Asheville Citizen-Times Does Piece on Chief's Election

I've been pretty hard on the Citizen-Times lately. I have friends who write for that publication, and I hope they don't think I'm picking on them, but frankly, that paper has really diminished into what is a spineless publication. Gone are the days of bold reporting of tribal news based on the model of "If your mama tells you she loves you, get a second opinion."
My criticism is based upon a desire that this paper:
1. Get back to reporting on Cherokee and the portion of North Carolina that is west of Waynesville on a regular basis. The paper's motto is "Voice of the Mountains." Be that voice again, particularly since the voice of the people in Cherokee has been silenced.
2. Hold those in power accountable. The Citizen-Times was a really ballsy publication under the direction of Virgil Smith and George Benge, with some credit given to Bob Gabordi as well. When it comes to reporting on the Eastern Band of Cherokee, please remember that. The tribe's "newspaper," and I use that term loosely, is not allowed to be a newspaper. I don't see letters criticizing those in power at all, but I see plenty of fluff designed to make the incumbents appear as though everything is wonderful under their leadership. Some of this fluff has made its way into the Citizen-Times.
That said, the piece written by Jon Ostendorff, who in the past has done some pretty hard hitting stuff, was fairly done, but I'd like to see more in-depth pieces, particularly in regards to how bad the economic situation in Cherokee really is, which Ostendorff did touch on.
I bring up the economy because Michell Hicks would like to pretend everything is just milk and honey there. For verification one only need to read this story, which appeared in the weekly Smoky Mountain News. Hicks' comment was "I’ve helped bring us through the worst economy we’ve ever seen, and the tribe is doing great." We're far from being through the worst economy. Tribal entities have put out press releases claiming that Cherokee is bucking economic trends, despite evidence from countless sources, even other tribal ones that state just the opposite. Tribal PR Coordinator Lynne Harlan wrote in the Citizen-Times, that in Cherokee people don't even realize there is a recession. Add to this the fact that Cherokee's tourist-based economy was in trouble during good economic times.
Someone (other than me) needs to call tribal government on its BS, and the Citizen-Times is just the paper to do it. First of all, they're a privately-owned publication. Second, they're a daily newspaper, and dailies don't exist in western North Carolina west of Asheville.
Come on Citizen-Times. Members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee depend upon you.

The Manufactured Controversy Over Patrick Lambert's Salary

Some are making a huge deal over how much Patrick Lambert gets paid as director of the Tribal Gaming Commission. I don't know exactly how much he gets paid, and to me it isn't really an issue, not anymore than what Chief Hicks gets paid (and unlike Chief Hicks, the director of the Tribal Gaming Commission does not set his salary).
This is a whole lot to do about nothing, even manufacturing quotes from Lambert. (It's an old tactic of this administration.) To me it seems like a smoke screen in hopes that people won't focus on real issues, like Chief Hicks' lack of ethics, his irresponsible spending, his hiring of his unqualified friends and family members for positions for which they aren't even remotely qualified, along with his governing style that borders on racketeering.
Whatever Patrick Lambert is being paid, it pales in comparison to what the tribe is going to have to cough up when Chief Hicks is finally sent into retirement (which will hopefully be this year), and Chief Hicks set that up too.

Devastation in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee

The homeland of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, along with its trust lands in Cherokee and Graham counties largely escaped damage brought on by a devastating wave of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes Wednesday. Residents of north Alabama, north Georgia and east Tennessee were not so lucky. The tribe does have members residing in those three states, and it's not much of a stretch to say that they were impacted in some way.
The city of Tuscaloosa, Ala. was hit particularly hard. Having graduated from Auburn, I've always looked at the home of the University of Alabama with a certain animosity. However, that animosity begins and ends with sports. The residents of this town are hurting and need enormous assistance to rebuild.
While there are numerous ways to help, I'd like to point out one group that started close to my childhood home in Opelika, Ala. It's Toomers for Tuscaloosa (named for Toomers Corner in Auburn). While they haven't yet set up an fund for donations, they do have lots of information about places for donations. I strongly recommend you visit. I also challenge our current tribal leaders and candidates who are challenging them to donate to relief efforts. While it could possibly help out a tribal member impacted by these storms, it definitely will help out fellow human beings impacted by an unimaginable tragedy.

The Annual Report - Ignoring the Cesspool Next to the Rose Garden

I got my annual report in the mail, just like the other two adults in my house. My first reaction was how much does it cost to put this crap out? I know the printing industry pretty well. For newsprint, it costs about $1.00 to print a 16 page broadsheet paper. That's newsprint, which is considerably cheaper than the glossy, heavy weight, coated paper used in the spine-bound publication to selectively inform us about what's going on with our tribal government. Add to that the cost of mailing, which given the weight of these reports, added to the fact they were sealed in individual flat envelopes, and I guarantee you that's not cheap, and I somehow doubt that the media rate was used. That was mailed out to probably half of the tribe (the portion that one can assume is of voting age) so that's 7,000 copies printed and mailed.
The other question I have, which was the same question I had with just about every annual report tribal government mailed out, what are they not telling me? It's all just rays of sunshine with these reports, which amount to campaigning for Michell Hicks at the tribe's expense.
Of course there's no mention of how well the tribally built, financed and funded golf course is doing. There's bragging on the improvements to the Dora Reed building, but no mention of the DSS findings that have jeopardized the childcare center's license. There's no mention of Cherokee Bottled Water, which went under, and no mention of the Cherokee One Feather, which is every tribal members' newspaper, which under the direction of what is clearly incompetent leadership, is headed the same direction. And why has it been so long (more than 10 years) since the tribe publicly released the findings of its audits?
Whether the chief wants to acknowledge this or not, we're all stakeholders in this tribe. We deserve to know the truth and the whole truth, and I'd like to remind Michell Hicks, a half truth is the same thing as a half lie. The tribal members deserve better than this.

Citizen-Times publishes major load of crap

I don't think anything highlights the glaring absence of Native Americans in the upper management of the Asheville Citizen-Times than this load of fertilizer they published April 5. In fact it shows a lack of Native Americans in the staff period (or at least turning a deaf ear to any they do have on staff).
A call to the Eastern Band of Cherokee or to the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma or the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee in Oklahoma would've told the Citizen-Times that there is no such tribe as the Western Band Cherokee of Missouri, and that this is just a typical snake oil and medicine show.
George Benge, the last Native American executive editor at the Citizen-Times would've never allowed this garbage to be published, at least not without calling BS on it.

Wow One Feather, Wow

While I still haven't yet seen the print edition, for which a PDF version is downloadable on its website, so far nothing has been posted on the One Feather's website about who has filed to run for office this year.
I don't blame Scott. He actually was on vacation, and the editor is the one who's responsible for news coverage anyway, which leaves guess who. It's an election year, and the chief and vice chief's offices, along with Tribal Council are up for grabs. Yeah, that's news.

Dora Reed to Face Closure

While I find it ironic that the agency that investigated allegations, including improper supervision, abuse and neglect at Dora Reed Childcare in Cherokee, a tribally-run preschool, is allegedly, partly responsible for the death of a 15-month-old, I have to say I'm glad some kind of action was taken in the case of this center. For years I've heard complaints from parents and former staffers about this facility, along these very same lines outlined in the notice of license revocation.
Plus, in my removal as editor of the One Feather, it was a job at this center for which I was transferred, and it was a job for which I was competed unqualified. It kind of lets you know where the tribe's leadership stands as far as the quality of supervision at this center. That's not to mention that a child molester once worked at that center in its language immersion program.
WLOS reported that Chief Hicks was in Raleigh this morning to try to negotiate keeping the center open. Uh, how about we address the serious problems immediately before going to Raleigh to berate state officials who were just doing their jobs, which most of us who know the chief know that's his preferred negotiating tactic?
Yes, I understand the need parents have in having affordable, available child care. I am a parent after all. But I'll be damned if I'm going to put my son in a facility where he could be subject to neglect and abuse. Fix those problems first chief. The welfare of the children take greater precedence than a convenience.