Membership too lazy to petition
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Editor,
The CS&KT water compact is a document that represents the CS&KT Tribe, including the membership. It does not consist of 10 council members and tribal attorneys, it includes the membership, whom will need to vote to ratify it along with congress, yet none of the membership has the knowledge to do so. We hear of these boards that are opposing the compact. Some of these landowners are tribal with land or lease land. Any person this compact affects should have a legitimate part of any document that affects their future.
I personally visualize the compact as a free flowing river with undercurrents, intended or unintended blockage at times, but always knowing that river needs to be able to reach and supply everyone.
It is a concern to all when one of those owners wants to control it all. And when the undercurrent begins changing, when blockage is all of a sudden turned loose, common sense tells you someone is changing the course — deals being made to pacify obstruction to gain support.
Now we hear Kerr Dam has been thrown in by the tribe as a reward to gain passage. But again we have put the cart before the horse and have leased the power lines back to Bonneville Power for pennies with a 30-year contract so where does that put Kerr Dam and the water compact.
Kerr Dam belongs to the CS&KT, the membership, not just to 10 (illegal by their own election rule), tribal council members and their attorneys. That membership needs to stop our council from giving away what belongs to us as a tribe. The membership is supporting a council that does not support the people of this tribe. The membership, under our tribal constitution, has the right and power by petition, to correct whatever harms the membership, but they have become lazy, fearful, or have many other excuses to do nothing.
Sybil Butler
Dixon
