August 27, 2023. The latest Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians Referendum Ballot should be in your mailbox by now. Registered Voters have until September 11, 2023 to vote.
We believe an addendum is needed for Chapter 12 of the Tribal Code that makes the cost of any referendum not part of a scheduled election paid in full for by the people that sponsor the referendum. While these may be important issues they are nothing that cannot wait to the regular election cycle in our view.
We should not be forced to pay for the multiple referendums and possible recall elections along with the cost of multiple special elections.
As a reminder these extra costs started in 2022 when Aaron Payment resigned as Tribal Chairman. As of today no reason has been provided to Tribal Members why this happened because he signed a non-disclosure agreement with the tribe. The only fact we can verify is that Aaron Payments resignation has caused a chain reaction costings us thousands of dollars that could be better spent paying down debt.
If we want to see increases in the Annual Dividend Payments paid to Elders or include all our Children when funding the Youth Development Fund this waste of money needs to stop.
The tribe's fiance department projected a 2024 budget deficit earlier this year when the board voted to approve the Lodge of Hope 2023 Budget.
The money used to pay the cost of the referendum elections in 2023 alone could have funded hundreds of our children's sports, art, dance and other educational opportunities or used to increase the dividend payments made to the Elder Fund.
Resolution No. 2023-190. In our view at issue is that Joann Carr does not want to have to run again for a Board Seat open when Austin Lowes was elected Chairman. It appears both Joann and her supporters feel it is very likely she will loose if forced to run again.
Resolution No. 2023-190 is the other issue that could have waited to the next regular election. This resolution is purposely written to confuse more than clarify anything. It insinuates that the current Tribal Board does not have our best interests in mind when voting.
Nana'isanishinaam
