Tribal Job Fair Wednesday

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is holding a job fair at the casino Wednesday.
At the risk of sounding bitter, like the vast majority of former tribal employees, this is what I encountered during my 11-year tenure of tribal employment (I'm not singling out Chief Hicks for this one. These problems were prevalent under all four chiefs for whom I worked.):
* Nepotism - family members of politicians are often pushed upon those making recommendations for hiring, regardless of qualifications;
* Cronyism - friends and supporters of politicians are often pushed upon those making recommendations for hiring, regardless of qualifications;
* The most hostile work environment - especially if it should be known that you didn't support the elected officials currently serving;
* Incredibly frustrating bureaucracy and waste - if you're a manager of any tribal program, expect some pencil pusher to look at the surface of what you're doing and need to do, and then use some guideline or procedure to interfere;
* Incompetence abounds - because of the first two problems mentioned, it's quite common for those who've obtained credentials to do certain jobs (degree, certifications, licenses, etc.) to have to answer to a supervisor, manager, director or deputy who knows absolutely nothing about what they're supposed to do. In many cases such individuals admit their shortcomings, but in some cases they feel that their unmerited placement in their positions makes them experts who know more than the professors, certification boards and licensing agents who bestowed those hard-earned credentials.
* Many tribal officials hold the opinion that American citizens give up their rights when they obtain tribal employment. The fact that Tribal Council passed an ordinance drafted by the tribe's attorney general that bans unions is proof of that.
* Politicians make the final determination on hires, which leads back to the first two problems listed. Qualifications have taken a back seat with this process and there exists examples of individuals hired for important positions who lacked the necessary credentials to do the job. Some of these have been in justice and health care.
Now the situation is different at the casino since a different entity makes those decisions, and theoretically, tribal politics plays no part. However, the work environment at the casino can certainly use some improvement as well.
I understand the current economic situation will have people looking for work wherever they can find it, but it's only fair to let those know the baggage that comes along with tribal employment.