Platform

Our nation is strongest when every voice is heard, and every citizen feels empowered to contribute. By creating more opportunities for involvement, we can ensure that the wisdom and ideas of our people guide the future of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Today, there are few, if any, opportunities for citizens outside of Oklahoma to participate in the direction of our nation.

Specific Policies and Beliefs:

• Establish Specialized Boards and Community Advisory Committees: Taking inspiration from the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, establish boards and advisory committees that reflect the diversity of Citizen Potawatomi Nation, including representation across different age groups and geographic regions. Examples: Food Sovereignty Committee, Language & Traditions, Ethics, and Land Use.

• Online Participation: Expand opportunities for citizens who live outside of Oklahoma to sit on boards and committees and positively contribute to the direction of our nation.

• Public Meeting Requirements: As will be noted further under Government Transparency, ensure that all board and committee meetings be open to all citizens and minutes and decisions are published online for review.

• Regular Reporting: Ensure that boards and committees are regularly reporting updates to the legislature, detailing their activities, decisions, and the impact of their work on the community.

• Citizen Feedback & Proposal Submission Process: We have many talented individuals in our nation that lead in language, story telling, food sovereignty, regalia making, and powwow dancing. We should encourage and gather feedback from these individuals on community projects that our nation can support.

With our district spanning 15 states, it is a challenge to facilitate gatherings where it may be close for one family, but it's an 8 or 9 hour drive for the next. However, it is important that legislators meet with others in their districts, share what is happening in our nation, and meet and foster relationships with those they serve.

Beliefs:

• Host two larger seasonal gatherings a year: As Potawatomi, we celebrate the changing seasons, and I would continue to host a mnokmëk (Spring) and a dgwagëk (Fall) gathering where we gather together as a community to eat, meet and play games, and learn about what is happening within our nation.

• Host several mini meetups: There are many gatherings that happen throughout our district, not all of them specifically Potawatomi, such as powwows, film screenings, and other native-related events. I would like to use these events as opportunities to meet and gather with smaller groups of community members closer to where they live throughout the district.

• Virtual: Alan Melot has set the bar for how we can include everyone, District 1 and beyond, in gathering and sharing knowledge through video conferencing tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. I would like to host quarterly Zoom meetings to discuss what is happening in the nation, share updates, and to elicit feedback and answer questions from others.
  
  In addition to quarterly Zoom meetings, we have so many talented individuals in our district with knowledge in beading, sewing, language, food sovereignty, and native-rights advocacy. I would like to formalize and financially support individuals in our community to lead virtual events and gatherings to share knowledge amongst each other. Gatherings do not need to be top-down from a legislator to a community, we have so many capable individuals that we should highlight and give opportunities to share, and I would love to facilitate and support those gatherings.

I am committed to ensuring that our tribal government operates with the highest level of transparency. Our citizens have the right to know how decisions are made and how resources are allocated. Our annual General Counsel meeting is not "...held in memory of our past ways of governing...". Our legislators work to serve and represent General Counsel, and ultimately answer to, and therefore it's imperative information is openly shared and responsive to General Counsel.

Specific Policies:

• Open Meetings: With technology today, we should be able to make our tribal legislative meetings open to citizens live. I will advocate that meeting agendas are posted in our secure tribal portal at least 5 days prior to a legislature meeting, that meetings be open to the public (citizens) through tools such as Microsoft Teams, and that meeting minutes be promptly updated in our archival site for citizens to review.

• Transparent Budgeting & Financials: Citizens have the right to know the financial state of our nation. Prior to fiscal year budget approvals, legislators should be meeting with their communities to explain the budget and gather feedback to bring back to the full legislature. Annual audits and financial reports should be made public to our citizens, at the very least through our secure tribal portal.
  
  Examples:
  https://www.cherokee.org/media/yztnf13d/fy-2023-cn-annual-comprehensive-financial-report_web_layout.pdf
  
  https://www.cherokee.org/media/y5ndsbuj/fy23-pafr-final.pdf
  
  https://www.cherokee.org/media/sufhcreo/fy-2022-cherokee-nation-budget-document.pdf

• Public Expense Reports for Elected Officials

• Legislative Tracker: An accessible website that allows citizens to see the work of legislators, including resolutions and/or ordinances that come out of committee, who sponsored legislation, what is to be on the agenda in the future.

I firmly believe in accountability and the power of an informed citizenry. Transparency is the commitment of trust between a government and its people. I often reflect on this quote, "It's not just about making decisions, it's about making decisions visible, so every citizen can see the integrity behind each vote and trust in the direction their leaders are taking them."

Specific Policies:

• Open Forum & Townhalls: It's important to me that I hold regular open forums throughout the year with citizens to understand where to direct my energy, and to gather feedback prior to major votes.

• Post-Vote Reporting: Either through social media or a blog on this website, I will commit to providing a summary after each legislative session and explain how and why I voted for issues brought before the legislature. I can't expect to make everyone happy with how I vote, but there will never be any question as to why.

• Public Expense Reports: Whether or not our tribal government requires it, I believe in transparency and I commit to making expense reports public. You deserve to know how leaders spend the money entrusted to them.

Platform Statement:

Our elders are the keepers of our traditions and the voice of our past. They deserve a formal role in guiding the decisions that shape our Nation’s future. In honor and recognition of the importance of Elders in our Potawatomi community, I would seek the creation of an Elder's Counsel that helps to better meet the need of our elder population. We may have an American-style government today, but there's no reason why we can't begin to blend back in more traditional forms of governance.

Specific Policies:

• Constitutional Amendment: Advocate for the creation of an Elder's Counsel that is enshrined in our Constitution, and requires the Legislature to consult with the Elder's Counsel on issues related to cultural heritage, language preservation, and issues related to funding and support of our elder community. The Elder's Counsel should have the right to choose a representative among them to sit on our Legislature, and have full rights and responsibilities of that as a Legislator.

Our youth are the future leaders of our nation. We should expand upon the good work of the Potawatomi Leadership Program, and create a Youth Council to empower our youth to take an active role in shaping our nation.

Specific Policies:

• Establishment of an official Youth Council: Establish a Youth Council, an advisory committee, that operates its own code and enables opportunities for youth engagement. Provide opportunities for youth to lead, and to have a role in planning, organizing, and executing events that benefit our community.

• Mentorship Programs: Work closely with out Education Department to pair youth with experienced leaders and professionals throughout our nation.

With nearly 40,000 citizens, I'm certain that we have many people in our community with gifts and talents that could contribute to the growth and stability of our community. Fresh thinking and different perspectives are needed to ensure that we do not become stale and complacent.

Specific Policies/Commitments:

• Self-Imposed Term Limit: I commit to serving no more than two terms (8 years).

• Constitutional Amendment: I believe General Counsel should be presented with an amendment proposal imposing term limits for the various offices.

The newly created Potawatomi Confederacy presents many new opportunities to strengthen our relationships and to collaborate more closely with our fellow Potawatomi nations. Our people were removed from our homelands, which disconnected us from our traditional food sources and seasonal activities such as hunting, fishing, berry picking, maple tapping, and the spiritual connection we, as Neshnabék, have with the Great Lakes.

Many of our tribal citizens have expressed interest in purchasing land in, and around, our homelands, however that presents a number of logistical and legal challenges. However, through the Potawatomi Confederacy, we can and should explore opportunities to tear down the divisional barriers created by the US government.

Specific Policies:

• Collaborative Cultural Initiatives: Many of the Potawatomi bands have already begun opening their activities to other Potawatomi and neighboring tribal members, however, I would seek to formalize this within the confederacy that all Potawatomi are welcome to attend and participate in each other's community and cultural events. We should seek to foster a sense of unity and shared purpose in preserving our Potawatomi traditions.

• Reciprocity Agreements: I would advocate for formal reciprocity agreements with the other Potawatomi nations that would allow Citizen Potawatomi Nation citizens, or any enrolled Potawatomi citizen, regulated access to each other's tribal lands for traditional activities such as hunting, trapping, fishing, and ceremonial practices.

Without our language, we cease to be Potawatomi.

As Jim Thunder, Sr. wrote, "If we lose our language, we will have done to ourselves what the government failed to do for centuries - to eradicate our language and our way of life as the Creator meant for us. Our religion has endured because of our language. Our ceremonies are dependent on the use of our language. Today our young people are confused and have no identity because they do not know our language."

Our sovereignty in the eyes of the US government is dependent on our people being identifiably Potawatomi. Identifiable does not mean in appearance, but in actions and way of life. The US government has already shown through many time periods that it will seek ways to discontinue its' commitment to native peoples.

Requirement: Community

• The petitioner must prove that it has maintained a distinct community, existing as a community distinct from other populations, with significant social relationships and interaction among its members over time.

Our tribal community cannot exist solely as a collection of business ventures and or as a social safety net of services and benefits, we must also be Potawatomi in how we lead our lives and in the relationships we build in the larger Potawatomi community.

Specific Policies / Beliefs:

• Seek to invest significantly more resources into cultural and language offerings and programming through both in-person and virtual offerings.

• Provide grant-like programs where individual community members can seek funding from the tribe to host their own events that are open to tribal citizens. We do not need to always rely on paid employees to offer events as we have many talented individuals in our community.
  Example: A language keeper wishes to host a weekend long language camp in Wisconsin, but doesn't have the funds to organize it or the reach to inform the community about the event. This language keeper can apply for a grant/pool of funds to use to organize the event, purchase food or supplies, and use the tribe to help advertise the event. Let's empower our community.

I know many of our community members are very grateful for the services and benefits our tribal government offers. My sister was a recipient of the education scholarship while attending university, and it was deeply appreciated. Many of our services and benefits are federally-funded, or at least partially federally-funded, and there a few services that are supported by revenues generated from tribal businesses.

However, many benefits such as the education scholarships have not changed in many years. The total inflation rate between 2010 and 2024 is 44.28%, which means your $2,000 scholarship is really equal to around $1,300 of purchasing power compared to 2010.

It is my position that we need to explore expanded benefits and services not only to Oklahoma citizens, but to citizens where ever they live, in situations where we are not limited by federal or grant guidelines. However, without access to the financial state of our tribal nation, I can't commit or fight for those changes. What I can commit to is fighting for more transparency from our leadership, and honest conversations with our citizens about our financial state, which has to happen before any proper exploration of expanded benefits. Our nation exists to provide support and the well-being of our people.

The day to day operations and management of our tribal nation resides with our executive branch, not the legislative branch, however our legislature has "the ability to appropriate tribal funds, create tribal employment positions or departments, or contract on behalf of the tribe are powers reserved only to the Legislature."

Given that power, our tribal legislature has the ability to set accountability and reporting goals, and provide proper oversight, over our tribal departments to ensure they are meeting the needs of our citizens and we are meeting our departmental objectives.

None of this is to say that we don't have great employees who work hard to provide the best care and support to our citizens. However, as part of an expanded effort on transparency, we should be communicating our departments' objectives and impact to General Counsel.

Since the adoption of our first constitution in 1937, we have from time to time found the need to update the Constitution based upon the needs of our citizens. Today, our legislature cannot properly act as an independent body.

Article 6 Section 2
It shall be the duty of the Chairman to preside at all meetings of the Council and the Business Committee and perform all duties appertaining to the office, and the Chairman shall see that the laws of the Tribe are faithfully enforced. The Chairman shall have general supervision of the affairs of the Council and of the Business Committee. The Chairman may veto acts of the Business Committee, which can be overridden by a 10 vote majority of the Business Committee, exclusive of the Chairman, within thirty (30) days.

With the Chairman as the presiding officer, this role has the ability to control the agenda of the legislature and control the flow of proceedings. It is my belief that now is the time to create the proper separation between the executive and legislative branches, with only the Vice-Chair having a tie-breaking vote, and the legislature electing one of their own as the presiding officer at the first legislative meeting following the annual election. The executive branch should be reserved for faithfully executing the laws set forth by the legislature and ensuring the smooth operations of our nation, while the legislature should be a true representative voice of our people that is empowered to act separately from the executive branch.