February 27, 2010

     Two people involved with efforts to unseat the existing Klamath Tribes Tribal council responded to requests to discuss their concerns with tribal policies.

   GeorGene Nelson is a tribal member who works as a construction secretary and, during her off hours, is a lay advocate helping Tribal members with legal cases.

   She has been assisting Tribal members Roberta Frost and Jennifer Jackson in their civil suit filed in Klamath Tribal Court.  

   Nelson, 52, said she and her immediate family are descendants of Klamath, Modoc, Paiute, Mollala and Pit River tribes.

   She was raised in the Klamath Basin until she married and moved to Salem in 1979. Nelson returned to the Klamath Basin in the mid-1990s to be near family and “enjoy the area of my childhood.”

   Frost submitted e-mail responses to questions, but provided no personal information.  

   Q: Who’s in charge, and what authority do they have?

   “The question of who is in charge is probably not relevant to the situation,” according to Nelson, who said three different bodies make up the Klamath Tribal government.

   The general council is the Tribes’ legislative body and governing authority, and comprises the entire enrolled adult tribal membership.

   A 10 -member tribal council is responsible for the executive body, which handles everyday government affairs and reports to the general council. The third branch is judicial, which is intended to be independent of the other bodies.  

   The general council is in charge of the Tribes.

   In the Klamath Tribes Constitution, Nelson said Article IX describes a recall or impeachment process for Klamath Tribal officials. Recalls are rare. The last happened Aug. 6, 2005, when an at-large member was impeached.  

   “The constitution is set up to replace officials immediately if, through a hearing process, it is determined they a re not suitable for the job any longer. There is a replacement by the person with the next highest votes from the previous election,” Nelson said.

   The Bureau of Indian Affairs ruled in a letter from Stan Speaks that the current Tribal council was still in charge. But Frost expects that ruling to be overturned.  

   “It is my understanding, from reading legal decisions from the Interior Board of Indian Appeals, when a decision is made by a Bureau official that interferes with a tribe’s right to self governance, it is usually overturned,” she said. “We feel that Mr. Speaks overstepped his authority in this instance.”

   Q: Generally, what is happening? What is the disagreement about?

   Nelson said tribal members have been asking for budget information since 2005, and members believe the general council is the last to know about what is going on with their government.  

   The general council used to be considered the governing authority, she said, but the Tribal council’s practices have “worked to diminish its authority.

   “The Tribal council is described historically as having no decision-making authority; they are to be as advisors to the general council, the assembly of voters. But somehow this has changed and the general council is not pleased.”

   She said Tribal elders are upset because of minimal services, low per capita payments and a lack of information.  

   “There are high levels of frustration amongst people who do not work for the Tribes,” she said. “They are not employees, but they are the people who vote in the laws, and govern over the land, resources, their people, and protect their inherent rights.”

   Nelson said some Tribal members believe the Tribal council is breaking employee policies and overlooking nepotism.  

   Frost believes the Tribal council has tried to erode general council authority for several years. “I feel that this Tribal council ignores the direction of the general council and doesn’t present information for decisions.”

   She said the Tribal council ignored actions taken in November to remove nine of its members.

   “This to me is totally reverse of what should be happening,” Frost said. “If the removed Tribal council members felt that there was a flaw in their removal, they should have filed a case in Tribal Court for a judicial review of the process. Instead, they have refused to leave office and in my opinion are trying to run out the   clock.”

   Q: How does the dispute affect Tribal members?

   “It would depend on who you talk with,” Nelson said. “The dispute definitely makes people curious, afraid, hostile, indifferent, upset, or any other number of emotions.

   “The Tribes are one huge family. The decisions made for removal of tribal officials means someone, who is related to someone else on the Tribal council, is taking actions that can be viewed negatively by the receiver of the action,” she said.  

   “People’s feelings get hurt, mean things are said, people get pushed, shoved, or horrible statements are made toward them. People get stirred up.”

   Q: Why does it matter to anyone outside the Tribes?

   The Klamath Tribes are a domestic sovereign nation, which has its own laws, policies and procedures, and its leaders are delegated at times to   deal with state, federal and county officials, Nelson said.

   She compared the current process to impeaching or voting out local, state or federal officials, noting, “What happens then? A replacement is found and put into office. The Tribes work in a similar fashion. We have recall ability for those who work as public servants.”

   Frost expressed concerns with the tribal vote on the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement. She questioned a 19-day time frame, but said the bigger issue is that after the agreement was finalized, the Tribal council never presented the information to the general council.  

   “This never happened. Instead Tribal members were expected to download the document and digest all of the information in a short period of time.”

   Q: How does the tribal government system work?

   Various tribal committees work with the Tribal council, including the Gaming Regulatory Commission, which oversees the Kla-Mo-Ya Casino; the Klamath Tribes Economic Development Corporation, which oversees economic development projects and is semi- autonomous; and the Klamath Tribal Health and Family Services, which provide limited health care.

   The general council, the Tribes’ legislative body and its governing authority, consists of enrolled members 18 years of age and older. The Tribal council’s 10 members are elected every three years and act at the direction of the general council.

   The general council meets quarterly or when a special meeting is called either by the Tribal council chairman or by a petition of 100 members, where decisions are based on a majority of voters.  

   Q: How does the Tribal court work?

   GeorGene Nelson said the court deals with child support, civil lawsuits and landlord/tenant issues.

   It has a judge, staff and a judicial commission, which helps get laws approved for the Klamath Tribes.

   Frost said the tribal court previously handled housing and juvenile matters but after the general council passed the tribal court Ordinance and Rules for Civil Procedure, now hears civil matters.

Side Bar

Response from Klamath Tribes’ tribal council     

   The Herald and News on Tuesday emailed current Klamath Tribes chairman Joe Kirk and tribal council members Torina Case, Jeff Mitchell and Perry Chocktoot, as well as tribal spokeswoman Taylor David and tribal attorney Carl Ullman about the situation facing the Tribes.