Section 9. Council Actions. All Council Representatives, including the Chairman, shall be entitled to vote on all issues. All acts of Council shall be signed by the Council Chairman. All acts neither ratified nor vetoed by the Executive branch within thirty (30) calendar days of signing by the Council Chairman shall be deemed enacted.

(January 2022 draft + commentary to view the corresponding explanation.)

Section 8. Annual Council. The Principal Chief shall call a Special Session to elect the officers of Tribal Council on the first Monday in October after General Election. At the conclusion of electing officers, Tribal Council will convene Annual Council. No business shall be transacted unless a quorum of Council Representatives is present, with a quorum consisting of a majority of the current members of Council.

(January 2022 draft + commentary to view the corresponding explanation.)

Section 7. Officers. All officers elected by the Tribal Council, including but not limited to; Chair, Vice-Chair shall hold office until the newly elected Representatives are sworn in. Tribal Council may remove and replace any officer by the same standard adopted for election.

Clause 1. Election of the Chair and Vice-Chair. An election of the Tribal Council Chair and Vice-Chair shall take place after the newly elected council is seated and shall be selected from among their member Representatives.

Clause 2. Vacancy of the Chair or Vice-Chair. If the conditions of Article IV Section 3 Clause 3 involve the Chair or Vice-Chair of Tribal Council, such officer shall be replaced by an election of the current seated members of Council at its next meeting when business can be transacted.

(January 2022 draft + commentary to view the corresponding explanation.)

Section 6. Duties. The Tribal Council is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt laws and regulations for the general government of the Tribe; govern the management of real and personal property held by the Tribe; initially assign among its citizens thereof possessory holdings in land held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Tribe or any possessory holding that by operation of law reverts back to the Tribe; appropriate the use of tribal funds for the benefit of the tribe in accordance with an annual budget and; is hereby vested with full power to enforce compliance to such legislations as may be enacted.

(January 2022 draft + commentary to view the corresponding explanation.)

Section 5. Compensation. The Representatives serving on Tribal Council shall be compensated for their service through the budget appropriation with no pay raise to take effect until after the new budget is enacted following a General Election.

(January 2022 draft + commentary to view the corresponding explanation.)

Section 4. Term of Office. The Representatives elected to the Tribal Council shall hold office for a term of four (4) years, not to exceed two (2) consecutive terms for a total of eight (8) consecutive years. Representatives who have reached this limitation shall be allowed to run for office in the next General Election cycle following their departure from office.

Clause 1. First Election after Adoption. The Representative that serves the first two (2) year term is limited to a total of six (6) consecutive years.

(January 2022 draft + commentary to view the corresponding explanation.)

Clause 3. Vacancy in Office. In case of death, resignation, removal or any cause that a Tribal Council Representative becomes unable or unfit to perform the duties to the end of his/her current term of office, he/she shall be replaced as follows within fifteen (15) days.

1. Replacement. If more than twelve (12) months remain in the vacant term of office from the date of vacancy, the replacement shall be on an interim basis until the Board of Elections can hold a special election. If twelve (12) months or less remains in the vacant term of office from the date of vacancy, the interim replacement shall finish out the vacant term. Whosoever completes the vacated term shall be deemed to have served a full term of office.
2. Order of Succession. The order of succession for interim replacement shall be as follows, unless the individual is unable to meet eligibility requirements for Tribal Council Representative as prescribed by this Constitution and the Board of Elections, or is unwilling to serve:
   1. Tribal Council candidate from the most recent election receiving the next highest number of votes of the Township where the vacancy exists;
   2. shall remain vacant with voting privileges assigned to the second Township representative in Council until the seat is filled.

(January 2022 draft + commentary to view the corresponding explanation.)

Section 3. Election for Tribal Council. Council Representatives shall be elected to their respective offices by the registered citizens of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, who have attained the age of eighteen (18) years and are constituent citizens of the respective Townships.

Clause 1. Time of Election. The general election for Tribal Council Representatives shall be held on the first Thursday in September of 2023, following the adoption of this Constitution and every two years thereafter under such rules and regulations as may be adopted by the Board of Elections, consistent with this Constitution.

Clause 2. Selection. The successful candidate elected as a Tribal Council Representative shall be the candidate who receives a simple majority of votes cast by registered voters of each respective Township.

First Election after Adoption. In the first election after this Constitution is adopted, the two Council Representatives from each Township shall be selected as follows. The candidate that receives the most votes shall serve the full four (4) year term while the candidate that receives the next highest number of votes shall only serve a one-half term of two (2) years for the purpose of staggering terms of Representatives in each Township.

(January 2022 draft + commentary to view the corresponding explanation.)

The Legislative powers shall be vested in the Tribal Council which shall consist of twelve Council Representatives and shall constitute the Legislative Branch of government for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Section 1. Composition. The Tribal Council shall consist of the following: two Representatives from each of the six (6) Townships of Yellowhill, Big Cove, Birdtown, Wolftown, Painttown;  Snowbird and Cherokee County communities shall constitute one Township, for a total of twelve Tribal Council Representatives.

Section 2. Qualifications. In order to run for and/or serve as Tribal Council Representative a candidate must be a citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; must be at least twenty-five (25) years of age either by the date of the upcoming General Election or upon entering service; and must be an active member as described in the bylaws of the relevant community club, immediately preceding the date of filing for election.

Clause 1. Disqualifiers. No person shall ever be eligible for office or appointment of honor, profit, or trust who has been found guilty in a court of law for either aiding, abetting, counseling, or encouraging any person or persons of defrauding the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians or any of its entities. Or they themselves have been found guilty in a court of law in defrauding the Tribe or any of its entities. Neither shall any person be eligible to such office, who has been convicted of a felony or impeached and removed from office.

(January 2022 draft + commentary to view the corresponding explanation.)

The citizenship of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians shall consist of all persons whose names validly appear on an official membership roll used by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on the date of the adoption of this Constitution. Future citizenship shall be determined as provided for by Cherokee Code.

(January 2022 draft + commentary to view the corresponding explanation.)

Section 1. Territory.  The Territory of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians shall be comprised of all Tribal lands within the Qualla Boundary, and all lands held by the United States for the benefit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians or its citizens, and any additional lands acquired by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in fee. The Territory shall include all surface and subsurface lands and waters, submerged lands under navigable or non-navigable water, all air, water, minerals, timber, and any other natural resources.

Section 2. Jurisdiction. The Jurisdiction of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians shall extend to all persons, activities, and property within the Territory based upon inherent sovereignty of the Cherokee tribe. Every public highway or any other ingress into the Territory shall be accompanied by a public notice that entry is conditioned upon the acceptance of the Jurisdiction of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Any person who enters the Territory shall, by entering, be deemed to have consented to the Jurisdiction of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Every license or permit issued under the authority of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians or within the Territory shall include a provision submitting all parties and their assigns to the Jurisdiction of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

(January 2022 draft + commentary to view the corresponding explanation.)

Section 1. Sovereignty. The People of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians bear the right to self-determination and hereby establish a government that possesses inherent powers of sovereignty and protections granted by territorial integrity.

Section 2. Branches of Government. The powers of the government shall be divided into three separate but equal branches consisting of the Legislative, Executive and Judicial.

Section 3. Separation of Powers. No official of any Branch of Government shall exercise any power granted in this Constitution to any other Branch of Government except as expressly directed or permitted by this Constitution.

Section 4. Seat of Government. The seat of government of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians shall be located upon Tribal trust lands.

(January 2022 draft + commentary to view the corresponding explanation.)

We, the Principal People, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, acknowledging the Creator, being determined to maintain our sovereignty, hold fast to our ancestral homelands and our natural resources; and, to establish justice, ensure tranquility, promote our culture, our education, our language and our common welfare; and, to secure for ourselves and our posterity the blessings of liberty, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Herein we acknowledge the foundation laid by the 1875 Lloyd Welch Constitution, Chapter 207 of the 1887 North Carolina State Charter and the 1986 Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Charter and Governing Document and declare that this Constitution supersedes these and all other previous governing documents.

(January 2022 draft + commentary to view the corresponding explanation.)

After a year of writing weekly articles for the One Feather newspaper, updating the draft Constitution and moving into the education phase of this project, we want to hear your thoughts.

Starting April 7, 2022 we will be posting portions of the draft Constitution every two weeks looking for your comments on that specific section.