Spi'Iyay T ym oo, W arm Springs, O regon
A u g u st 22, 2 0 1 2
Page 5
To the Agency District Wasco people regarding the Wasco Chief
Agency District Wasco People:
After holding nine dinner
m eetin g s at th e A gency
L o n g h o u se in 2010 an d
2011, and reviewing the re
sults o f a survey mailed out
to the Agency District Wascos
in January, 2012, we have
determined that an election
be conducted to select the
next Wasco Chief.
Four o f the six candidates
have agreed to an election. At
informal polls conducted dur
ing two separate Wasco meet
ings in 2011, a majority were
in favor o f going forw ard
with an election to determine
the next Wasco Chief.
As Agency district Wasco
representatives to the Tribal
D epartm ent.
We suggest that this hap
pen immediately following the
posting for 30 days o f the
c u rre n t list o f re g iste re d
Agency District members o f
Wasco descent who are eli
Council, we agree th at the
process to choose a Wasco
Chief should proceed with a
vote among the Agency Dis
trict Wasco people. The vote
will be organized and co n
ducted by the Vital Statistics
gible to vote.
Let the Creator guide our
choice in these difficult times. <
Stanley “Buck” Smith Jr.
Eugene Austin Greene Jr.
Lola Sohappy.
Addressing objections raised to Chieftainship vote, and supporting Council members
The Agency District rep
resen tativ es to the T ribal
Council have called for an
election to determine the next
Wasco Chief.
It is a courageous decision
and may n o t be readily un
derstood or immediately ac
cepted by some Agency D is
trict members.
This letter addresses many
o f the objections that have
been raised concerning a vote
and is written in support o f
their action.
1. T h e re are six a n
nounced candidates for" the
Wasco Chieftainship, all o f
who claim a hereditary con
nection to the chieftainship
and who have their respec
tive supporters in the Agency
District.
a. Each candidate’s family
has followed tribal custom(s)
by different means, in bring
ing their nominee forward to
be acknowledged as a candi
d ate fo r o u r n e x t W asco
Chief.,
b. T he selection process
has been discussed in nine
public meetings.
c. P rio r to the seventh
meeting Wasco people were
in fo rm e d , by K W §O a n
n o u n c e m e n ts an d flyers
posted, that the deadline to
nominate a Wasco Chief can
didate was the September 12,
2011 meeting.
2. W hy should Agency
D istrict Wascos vote to de
te rm in e th e n e x t W asco
Chief?
a. The Wasco people and
the Agency District have been
led for the past 60 years by
two Wa§co Chiefs selected by
a vote o f the Wasco people.
b. During the tenure o f the
two previous chiefs, no Wasco
objected that their selection
by v o te was “u n c o n s titu
tional” or n ot “in accordance
with, tribal custom”.
c. After nine public m eet
ings, Agency D istrict mem
bers could n ot agree on the
specifics o f a “custom ary”
selection process. During the
first meetings Wasco elders
discussed how the three pre
vious Wasco Chiefs were se
lected.
d. T h e prev io u s W asco
C hief didn’t appoint or an
nounce a successor.
e. A m ajority o f the at
te n d e e s p o lle d at tw o o f
these nine meetings on the
chieftainship issue supported
a voj:e.
f. T he Wasco Chieftain
ship survey indicates that a
majority o f Agency D istrict
W asco’s su p p o rt a W asco
Chieftainship vote.
g. Four o f the six nom i
nees support a vote to deter
m ine the next “recognized
chief” o f the Agency District.
h. A vote will serve to con
firm one o f the 6 notninees
as the next legitimate Wasco
Chief.'
i. T here is no m ore fair
process than a properly con
ducted election.
July 10, 2012, per vital statis
tics records. (As identified in
the Constitution and Bylaws
the W asco C hief serves as
part o f the Governing body.)
4. Why should only Con
federated Tribes o f W arm
Springs members be eligible
to vote?
a. T he Wasco C hief will
serve as a m em b er o f the
C o n fe d e ra te d T rib es o f
W arm Springs Tribal C oun
cil, th e T rib e s’ g o v ern in g
body. By the Tribes’ Consti
tu tio n and By-Laws, n o n -
m em bers ♦ have no voice in
the selection o f members o f
the CTWS Tribal Council.
5. Why is registration in
the Agency District required
to bp eligible to vote in the
Wasco Chieftainship ejection?
a. The Wasco Chief serves
as a perm anent representa
tiv e to th e C o n fe d e ra te d
T rib es o f W arm S p rin g s
T rib a l C o u n cil fro m th e
Agency District. Wasco de
scendants who are registered
to vote in one o f the other
two districts have had more
than one year to re-register
in the Agency District to be
able to vo te in the W asco
Chieftainship election.
b. Elimination o f the re’-
quirement that eligible Wasco
voters be registered in the
Agency District would enable
m em bers w ho are primarily
associated w ith eith er th e
Seekseequa or Simnasho D is
trict to' vote on the selection
o f th e A gency D is tric t
(Wasco) Chief.
6. H ow will the winner
o f the Wasco Chieftainship
election be determined?
a. The nominee w ho ob
tains the m ost votes cast will
be declared the w inner and
the next Wasco Chief.
b. Should there be a tie;
then a runoff election will be
conducted within a month.
c. If, in th e future, the
Wasco Chief falls ill or oth
erwise can no longer fulfill his
duties, th en the runner-up
will act as Interim Chief un
til the Wasco Chief can re
sume his duties or until a per
m anent successor can be se
lected..
7. T he Wasco Chieftain
ship vote, while not a Tribal
governm ental election, will
be conducted in a m anner
consistent w ith procedures
for Tribal elections.
a. A list o f Tribal m em
bers o f Wasco descent w ho
were registered to vote in the
<
■
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Speak w ith an
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Hagman, 541-546-6423, or
Loretta Toothman Williams,
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■L
An A gency D istric t
meeting will be held dur
ing the last week of Au
gust, 2012 to notify Agency.
D istrict m em bers of the
upcom ing Wasco Chief
tainship vote.
Charles V. Jackson
ijttttL
/
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the election to ensure its fair
ness.
e. O n the day o f the elec
tion voting will be conducted,
at the Agency C om m unity
Center from 8:00 am to 8:00
pm.
f. Ballots will be deposited
into a ballot box. Ballots will:
be co unted after the polls
have closed. O nce the bal
lots have been counted and
the election results certified
by the special election panel,
the ballots shall be secured
and stored in a vault for a
period o f 90 days.
g. T h e special e le c tio n
panel will announce the results
o f the election the next regu-
lar weekday m orning. T h e
special election panel and the
Director, Vital Statistics, will
advise the Tribal Council o f
the results o f the election at
the next regular Tribal C oun
cil m eeting The Wasco Chief
shall be sworn in to office at
that time by the BIA Super
intendent.
3. W ho will be able to
vote in a Wasco Chieftainship
election?
a. Confederated Tribes o f
Warm Springs members who
are recognized as Wasco de
scendants and who were reg
istered to vote in the Confed
e ra te d T rib es o f W arm
Springs, Agency D istrict on
Teepee Arcade open at Plaza
T h e T eep ee A rcad e is
open Sunday thru Thursday
from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and
Friday and Saturday from 11
m ost recent Tribal election on
July 10, 2012 will be posted
by the Vital Statistics D epart
m ent at the main Tribal Ad
ministration Building 6 weeks
prior to the election.
b. < A m em ber whose name
doesn’t appear on the list but
believes that he/she meets the
qualifications and w ants to
vote in the Wasco Chieftain
ship election may challenge
the listing by submitting a let
ter and any supporting docu
mentation to the Vital Statis
tics D ep artm en t at least 4
weeks prior to the election.
The decision whether a mem
ber is eligible to vote in the
election shall be made by the
Vital Statistics E nrollm ent
Officer at least 3 weeks' prior
to the election.
c. The election will be con
ducted by secret ballot. Bal
lots shall be printed listing all
six candidates arid shall be
available for off-Reservation
and Absentee Ballot requests
at least two weeks prior to the
Election.- Write-in votes will
n ot be allowed, to be in com
pliance w ith paragraph #1
above.
d. Wasco people will ap
point a 3-5 person “Special
Wasco Chieftainship Election
panel” o f Wasco elders who
shall m onitor all aspects o f
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