Copyright © 1998 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

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the People's Voice:
Commentary On Muskogee Phoenix Editorial
"CN Councilor's Non-Indian Mother Received Thousands
In Repairs Courtesy Of Federal Taxpayers!"

by Ageya
Saturday, 3 January 1998

Copyright © 1998 Ageya
All Rights Reserved

In today's Muskogee Phoenix "Editorially Speaking" the headline reads: Tribal Housing Aid Raises More Doubts. The editorial reflects once again what the "vocal majority" have been loudly protesting for the past many months; elected and government officials' misuse of their authority; and the misuse and misappropriation of tribal and federal funds by Byrd and his cohorts.

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Muskogee Phoenix "Editorially Speaking"
Tribal Housing Aid Raises More Doubts.

Copyright © 1998 Muskogee Phoenix
All Rights Reserved

The story of how Sammie Hoskins' home received thousands of dollars in repairs courtesy of federal taxpayers and the Cherokee Nation is another sad tale of what's gone wrong with the tribe's government.

Sammie Hoskins is not Indian. Nevertheless, she benefited from a program that uses federal funds to aid Indians.

Federal rules call for spending no more than $20,000 on any one home. Hoskins' got more than $22,500 in improvements.

What makes Mrs. Hoskins so special? One of her children just happens to be a Cherokee tribal councilor, Charles Hoskins.

Councilor Hoskins says his mother deserved the aid because she was married to an Indian and reared Indian children. (Ageya Note: Maybe so, but that is not what the law and the policy allow.)

But a former tribal housing official, Steve Woodall, says the Hoskins' case is a single, but not isolated, result of the political influence elected officials applied to the housing program.

Decisions on who to help were reviewed by a tribal committee, which at the time of the Hoskins' case had four tribal councilors including Charles Hoskins.

Hoskins says he didn't vote on his mother's project. Woodall, however, says the make-up of the committee left decisions vulnerable to political influence. Woodall also says the committee's failure to hold to federal spending limits forced the tribe to cover excess costs as much as $250,000 in one year alone.

Unfortunately, the Tribal Council never approved such expenditures, even though the tribe's constitution specifically entrusts it with that power.

Failure to follow rules. Decisions of dubious integrity. Lack of proper oversight. This has become almost routine in Cherokee circles.

But as the old saying goes, "familiarity breeds contempt." And contempt is what Cherokees and non-Cherokees alike should have for what has become of the Cherokee Nation government.

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Could not have said it any better or more clearly than this Muskogee Phoenix editorial does! According to message posted on the People's Paths WebBBS by Robin Mayes, who attended the meeting, it was CN Councilor Bill John Baker who pushed to get that funding approved for Hoskin's mother, even after Councilor Jiggs Phillips brought up the fact that it goes against policy!

Bill John Baker, the Chief and the rest of his cohorts have proved over the last 10 months that they think they are above the law and policy of the Cherokee Nation. Their actions and words reveal their total disrespect of the heart and soul of our great Cherokee Nation. The sooner we rid ourselves of Byrd and his ilk the faster the Cherokee Nation can get back to serving the people instead of these greedy, self-serving, corrupted bunch of leaches. They are endangering the very existence of our Nation and shameless destroying the credibility and honor of thousands of good law abiding Cherokee people!