2008 Constitution Revision Committee

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Constitution Revision Committee

At the General Council Meeting on October 25, I gave a presentation in regards to the Constitution Revision Committee and about revising the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma Constitution.   The presentation showed what has been discussed so far and what the Revision Committee hopes to accomplish.  I also presented a few changes that the Revision Committee sees that are needed to enhance the overall structure of the Tribe and to clarify the debatable issues in regards to the current Constitution. 

Objectives of the Revision Committee
The overall objective of the Committee is to give Tribal Members a stronger voice and help eliminate the power struggles that have occurred in the past.  The hope is that the revisions will reduce the number of legal procedures that takes place regarding clarifications of the Constitution.  Another overall objective is to increase the services to Tribal Members and open up opportunities for stronger economic development.  The Tribe and the Native American environment have changed since the Constitution was last revised in 1988.  The AST’s are a more self-sufficient Tribe and the Constitution should be updated to show our progress as well.

Potential Changes to the Constitution
The Revision Committee has discussed some of the changes that would be beneficial to the Tribe.  One of the major changes is the separation of the Legislative/Executive Branch.  Presently, the Executive Committee does both, but the separation would be more beneficial for the economic growth of the Tribe.  The Executive Branch would do the function of the overall leadership of the Tribe.  The Legislative Branch would do the function of making laws and codes for the Tribe to run.  With the creation of the Legislative Branch, there will be a need for Tribal representation.  Therefore, the Revision Committee feels there is a need for districts or areas so that the Tribal members will be equally represented and they can choose legislators who will serve their best interest. This is something that we are working on with the help of Enrollment and OEH.  The Judicial Branch would continue under their current capacity.   

Another potential change that would have a major affect is the reduction of the blood quantum to one-eighth (1/8).  The Revision Committee feels this will benefit the Tribe by increasing the number of Tribal members.  The main concern you as the Tribal Council may have is the reduction of your services to fund the same services to more people.  The increase of Tribal members would also increase the funding that comes from grants and contracts that are based on the tribal population.  So the funding would offset the increase of service need.  Currently, of the 3,056 Tribal members, 1299 (or 42.5%) are ¼ Absentee Shawnee blood quantum.  Of that number, approximately 800 are of child bearing age.  That means their children would not be eligible for enrollment.  If we reduced they blood quantum and they each had one child, that would be an additional 800 members and if they had two children that would be 1600 new members.    

Conclusion
This is just an overview of the presentation to show those who could not attend a few of the changes that are being looked at in the revision of the Constitution.  We would like to invite you all to attend a meeting or share your thoughts about the Constitution revision.  The next Constitution Revision Committee meeting is set for November 8 at 9 am at Tecumseh Square.  If you would like more information or have any questions please feel free to contact me at 405-275-4030 x131 or bponkilla@astribe.com.

Thank you,
Briana Ponkilla