Comanche Tribal Council Forum
1063 NW Quanah Rd
Cache, OK 73527
ph: 580 429-3430
fax: 580 429-3430
editor
Tribal Issues
Recall petitions are initiated and processed through the Enrollment Department of the Comanche Nation. The Enrollment Director is responsible for administering the process in accordance with the adopted Petition Ordinance. Upon receipt of a completed petition the Enrollment Director shall provide certification as to the validity of signature...s on the petition in accordance with the Petition Ordinance. The Comanche Business Committee shall decide only on the matter concerning signatures which cannot be resolved by the Comanche Enrollment Director and decide whether a petition does or does not comply with all provisions of the Petition Ordinance.
I completed 6 recall petitions that had well over 200 valid signatures. The Enrollment Director certified that all six were valid petitions in accordance with all provisions of the Petition Ordinance. Only non-compliance with any provisions of the Petition Ordinance would cause the petitions to be null and void. The six CBC members voted to null and void their own recall petitions. The enrollment director certified that the recall petition were in compliance with all provisions of the Petition Ordinance. The CBC had no grounds of non-compliance with any part of the Petition Ordinance. The CBC cannot null and void a recall petition simply because they don’t want to be recalled. The Tribal Attorneys and the recalled CBC have tried to interpret our laws to suit their own personal agendas. The six recalled CBC members are in denial and continue to create turmoil like what caused them to be removed. The Comanches were fed up and they voted to recalled them all.
The Comanche Tribal Constitution simply provides that upon receipt of a valid petition for a recall the Comanche Tribal Chairman shall call an official meeting of the Comanche Tribal Council within 30 days. The constitution further states that a majority vote of the meeting shall be sufficient to effect the recall providing a quorum is present. Under the constitution a quorum shall consist of one hundred and fifty (150) eligible voters. On April 26, 2012, when the vote was taken well over 200 tribal members were present even after those that did not want to participate left the building. All provisions of the Comanche Constitution and the Petition Ordinance were met and the recall shall stand.
The tribal attorneys Hobb Strauss Dean and Walker are taking sides with the recalled CBC members against the Nation and are interfering with our tribal government. They have incited turmoil by misleading the CBC to believe they have grounds to protest the recall and have misinterpreted the actions of the Chairman which are definite grounds to be removed as tribal attorneys for the Comanche Nation. A motion and majority vote of the General Council shall be sufficient to effect removal of HSDW as tribal attorneys.
Under the constitution ARTICLE XII, Section 1., the Chairman shall be the Chief Executive of the Comanche Nation exercising the authorities and powers as delegated to his office by the constitution and the Comanche Tribal Council. He shall preside at all meetings of the Tribal Council unless he is being recalled. Therefore it is the same for all other CBC. They cannot preside over their own recall. Robert Tippconnie could not preside over his own recall meeting. Tippeconnie had no authority to adjourn the meeting just because he did not want to face his own recall. HSDW cannot get it right. HSDW made Tippeconnie, Komahcheet and Kosechequetah believe they had authority to deem the recall meetings invalid.
William Norman of HSDW has publicly misinterpreted our Constitution by stating we have a one meeting on one day rule. The Comanche Tribal Constitution clearly states that the recall of only one officer or committeeman may be initiated per meeting called for this purpose. We had three recall meetings on one day. Each recall meeting was called to order after establishing a quorum was present, we voted and the meeting was adjourned. We went through the same process three times on the 19th of April and on the 26th of April. There is no rule that prevents us from have three meeting in one day. Again, HSDW just cannot get it right.
The chairman’s position shall not be vacated until after the election process is completed. Under the constitution should an incumbent of the CBC accept a nomination for a different office he shall resign his office. The resignation shall not be effective until the completion of the election process. Now that all CBC members are recalled the Chairman is in command of the Comanche Nation until all vacancies are filled to include the Chairman’s position. Johnny Wauqua is still the Chairman until after the elections. Under the constitution the Chairman is the CEO and at one time was over all areas of the government. Our constitution was amended on April 28, 1994 to provide for a Tribal Administrator elected by the Tribal Council. Under the advice HSDW the six CBC members violated the constitution by wrongfully suspending Willie Owens as TA and hiring Darla Sankadota as Acting TA. The exclusive authority to hire a TA belongs to the Tribal Council. By the constitution and the Tribal Council, the Chairman is still the CEO and has the authority to act in the best interest of the Nation. Under the circumstances, as Chairman and CEO of the Nation he has made a command decision to place Willie Owens as Tribal Administrator until such time that Chairman Wauqua can assume the position of TA as elected by the Tribal Council.
Comanche Law Enforcement failed to adhere to any direction to remove Komahcheet, Kosechequetah and Tippeconnie for disruption of the meeting. Law Enforcement failed to intervene while Chairman Wauqua was being attacked by Komahcheet, Kosechequetah and Tippeconnie. I walked up to the microphone to deliver my bill of particulars and Tippeconnie tried to grab the microphone out of my hand so he could announce the meeting was over. After those that did not want to participate left the building the recall meetings continued and Komahcheet, Kosechequetah and Tippeconnie were recalled by a majority vote of the Tribal Council. Any future acts of insubordination by Law Enforcement should be immediate grounds for termination. I spoke to Lonnie Emahoolah of Bureau of Indian Affairs, Tribal Government regarding the actions of Law Enforcement. Mr Emahoolah stated that Law Enforcement shall be under the direction of the TA just like any other program contracted through the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Because we are a sovereign nation and this is an inter-tribal dispute the Bureau of Indian Affairs will not intervene. Only by our constitution and our adopted ordinances shall we find our own resolve. I took out the petitions but a lot of Comanches agreed with me. The Comanche People were fed up with our leadership and lost trust in the CBC. The CBC members are responsible for their own recalls due to poor leadership.
Want Approval to Get Commods
Comanche Tribal members living in Lawton do not qualify for commodities. Even those living in tribal housing located in Lawton are not given any consideration. The current economy makes it more and more difficult to make ends meet especially on a limited or fixed income. Many are elders and many of us are limited as how to provide food for our families. Some get food stamps yet many end up standing in line at the Lawton Food Bank. We have Comanche tribal members that do go hungry.
The Tribal Council must protect gaming from abuse, misuse and mismanagement. Th...e Tribal Council must demand increase in profits. The Tribal Council must demand creditable accounting. The Tribal council must protect gaming from bad leadership. The Comanche Tribal Council has lost all confidence in the Comanche Nation Gaming board for loss of profits and their failure to hire a qualified Gaming CEO. Due to poor management of the gaming operations the Gaming Board has failed to ensure for maximum gaming revenue. We have seen profits steadily decline resulting in budget deficits. Budget deficits/constraints resulted in significant cuts in direct services and employee terminations.
Tribal members are not given tribal preference in hiring and upgrading. Many have lost their positions/promotions to non tribal members. We see fewer and fewer tribal members working in the casinos. Tribal members that have worked for the casino for 10 years or more have had their hours cut to part time and salaries drastically reduced. The last straw of abuse is that a Comanche Tribal member was punished for speaking their Comanche Language in the casino.
The Gaming Board is not bringing home the bacon! The Comanche tribal members as members of the Comanche Tribal Council are entitled to a direct say in all gaming operations.
In the best interest of the Nation the Comanche Tribal Council must permanently remove the Comanche Nation Gaming Board and that the gaming board be replaced with a Gaming CEO. Even if we pay a CEO $250,000 we would save a lot of money because the CBC has approved the Gaming Board a $6,000,000 budget without the knowledge and consent of the Tribal Council. The Gaming Board is NOT required by the National Indian Gaming Commission. The recalled CBC acted with the Gaming Board to approve millions of gaming dollars in worthless ventures without the knowledge and consent of the Comanche People. No wonder the CBC went scratching and clawing after they were all duly recalled. The Comanche People must rid the Nation of this group of scam artist called the Gaming Board.
In order to have a direct say in our gaming the Tribal Council must exercise its supreme authority to hire/remove the Gaming CEO during the Annual Tribal Council meeting. The salary of the Gaming CEO shall be negotiable and shall be approved during the Annual Tribal Council meeting. The Gaming CEO shall oversee and control all non-regulatory aspects of the Nation’s gaming to include Executive Management. The CEO shall ensure for maximum gaming revenue and in as much as possible practice Comanche Tribal preference in all levels of hiring/upgrading. The Gaming CEO shall not violate applicable gaming laws or interfere with the Gaming Commissions’ regulatory authority. The Gaming CEO shall publish an annual report of all gaming operation activities, expenses, audits and monies to include the Gaming Commission Budget. Reports shall be provided to tribal members at an annual shareholders meeting and published in the tribal newspaper. The Gaming CEO shall be under the direction of the business committee. The business committee shall not act to circumvent the authority of the Tribal Council to suspend or remove the Gaming CEO. The Comanche Nation Gaming Ordinance shall be amended where applicable to reflect this action. The Chairman shall be directed by the Comanche Tribal Council to take necessary action to immediately submit amended Gaming Ordinance to the NIGC for approval. Immediately upon NIGC approval the chairman shall call a special tribal council meeting for the purpose of hiring a Gaming CEO.
Remove from Budget
The CBC removed the Indian Church donations from the budget. In the past the Comanche Nation donated $60,000 to the Indian churches. It is in tribe’s best interest to donate to the Indian Churches. $100,000 out of the Charitable Fund line item would seem more than appropriate to donate to the Indian Churches. May God pour out his blessings upon the Comanche Nation?
CBC Resolution Number 150-11 was adopted by the CBC on January 7, 2012. Through this resolution the CBC has dictated to the Nation how every member shall vote in every election. The CBC created an all “mail in” voting for all elections. This resolution eliminated all polling sites and denied tribal members the right to go to the polls to cast our ...vote in person. The CBC was warned by the Election Board of the many security problems but they said they were going do it anyway. The greatest complaint by tribal members is they do not get their absentee ballot in time to vote. The all “mail in” voting leaves too much room for error, tampering and fraud. The right to absentee voting is already provided for those that live out of the area and for those that choose to vote absentee. The majority of voters are accustom to going to the poll and inserting our ballot into the ballot machine and seeing our vote counted right before our own eyes which gives us a certain amount of confidence in the voting process. When the CBC sought to be elected they promised to be transparent and we trusted them. The CBC did not put out any public information regarding their actions nor did they ask for our opinion. CBC acted without the knowledge and consent of the Tribal Council to deny us our right to go to the polls and cast our vote in person. The CBC by this action deliberately committed a breech of trust.
CBC Resolution Number 53-05 took the Comanche Nation to an all elected Election Board to be elected by a popular vote of each district. Some Election Board members were voted in with less than 10 votes by their district. How can being elected with less than 10 votes to a very important position such as an election board member be a true representation of the Comanche People? The Election Board is embedded like ticks in the Nation’s government and when there are violations of the Election Ordinance, the Tribal Constitution or neglect of duty a removal would require a petition for recall of each election board member. Past violations are of failure to adhere to terms of office. Some election board members have been on the board since 2006. In order to save their position on the Election Board they conveniently changed the ordinance to prolong their terms of office. Some board members received stipend payments in excess of $50,000. The board failed to publicly notify the People when the Election Ordinance was changed that included 910 sections. The 910 sections in the new ordinance were totally unnecessary in order to run a well-organized and creditable election. The election board acting as law makers along with the tribal attorneys changed the election ordinance to include punishments of up to $1,000 in fines and up to 1 year in jail. According to the CFR Court, Election Ordinances are for administering the election process not for the punishment of tribal members. The Election Ordinance created by the election board and
the tribal attorneys with excessive punishments was not in accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations. Election Board members are in agreement to go to all “mail in” voting at some future time. All Mail In voting is unnecessary and uncalled for by the Comanche People. The Comanche People have always lacked confidence in the voting process and when we cast our vote in person and see our vote counted by the ballot machine we at least have some hope of a creditable election..
Voting is the most important right of every voting age tribal member and must be safeguarded against any exploitation. Every voting age tribal member has the right to vote on who will lead our nation and vote to authorize the expenditure of funds deposited to the exclusive credit to the Comanche Nation to include funds in joint credit of the KCA. The Tribal Council as the supreme governing body has the reserved right to exercise supreme authority over the election board and the administration of the Election Process.
Comanche Nation College
Is at its tenth year of existence
The Comanche Nation has spent close to 2,000,000 every year in gaming dollars for the operation of the ComancheNationCollege. Dr. Kathryn Tijerina, Dr. Barbara Hobson, Dr. John Tippeconnie, Dr. Lotsee Patterson, Dr. Mary Jo Tippeconnie Fox and Dr. Linda Sue Warner have sat on the Comanche Nation College Council all these years. The College President Dr. Lopez has been here since 2008. We have a building full of educated individuals that have provided nothing more than an empty promise of accreditation. My Dad was not an educated man but he was a wise old Comanche Elder. He said “it’s not what you know; it’s what you do with what you know.” We have seen millions and million of dollar go out the window with nothing to show for it NOT even one graduate. The Nursing program was recently accredited for another two years but the college president Consuelo Lopez shut the Nursing Program down anyway and fired the Nursing Director. The Nursing program is no longer in operation yet the $325,000 dollars allocated for the Nursing Program are still being absorbed by the college.
The Comanche Nation has 4,000 school age tribal members (K-12) that fall through the cracks when it comes to student services and they are in need of educational support. The nation can better spend our gaming dollars by providing a yearly payment to all school age tribal members no matter where they reside. Our students need shoes, clothes, uniforms, student fees, tutoring, school supplies, assistance with senior graduation costs and other necessities. We must help our kids stay in school. The Nation must ensure that all our children have a greater opportunity to graduate High School and continue on to higher education. “No child left behind.” I’d much rather see 4,000 school age children have what they need to go to school than to pay for a college that has produce NOT one graduate.
February 24, 2012, 6:00 pm
Comanche Nation Complex
New Conference Room
A meeting was held between 6 members of the CBC to include Robert Tippeconnie, Ed Eschiti, Ron RedElk, Darrel Kosechequetah, Yonevea Terry, Robert Komahcheet and the Election Board. Other individuals in attendance were Burson of HSDW, Darla Sankdota, Charles Wells, Gaby Narcomey and myself Eleanor McDaniel. All Asentee voting was the major topic of discussion. Darrell Kosechequetah and Bob Tippconnie gave themselves credit for the all absentee vote on the KCA Funds. Voting on the KCA funds should have happened during the general election but the CBC and the Election Board failed to provide a properly printed ballot. The ballot did not provide a place to vote yes or no on the KCA funds and 20% funds. The BIA made them fix their mistake.
Election Ordinance
On January 7, 2012 the Comanche Business Committee adopted Resolution 150-11 by a majority vote of 6 for and 0 against with one absention. This resolution is an act to take away all polling sites. The CBC has decided that everyone will vote absentee in our general and special elections to promote democratic principles of governance and increase tribal member participation in the Nation's elections. The CBC wants to save the expense of in-person voting.
This is one of the biggest mistakes that the CBC and the tribal attorneys have ever made. The CBC cannot think for themselves they have to have the tribal attorneys write an illegal Election Ordinance. The CFR court ruled in November 2012 that the Comanche Nation Election Ordinance did not comply with the Code of Federal Regulations in the case Comanche Nation VS Eleanor McDaniel for unlawful balloting. The case was dismissed and the Comanche Nation Election Ordiance determined to be unlawful.
This resolution was not a democratic act it was the CBC dictating to the Comanche People that we will not be allowed the right to vote at any polling site. The Comanche People have no trust in our election process. Many Tribal Members complain that they do not get their absentee ballots in time to vote. Some tribal members drive many mile to come home and vote just to be sure their votes are counted because the mail outs have failed voters too many times. How can we trust that our absentee ballots will be counted honestly. There is too much room for tampering with the absentee ballots by anyone and everyone.
The CBC wants to save money by closing all our polling sites. The CBC needs to make sure all the polls are kept open and quit wasting our money everywhere else. Save our right to vote at our designated polling sites. If the CBC wants more participation in elections then they need to run all the buses on election day and provide a free ride for all tribal members to go vote.
Six of our CBC members voted to adopted this resolution, 0 voted against and one didn't have the guts to vote. The actions of the CBC in this matter is an under handed attempt to take away our most important right and priviledge to go to the poll and cast our vote. This April during the General Council Meeting we need to vote to recind this rosolution and throw out this unlawful Election Ordinance. The Tribal Attorneys want to control our government through this unlawful Election Ordinance that they wrote. This April we must elect new Tribal Attorneys.
Copyright 2010 Comanche Tribal Council Forum. All rights reserved.
1063 NW Quanah Rd
Cache, OK 73527
ph: 580 429-3430
fax: 580 429-3430
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