Referencing the "C" with the feather logo used by the Cherokee High School Braves sports teams, Diamond Brown in making a plea for Tribal Council to pass legislation calling for a referendum to split Cherokee County and Snowbird, stated "That 'C' doesn't stand for communism!" Maybe not, but let's not ignore the trends that tribal government has been taking. The obvious lack of respect Principal Chief Michell Hicks has for civil rights and public opinion, are definite indicators of the tribe heading toward despotism. But look at what tribal government does as far as a free market.
Chief Hicks banned the privately-owned Cherokee Times from Tsali Care Center, a tribally operated nursing home. The tribe, under his direction, has spent ungodly amounts of money building a theater and will spend ungodly amounts of money building a golf course. Rather than seek out private investors who would put up and spend their own money, government officials have decided they should do it.
The tribe runs health care, education (through an entity), a significant portion of the tourism industry and is getting more and more involved in private enterprise. We also can probably expect to see more interference in the gaming industry.
But the scariest thing is how much land the tribe keeps acquiring from individual tribal members. It's already bad enough that land held by individual tribal members is considered federal property held in trust for the tribe. But when those tribal member land holders, called possessory holders (the tribal version of land ownership), become less and less due the tribe buying and getting their holdings, more and more that makes the tribe a bigger possessory holder. If the tribe should become the sole possessory holder, then we will have achieved 100% communism.
We can stop it, if we care.
2 comments:
The Tribe buying possessory holdings left and right is an interesting phenomenon. How do they decide to buy an acre of land across from the casino and justify paying $2.5 million for it, just so they can put up ugly trailers to "train" casino workers? Ya think some people get "priority" over others when it comes to the Tribe buying up their land? What about Abe Wachacha quizzing the attorney general on Council last week over a land acquisition in Snowbird for a family member who can't wait to unload his useless land for big tribal bucks. Who comes up with these ridiculous appraisal values? There should be recourse against the people involved in this process who DO NOT FOLLOW THE LAW. I have some beautiful land in Birdtown that the Tribe hasn't offered me a penny for. Guess I need a family member in office.
Chief Hicks is against any private enterprise. He stopped ACE Hardware from coming onto the Boundary. I think he feared the competition for he and his wife's hardware store - a hardware store which he sent out a memo that the Tribe had to buy all building supplies from his hardware store. Now I understand that the Tribe has bought Cherokee Hardware - is this not a conflict of interest for the Chief (isn't he personally profiting from the Tribe)?
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