SAC AND FOX TRIBE OF THE MISSISSIPPI IN IOWA
Tribal Council Meeting – June 13, 2018, 5:00 PM
Sac and Fox Tribal Chambers
1. Meeting called to order at 5:01 p.m.
2. Roll Call
Presiding Officer: Anthony Waseskuk, Chairman
Tribal Council present: Adrian Pushetonequa, Vice-Chairman; Troy Wanatee, Harvey Davenport, Jr., Apollo Davenport
Absent: Delonda Pushetonequa, Treasurer, Jarvis Bear
Staff present: Bessie Scott, Executive Director; Jay Finch, Attorney General; Bill Thurman, Comptroller; Yolanda Pushetonequa, Tribal Council Secretary; Azadeh Tavakoli, Human Resources Director; Chris Spencer, Grants/ Planning.
Tribal Members present: Daniel Wabaunasee, Peggy Wanatee, Jana Roberts, Andre Roberts, Anneka Davenport, Garrett Bear, Dolan Davenport, Christina Blackcloud, Steadman Brown.
Other visitors: Thomas Jochum
3. Ascertainment of Quorum – A quorum was ascertained with 1 non-voting Chair and 4 Council Members present.
4. Agenda approval
The Chairman asked for any changes or additions to the agenda. No changes suggested. Motion made by Harvey Davenport to approve the agenda as is. Adrian Pushetonequa seconded. Vote: 4 yes, 0 no, 0 abstained. Motion carried.
5. Reports –
Housing – Harvey Davenport reports that Housing Policies &Procedures has been worked on by the Tribal Council in work sessions all week this week.
Health – Apollo Davenport reports that he has had discussions and communication with the Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Health Board.
Jarvis Bear entered the meeting at 5:06pm.
6. Old Business
a. Tribal Rehire Policy – Human Resources Director, Azadeh Tavakoli presents the updated new rehire policy. This is for hires and rehires only, not transfers. The changes are as follows: Added the definition of gross misconduct and changed the medium offense to a two year waiting period. For people who have pointed out or had performance issues there will be a six month waiting period. This applies to Tribal Operations, School, and anyone who reports through them to the Council such as AG and Police. Motion made by Apollo Davenport to approve the policy as presented today. Jarvis Bear seconded. Vote; 5 yes, 0 no, 0 abstained.
b. Tribal Membership Audit – Tribal ID cards have an expiration date on them for this year. Tribal Operations can internally decide the process for updating expired tribal IDs in the meantime by way of notarized mail-in forms. Fiscal needs approval to send out communications to the membership on how IDs will be handled this year and delay of Tribal Audit. Motion made by Apollo Davenport to delay the tribal fiscal audit until 2019. Jarvis Bear seconded. Vote: 5 yes, 0 no, 0 abstained. Motion passed.
7. New Business
a. Community Requests
i. Garrett Bear – Donation request for high school boys’ basketball team to attend N.A.B.I.: Garrett Bear requests $2,700 to take 13 high school boys to the Native American Basketball Invitational July 8-14 in Maricopa, AZ. They’ll rent a house for cost savings, and cook meals. Fundraising is short due to the closures at the tribal center, their main place of year round fundraising. Garrett has taken ball players to NABI for years. Chairman suggests rounding it up to the next thousand for each boys and girls. Motion was made combined with Item 7.a.ii. below.
ii. Anneka Davenport – Donation request for high school girl’s basketball team to attend N.A.B.I.: Anneka Davenport requests $3,804 to supplement her total budget of $5,000 in funding to send 8 high school girls plus chaperones and drivers to the Native American Basketball Invitational July 8-14 in Maricopa, AZ. The request includes a vehicle rental through Enterprise and a house rental estimate of $1,800, plus gasoline and vehicle rentals. Motion by Harvey Davenport to approve Garrett Bear’s request for $3,000 and Anneka Davenport’s request for $4,000. Seconded by Apollo Davenport. Vote: 4 yes, 0 no, 1 abstained. Motion carried.
iii. Christina Blackcloud – Meskwaki Annual Powwow Committee funding request for 104th Annual Powwow. Christina presents a request for funding to supplement the Annual Powwow. The MAPA has been meeting regularly throughout the year. Many positive advances are noted in this year’s work including a marketing adjustment due to marketing intern Quincy Grittman. A report was submitted last year with all payments and expenses documented. The request $20,376.47 and this includes the Meskwaki Nation day request of $5,000. Motion by Jarvis Bear to approve $20,300 contribution to Meskwaki Annual Powwow Association. Seconded by Adrian Pushetonequa. Vote: 5 yes, 0 no, 0 abstained. Motion carried.
iv. Dolan Davenport – Donation request for Meskwaki Age-11 and under baseball team funding. Dolan Davenport presents a roster of 16 baseball players. This summer’s team is a part of an effort to bring baseball locally for the Meskwaki youth. In the past, Dolan had to send his child to Grinnell to participate in baseball. He is requesting $1,600 in sponsorship. This covers gate fees, entry fees, equipment. Dolan has purchased some equipment on his own and has gained other sponsorships. Motion by Jarvis Bear to approve a contribution of $1,600 to the Meskwaki Age-11 and under baseball team in care of Dolan Davenport: Seconded by Adrian Pushetonequa. Vote: 5 yes, 0 no, 0 abstained. Motion carried.
v. Daniel Wabaunasee – Minor’s Trust Fund Request. Daniel presents a request to have his two sons’ Minor Trust fund monies released to the young men in order to self-manage the sum of their Minor Trust Funds. One son is 18 and one is 21. The idea is to invest it into an IRA with Great Western Bank with the lump sum in order to receive equal payments for life. Fiscal Director reports that there is no provision for taking the lump sum, but rather it is in staggered amounts over time for the protection of the funding but also to maintain standardized handling of the funds across all minors. Chairman requests that the sons themselves come in to request this on their own. Chairman asks Fiscal Director, Bill Thurman to review Daniel’s paperwork and look into alternatives that are similar to what they’re trying to accomplish. Daniel declines the opportunity. Chairman reiterates his request to have the young men come in independently and request this on their own behalf. Chairman states the council needs to know more about this program in order to consider entertaining any sort of changes to the current policies.
vi. Andre Roberts – Sponsorship for MMA Referee Course. Andre requests sponsorship assistance for a training in Mixed Martial Arts Judging and Refereeing which is in his field of work. The cost is $150 for the course and $180 for hotel. Total request is for $330. Harvey states that he would support sponsoring tribal members attending training if other tribal members can also be helped. Harvey requests Executive Director to consult with Meskwaki Higher Ed Program and request that they assist Andre with support through a continuing education type of assistance. Adrian points out that Higher Ed does provide reimbursement for adult education certifications obtained. Executive Director agrees to facilitate this communication with Higher Ed. Harvey raises the issue that Andre had also indicated interest in the past regarding obtaining wrestling mats for the youth. Discussion on where these mats could be housed. The school may be a good place for them if liability and policy issues can support a set up where independent youth groups are able to make use of facilities for youth programming. The liability and insurance issues will be looked into by the Attorney General’s office and the Tribal Council is open to the acquisition of wrestling mats in the near future.
b. Committees
i. Housing Committee – Letters of Interest re: committee appointments. Jana Roberts presents two interested people for the Housing Committee: Yolanda Pushetonequa and Anneka Davenport. This would bring the total members to 5. There is a quorum requirement of 4, but currently there are 3 members on the committee. Motion by Harvey Davenport to appoint Yolanda Pushetonequa and Anneka Davenport to the Housing Committee. Seconded by Jarvis Bear. Vote: 5 yes, 0 no, 0 abstained. Motion carried.
ii. Enrollment Committee – 3 enrollment applications for approval. Motion by Jarvis Bear to approve the three enrollment applications: Kamehl Timberwolf, Azriel Hayden Youngbear, Silas Jerome Johnson. Seconded by Apollo Davenport. Vote: 5 yes, 0 no, 0 abstained. Motion carried.
c. T.J. Jochum Consulting Services – Tom Jochum presents and update on legislative session. Legislation Iowa passed a voter ID law. Starting in 2019 you need to have a valid id to vote in Iowa. Tom worked to get the language inserted into law that would include tribal member ids as a valid form of ID. Meskwaki IDs were used as the prototype discussing this. This will be signed into law July 1, so the membership needs to be informed of the change that a tribal ID will allow them to vote. Some states are installing work requirements for Medicaid. This is a concern for the Meskwaki community. Some tribes in other states are requesting waivers. The Supreme Court ruled to allow sports betting in Iowa gaming facilities. NBA and NBL have stated that they will oppose it unless states provide them a percentage. This is an issue on the horizon. Tom also provides an update on the current political landscape and outlook.
d. Grants/ Planning – Meskwaki Language Grant from CRF – MICA – Resolution and Approval for submission. Chris Spencer presents a request for approval to apply for a grant offered through CRF – MICA. A resolution will be required along with the approval. Motion by Jarvis to approve Resolution 8-2018. Seconded by Harvey Davenport. Vote: 5 yes, 0 no, 0 abstained. Motion carried.
e. Fox Professional Services – Christina presents a follow up to the work session the night before regarding the council’s support of Fox Professional Services. Motion by Apollo Davenport to approve the Chairman signing the letter supporting Fox Professional Services entering into the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program and to sign Form 10-10 AIT form provided. Seconded by Harvey Davenport. Vote: 5 yes, 0 no, 0 abstained. Motion carried.
f. Tribal Council Travel
i. BIA Partners in Action Conference – Chris Spencer describes the conference, the agenda, and arrangements. This conference is large and encompasses all areas that the BIA administers. Various departments of the tribe have begun attending in the recent 4 years. Apollo may be interested. Jarvis would be interested but may not be back from Arizona in time and cannot commit yet. Motion by Jarvis Bear to approve travel for Chris Spencer, Harvey Davenport, Apollo Davenport, and Troy Wanatee to the BIA Partners. Harvey Davenport seconded. Vote: 5 yes, 0 no, 0 abstained. Motion carried.
ii. 2018 American Indian and Alaska Native National Behavioral Health Conference – Apollo Davenport provides a description of this Behavioral Health Conference. He points out that other than MADAC we don’t have any behavioral health initiatives and this would be a good opportunity to gain awareness about the area. Council discusses two conferences Apollo is interested in. Apollo states the September travel is priority, but this one is also of interest and would also be beneficial. Motion by Harvey Davenport to approve Apollo Davenport to attend the 2018 American Indian and Alaska Native National Behavioral Health Conference, Adrian Pushetonequa seconded. Vote: 4 yes, 0 no, 1 abstained. Motion carried.
g. MSS Superintendent contract –
Discussion takes place regarding the Meskwaki Settlement School Superintendent. Jarvis Bear makes a motion to payoff the remainder of the contract for the current Superintendent, Francine Hall and to have Reed Sather serve as Interim Superintendent until one is hired. Harvey Davenport seconded. Vote: 5 yes, 0 no, 0 abstained. Motion carrried.
8. Adjourn
Motion made by Jarvis Bear to adjourn. Apollo Davenport seconded. Vote: 5 yes, 0 no. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m.