Tribal Council should honor petition
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Editor,
The People’s Voice Inc. feels after receiving its petition, the Tribal Council committed 11 violations of secretarial standards in CFR, part 82 (12) and did not follow Tribal Ordinance 53A. The Tribal Council violated the Tribal Constitution, Article 1, Section 6, Oath of Office. Article 6, Powers and Duties of the Tribal Council, Section 2, which reads in part “if such ordinance is approved, it shall thereupon become effective.”
(1) Bureau official/tribal secretary did not sign for the petition.
(2) Official shall immediately enter on the petition the date of receipt (this date becomes the official filing).
(3) Official shall acknowledge in writing, indicate the exact number of signatures that are attached.
(4) Official/tribal secretary shall publicly post at the local bureau/tribal offices.
(5) Official shall also post a statement of the matter proposed in the petition.
(6) This statement shall remain posted for 30 days from the official filing date.
(7) Official shall immediately have copies made of the petition and its signatures. The official shall have these copies at the office for 15 days following the date of official filing, during which time they shall be available for examination by authorized voters of the tribes upon request.
(8) Challenges of signatures may be filed with the official.
(9) No challenges will be considered which is not accompanied by supporting evidence in writing.
(10) Within 30 days after the official filing date, the official shall forward to the area director/Tribal Council the original of the petition and its accompanying signatures, together with recommendations concerning; (a) validity of the signatures; (b) adequacy of the number of signatures; (c) the propriety of the petitioning procedure.
(11) The area director/Tribal Council shall, within 45 days after the official filing date, decide upon each challenge and the sufficiency of the petition and announce whether the petition shall be acted upon.
As such, the People’s Voice Inc. contends that the Tribal Council has not met the burden of a formal challenge on the merits of the referendum petition.
Therefore, we feel that the 1,414 tribal members signatures should be honored by the Tribal Council by calling this referendum vote.
Sharon Rosenbaum
president, The People’s Voice Inc.
Charlo
