I’d like to reflect briefly on the “special field trip”
Judge Saunooke led a few of the students on to witness the Tribal
Council meeting. After a morning of meeting with clients and working at the
courthouse, a few of us were afforded the opportunity to accompany the Judge to
the Tribal Council Meeting, where they were convened in their normal capacity.
The Tribal Council acts as the single-body legislature of the reservation, with
twelve members elected, two per district.
Belal says something insightful
On the
outside, the government building was consistent in its appearance with the log
cabin motif of the town, a noticeable improvement from the “gray concrete
rectangle” style of most modern County official buildings in the State. The
Tribal Council was in session when we arrived, and so we sat in the “pews” that
faced the open horseshoe desk arrangement of the Council. The interior seemed
to have either formerly been a church, or was arranged to remind someone of a church,
with about 8 rows of pews facing the Council, who sat on an elevated stage,
perhaps one or two feet higher than the “general population” level. Each
councilman had a computer and tablet, and cameras surrounding the interior
transmitted a live feed not only to video screens near the pews, but to public
access cable across the entire reservation as well. The warm wood décor and
traditional Cherokee art gave the impression more of a living room than
legislative meeting, and quietly clashed with the policy debate we were
witnessing concerning opening a line of credit to assist a struggling golf
course. The Council otherwise functioned very much as a municipal council
would, with a Chairperson moderating discussion and directing those making
presentations. After introducing ourselves to the Council and being able to
thank them for hosting our legal clinic, the Judge introduced us to Chief Hicks.
As the head
executive, the Chief is elected at large for a term of four years. Currently in
his third term, Chief Hicks is the 2nd longest serving Chief, and is a CPA by
trade. After welcoming us into his truly impressive office, decorated with
signed basketballs, autographed celebrity photos, and hunting trophies, he
warmly greeted us in his conference room and thanked us for our work serving
the indigent needs in his community. He was extremely congenial, and even
recruited some Council members to stand with us and take a picture.
My lasting
impression of this experience was that of a fiercely devoted legislature and a
responsive, attentive chief executive to accompany them. As these are not
career politicians, they embodied popular representation as our founding
fathers intended, by the people. The
Council members act not only as representatives but as genuine constituents of
their districts, rather than members of a political class concerned with the
detached representation. Reasons for this political responsiveness aside, it
was truly a unique experience and one I am very thankful for.
Posted by Belal Elrahal on Wed. January 16, 2013 8:53 PM
Categories:
Winter Break Trip 2013