-government which means that we, the members, have
the power to remove the government that is not providing for the
perpetuation of our way of life and the welfare and prosperity of
our people. This right gives the members of the Sault Tribe the
power to govern and take action when our government fails us.
The BIA approved our constitution therefore approving any action
we take to self govern.

It also says that "we the members....do ordain and establish this
constitution and bylaws". That means that the members have the
power to undo the act and replace the constitution and bylaws with
one of their choice.

You notice it doesn't say "We the Board of Directors"...it says
"We the Members.......". Time to wake up people and take back your
tribe or forever hold your tongue.

Band together and ask your Sault Tribe police department to enforce
the laws set forth by the members of the Sault Tribe to remove the
current board and replace it with a fair and honest government.

How's that for a Little Sunshine...in Your Face" Being trapped
inside during a windy, stormy night seems to bring out the best in
me.

Lynne Weaver

Sault Tribe Today

"The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten , the lie became truth."

George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty Four, (1984), 78, Published by Secker
and Warburg, (1949)

"Our Records Show...
...that you have not returned the elder survey that is needed
by our office to receive this year's elder dividend check.

Therefore, we are sending another survey to avoid any delays
in receiving your check. Please fill out and return the survey
as soon as possible....and then pray that we don't lose this
one, (I added the last part). For your convenience in returning
the form, a self-addressed stamped envelope is included."

The letter goes on to add that if you want to give the check
back, if and when you receive it, that you can do so by endorsing
it back to the tribe. They ask that the Elders give their reduced
check back but the board won't give up a dime of their extremely
excessive paycheck. A lot of nerve, don't you agree?

Merry Christmas to everyone.

Cut Our Salaries...Screw You Sayeth the Board

It appears the petitions may have went the way of the Voter Registration forms. Up in smoke (and mirrors).

But just because the paper no longer exists doesn't mean that the idea went missing as well. The responsible thing to do is to take their own medicine and cut the wages of the board, the top execs, and managers. Geez they paid Paquin plenty while on suspension so they weren't that concerned about cash. The workers and members have been taking the hit alone long enough.

They should call for a reduction of 20% in the wages of the board and all management. Time to reel the executive excess and pay people what they are worth not what they were gifted.

Cut Our Salaries?!...Screw You Sayeth the Board!!!

A petition bearing the names of more than 100 signatures of members of the Sault Tribe demanding that the Board of Directors cut their unearned annual pay of $67,000 not including benefits and expenses was met with a "bite me and shove it where the sun don't shine"
attitude by the board.

They don't care what we say, they didn't get elected to represent the desires of the members and as a matter of fact...several of them probably weren't honestly elected in the first place.

The Sault Tribe Board of Directors refuses to act on the petition by the membership. They are just going to ignore it and by doing so, none are on record as voting against the referendum. The Sault Tribe Indians are held hostage again by their very own leaders and there isn't a damn thing anyone can do about it.

All over the country, corporate executives are being held responsible for their failures. Billions paid to tops execs with only their own fat pockets getting fatter caused many of the financial failures and the Sault Tribe Board of Directors are no different. They failed in every imaginable way that resulted in job losses for hundreds as well
as the closing of many of our medical centers.

None of them are more innocent then the rest of them because not one director is standing up strong on behalf of the members of the tribe. It does no good to feebly state that "I tried but what can I do?". You can mouth off like I do...that's what you can do. You can let the members know that not all the directors are saying "screw you"to all those that lost their jobs and all those families that are devastated with the losses they will continue to suffer because of the unqualified, greedy bunch of hooligans on the board. If there is a director on that board that believes they should take a paycut and give up their expense account then either come forward or take your place with the rest of them.

Tribal members: Don't think you will have an alternative come election time because they don't care what the voters want either. They will ignore the votes, rewrite the end of the story the way they always have and they will hang on until there is nothing left of the Sault Tribe. But why not since most members don't seem to care enough to stand up for their rights anyway.

The bottom line is this: if any of the directors cared they would have taken a pay cut without being asked....but they didn't and they have no intention of doing so.

In The Interest of Fairness...

Today's Meals on Wheels delivered to one of our
homebound Elders looked pretty darn decent today.
There was a salmon patty, mixed vegetables, mac
and cheese, milk and jello with fruit and for a
change, the Elder looked forward to enjoying it.

If the money is going to be spent for the wages
of those that prepare and deliver the meals and
for the costs of transporting it, then go the
little extra mile to make sure it is worthwhile.

The Onion

http://www.theonion.com/content/opinion/im_really_gonna_miss

Copy and past the above link to your browser for a must read news
source that will provide an endless supply of opinions and laughs
well into the New Year and beyond.

Take a break from the serious side of life and enjoy "The Onion".

Response to comments...

Acknowledgement that I am doing a service for the members of the
Sault Tribe and Mackinac Bands is the reason I continue and I
appreciate hearing it once in awhile. It has been like an early
Christmas lately between a few emails, phone calls and positive
responses through the Anonymous comment option.
Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Also, another Anonymous writer wanted to know if you were from
Canada and adopted into the Sault tribe, could you be adopted into
the Mackinac Bands. Although normally one would have to show lineal
descent to the Mackinac Bands, certain circumstances could play a
part in potential enrollment with the MB. It would be a case by case
decision. We would review your application and most likely, discuss
the details with you before making a decision. We are always on the
lookout for talented people so that we have a reserve of knowledge
to tap into.
Lynne Weaver

Thanksgiving Dinner?...Thanks for Nothing!

The Elder Center put on their annual Thanksgiving dinner for our tribal Elders in lieu of their Meals on Wheels delivery which was nice for those that could attend.

One Elder, who is housebound, could not attend and when another Elder asked to bring this Elder a dinner, they were refused. After checking The List, and checking it twice, they said the housebound Elder was not on it and therefore could not get the free dinner.


The Elder in question was not aware that there was a list they needed to be on so No Dinner for them....how do you like that! Who does that Elder think the Sault Tribe is anyway that they would expect to be notified of such details that unless they were aware of The List and made sure their name was on it, they could just go hungry!


To top it off, it was Thursday. Thursday is the day that they receive their meager leftovers for their Friday meal. So like a misbehaving child, the Elder who failed to add their name to
The List that they didn't know existed, was screwed because now it is the weekend and there are no meals on Saturday and Sunday either.

But you can bet those directors never missed a movement of fork full of food to mouth for themselves.

While some on the Sault Tribe board plot to eliminate benefits and members, some members are realizing they have options. The enrollment of the Mackinac Bands is growing with entire families affirming their membership. Most of our members live away from the service areas and get no benefits from the Sault Tribe anyway.

With health centers closing around them, health care provisions for spouses eliminated, Elder checks reduced, Elder programs being eliminated, and childrens programs down the tubes, many are chosing to move the way of the Mackinac Bands so at least they can maintain the pride they have in being an Indian rather than be a part of a knee-jerk system of foul play, suspicious activity and fat cats getting fatter.

As I have stated before, you do not have to drop out of the Sault Tribe in order to be a member of the Mackinac Bands. You were already a part of the Mackinac Bands when the Sault Tribe yanked you into their circle. You are simply affirming your membership with the Mackinac Bands.

We welcome those members and we listen to what you have to say as well as your suggestions on building a better tribe.
Welcome home.

Unanswered Questions

I have had several inquiries regarding the comment about
Denny McKelvie, one of the directors on the Sault Tribe
board, how he would be getting money in Detroit as well
as who he would be receiving it from. That was about the
3rd or 4th time I received the same comment about McKelvie
that provided no details other than what I posted.

There may be nothing to it at all and the comment was so
general that nothing can really be derived from it,whether
good or bad. The only reason I posted it is that it
was the 3rd or 4th time and I wonder if someone may have
some information that would be of interest to certain
parties. If that is the case, then more info would
be necessary. Otherwise, it could simply mean that
McKelvie is gambling and winning, has a job with the city
of Detroit, someone is just handing over money to him, he
keeps a bank account there, or....????

Anonymous has left a new comment

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post
"Denny McKelvie voting video":

McKelvie has been getting money in Detroit.
* * * * * *
I sure would like to hear a little more about
this!

Comment from Anonymous

Comment from Anonymous
There is no Board news posted on the Tribe's website because
the Board fired the staff who were responsible for this task.
And I believe that these terminations were designed to keep
the members in the dark,and to do so with a real plausible
excuse...no money ! A responsible Board who were concerned
about fears and rumors among the members would work extra
hard to keep the members informed of actions, progress in
resolving problems, and remaining challenges. Not this Board.
They do not care and most of all do not want any public scrutiny.
Hoffman has shown us that !

Where'd The Sault Tribe Go???

The tribe has some 37,000 members and although I don't know the specific's of the funding based on the number of members, there must have been a reason that the tribe built the membership to such massive numbers other than they wanted to get their paws on the assets of the Mackinac Bands.

Somehow I doubt that it was to provide benefits to all 37,000 Sault Tribe members. There is a very small percentage that can say that being a member of the Sault Tribe has been advantageous to them. Medical and dental facilities were not accessible to most of the members and now recently, tribal health centers outside the eastern U.P. are being shut down, effectively eliminating health care costs to the tribe but not to those members who are now without health services.

Elder checks have already been cut, Elder meals on wheels often look like yesterday's leftovers, children's programs have been eliminated, termination of tribal members employment seems endless and now the tribal board has gone into hiding.

The Sault Tribe website contains very little up to date information. The meetings are no longer videotaped or televised. It is understandable that they would not want to be televised so that the non-Indian community can no longer watch disaster in action but with no current meeting minutes or resolutions on the website, tribal members are left in the dark about the state of their own tribe.

I spoke to someone from the Detroit area earlier today who was outraged that the tribal board has chosen to operate under a veil of secrecy. They felt that all members have a right to know what the board is up to and I certainly agree with them.

Not one to keep my opinions to myself, I told them that the day for disenrollment is probably on the horizon.





















They cleaned up at the expense of all the tribal members who now have become a liability and are probably looking at cutting everyone outside of Units 1, 2, and 3, loose.
Think about it....they closed most of the health centers outside of the eastern U.P...might as well get rid of those members too.

Without the Elders, the tribe would be nothing, zero, zilch but yet their food and itty bitty checks were one of the first things to be cut.

Against everybody else's better judgement, the Big Bear arena now has a sleazy bar so that Chairman McCoy and his advisor, Bernard Bouschor, won't suffer withdrawal symptoms from being too far removed from the nearest alcoholic beverage.

And to top it all off, The properly filled out & signed petitions demanding the failed board take a pay cut, have mysteriously disappeared?

With so much secrecy, will the majority of the members suddenly find out some day that the Sault Tribe disappeared into thin air? The tribal members elect representatives to look out for their best interests and therefore have a right to access to tribal meetings, minutes,resolutions,
and decisions made on behalf of the members of the tribe, but none are posted anymore?

Demand that the board respect your rights!

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Petitions

Several weeks ago John Hatch turned over a petition with the required number of signatures to the Sault Tribe Board of Directors.

The petition was a demand to lower the salaries of the Board of Directors. Imagine if they lowered their salary to $25,000.00 which is still more than most of them deserve.

That is a $42,000.00 savings for each director which adds up to $504,000.00 annually. Add to that all the extra benefits they receive that would add additional thousands to that figure.

How many jobs, Elder meals and childrens programs could survive on this amount of money? We will never know because the petitions disappeared. The members have the right to petition the board for such requests. I wonder where they were misfiled. Maybe they should check "File 13".

If they are 'lost' then that is nothing less than incompetence to the maximum degree and the person who had them in their possession should be immediately fired. We all know that is not going to happen though now don't we and I think we all know who the person is that would have had them in her possession...Joanne Carr, Board Secretary.

and now that I am on the subject,
Heres one:
If we are in a budget crisis, and we have a director who is on the board as a board secretary, why then do we have another secretary? The Sault Tribe cannot afford luxuries. We should only have one secretary and that should be the one elected by the board, and to top that off, the board secretary also has an assistant!

Three people for one job?

The Creature From the Bottom of My Shoe

Mike doud Add To:Lynne Weaver;

Bored weaver?
Maybe I will get on the BOD again about your counterpart hatch's illegal payoff eh? Everyone knows her venomous body is hiding in tall grass. Living in your skin must be awful.....

Sounds like this guy believes he controls the BOD. Sounds like
another harassment threat. Are you saying that the majority of the
Sault Tribe Board of Directors owes you some sort of favor and that
they would harass a disabled woman if I don't keep quiet? Watch out
there because you just never know who is reading this stuff.

Did DJ Hoffman sick you on me? Is that what I will be served with...
Doud the Stalker? Oh gee...I'm really scared.

Anonymous new comment on your post "Waaaaa" said DJ

so we removed the cute picture.

My opinion is that Hoffman is unfit for a position on the Board.
It appears that he can't take the public scrutiny of his actions
in a professional manner, but resorts to thugary by making threats.
He's done this to a number of people. Is he so afraid that someone
will reveal his true nature, or crack his facade ? He seems to have
one face for the tribal community and another face behind closed doors.

It's Already Tuesday....Where's My Dinner?!

I was supposed to be served with something on Monday but
I don't know with what. Maybe the anonymous person that said
I would be 'served' meant something other than what I thought.
No papers, but also no dinner...what the heck!
I guess Mr. Crybaby was just crying wolf again!