Meeting Resolution Clarifications

1) tom didn’t select the meeting date, nor did any other commissioner. I chose it after requesting and receiving a list of open dates from each commissioner.

2) The date has nothing to do with the TNNAC or any other organizational meetings. It was chosen based on the number of commissioners who have committed to attending the meeting.

3) Like anyone else, Ms. Hicks is entitled to her opinion and interpretation of state law, but it is her opinion and interpretation. To date, the Commission has and continues to defer to its legal counsel for opinions and interpretations of the law. Our counsel has not advised us that we are committing any capitol offenses by meeting on the selected date.

4) It seems rather odd that the same people who argue the Commission does nothing are arguing for and advising the Commission to hold a meeting on a date where a quorum is not guaranteed, effectively advising the commission to hold a meeting where nothing can be done.

5) It appears more than slightly hypocritical that the people who are the most agitated about whether absences that caused the Nov. 8 meeting to be rescheduled were valid have never expressed any frustration that two commissioners had even less valid or no excuse at all for not participating in the recent committee of the whole meeting.

6) I wish the Memphis and West TN Commissioners well at their round table meeting, and encourage the other commissioners to find suitable venues for connecting with their constituents as well.

7)  I will remind all commissioners that the agenda for this meeting has already been set and that any new agenda items will need to be held and submitted for the February meeting.

8) Perhaps one glass house should stop throwing rocks at the other to avoid having the rocks thrown back.

Independence Day

What are we doing? I mean come on, people - think about it. Here we are in the Southeast - the land of 11 federally recognized tribes/bands and over 30 state-recognized tribes/bands/communities - and we continue to manage to get not one single thing of direct, usable service done for Indian people. Worse, we ignore everything going on around us.

It’s time to just STOP … take a deep breath … listen … take another deeper breath … look around … take one more really, really deep breath … and allow ourselves to become inspired, motivated, encouraged and, yes … even humbled … by what every other state in the Southeast is doing except Tennessee.

Even more amazing, we don’t need to wait to decide who’s Indian or hand out shiny little cards to do something effective. In fact if you look at the groups in most other states, they didn’t sit around, pining for recognition and lamenting what they did not have without it. They got off their bloody arses and took care of business. By the time the powers that be got (or get) around to recognizing them, their foundation for their “official” future was laid and they had a plan for moving forward in the development of their communities.

Championing what one hopes to get once recognized is akin to tilling a garden but never planting any seeds, then wondering why it is your vegetables never grew. So plant some seeds in that rich red soil out there and grow something, damnit! Don’t sit wasting away hoping some legislatively created demi-god will validate your Indianness. Why should they when you don’t validate yourselves? Be Nike-like and do something.