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Editorial and Opinion
Smoke Signals September 1994
Tribal governments must
be run like corporations
Being the leader of an Indian tribe is not an easy matter. It is only when
one is elected to this high post that he or she is blamed for everything
that goes wrong, is perceived to have gone wrong or is about to go wrong.
Seldom is a tribal leader praised for the good things they do. But they
are usually highly criticized for everything that doesn't go right. But, the
one thing those critics should consider is: that it is inevitably necessary
for a leader to make choices; and not all of those choices are popular
ones.
It's like the old joke of a shrink telling a journalist lying on his couch,
"If you wanted to be popular why did you choose to be a journalist?H
Being a leader doesn't always make for winning popularity contests. For
too many years many tribal governments have been run like two-year
vacation stops. People showed up for work when they felt like it and took
days off when they felt like it.
When present day leaders attempt to make their employees responsible
for the time they put in and to be accountable to carry out the dictates
of their jobs, they are often slammed. A tribal leader has to look at a
budget. That budget will only stretch so far. When there are too many
employees, that budget is strained. As they said, when the outgo is more
than the income, the tribe will get into big financial trouble.
As they say, again and again, there has to be a bottom line, even in
running a tribal government. We cannot go back to the days of business
as usual. If we work for the tribe, we owe it to the people to earn a day's
wages for a day's work. As tribal leaders strive to run the tribal
governments as corporations, they are being forced to cancel the free
lunches.
The best way to judge whether a leader has done the job you elected him
or her to do is to see what financial condition the tribe is in when their
term in office expires. And if they have balanced a budget, brought jobs
and opportunity to the tribe, and stood up for the rights of the people in
the process, then you can be their judge.
The first thing an elected leader learns is, "Nobody said it would be
easy."
( Cartoon and article from the Aug. 3, 1994 edition of Indian
Country TodayJ
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