Copyright © 1999 NLThomas
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TAHLEQUAH, OK - The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma's (CNO) Constitutional Convention that began Friday and was scheduled to be completed Sunday, will not meet the deadline. The attending delegates agreed that more time is needed, so will just continue to work until it is completed. After the members of the convention complete their work, the revisions must be sent to Washington, D.C. to be approved by the White House and U.S. Interior Department. Once approved by the U.S. Government, the revisions can then be presented to the voting members of the CNO for approval.

The goal is to; complete the work, send the revisions to Washington, and receive the required approval. in time for the revision's to be placed on the CNO's May election ballot. Tribal elections for chief, deputy chief, and council posts are being held on May 22.

Chad Smith, candidate for chief, proposed that the May 22 target be delayed and instead a special election be held later in the year. Smith said this would allow time for additional public hearings to be held. The motion for a new completion date was, however, tabled at this time.

A proposal, made by Molly Silversmith of Salina, limiting council members to two consecutive terms, and allowing council members to run again, only after sitting out for one term, was passed by a wide majority vote on Sunday.

Molly Silversmith stated, "The Cherokee people want more of a voice in the operations of the tribe", and added that without term limits members of the council "tend to get a little deaf to the needs of the Cherokee Nation." Silversmith also said, "I think it's time to get a new ear in there, sometimes you have to step back from the problem to see the problem."

Tahlequah attorney Don Baker, whose brother, Bill John Baker, is leaving a council seat this year to run for deputy chief, had argued, "It takes time for a council member to become effective," and said the CNO needs experienced lawmakers to provide oversight to the business of the tribe. Baker said, "What we are doing is handicapping the race... not letting the people choose." It was also argued that staggered terms would add to the cost of elections and take away funds from other tribal programs.

Todd Hembree of Stillwell said, the staggering of four-year terms could be an answer at a time when, "we have become deadlocked...riding the same horse."

The proposal to add two at-large council seats, which would bring the number of seats to 17, was also voted on and passed Sunday. The proposal was made by Barbara Starr-Scott of Jay, a council member and candidate for reelection of District 5, Delaware County.

The, at-large, proposal was passed after arguments were heard that at least 50,000 Cherokees live outside the CNO tribe's 14-county jurisdiction located in the northeastern part of Oklahoma.

A proposal that calls for a delegate to be appointed to the U.S. House of Representatives, similar to that of the non-voting representatives from the territory of Puerto Rico, was also passed by a narrow margin, 31-30. The delegate, by federal law, would have to be recognized by the federal government. Those who backed the proposal said, 1785 and 1835 treaties gave the tribe the right to have a delegate in Congress.

The delegates also said that the deputy chief should be removed as chairman of the council and a speaker for the council should be named. One of the delegates, David Mullon, said, by removing the deputy chief as council chairperson would remove the threat to the tribe's separation of powers.

Paul Center, co-chairman of the tribal election commission, said that the staggering of terms would probably take two years to be put in place, but the additional council seats could be instituted this year, if the changes are approved by ballot in May.

The CNO has been experiencing what has been referred to as a 'constitutional crises', which developed into a power struggle between the executive and judicial branches of the government and, within the council. The revisions being proposed will hopefully clarify the rules of the constitution, helping to eliminate any future power struggles and return more power to the Cherokee people.

Some of the items up for discussion include; reorganizing the council, eliminating run-off elections for chief and deputy chief, prohibiting a prosecutor from filing charges against elected officials without a grand jury, renaming the Judicial Appeals Tribunal, referred to as the JAT, to the Supreme Court. A proposal to replace the tribe's one-house system of a council, with a two-house form of government was killed on Sunday.