North Carolina Cherokees challenge Tribal Council pay raises

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http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7ae6d8f5bf2d420bbe88374b645b789e/north-carolina-cherokees-challenge-tribal-council-pay

By JONATHAN DREW

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — In an unusually public fight, a Cherokee advocacy group is challenging a half-million dollars in extra pay the Tribal Council recently approved for itself, saying the North Carolina tribe can't afford raises for top officials while other services suffer.

The dispute has exposed details of tribal operations not often seen by outsiders and comes months before elections for top tribal posts.

The group argues that Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians lawmakers violated tribal law when they voted in October to give current and former council members raises retroactive to 2010, according to a letter to the council. The raises and back pay through 2015 exceed $500,000, and hundreds of thousands more in tribal funds will go to adjusted retirement benefits, the group says.

"At a time when vital Tribal programs in the areas of health, elder services, families and children continue to be underfunded, such exploitation of public office for personal gain is simply unconscionable," the letter dated April 16 states.

FULL story at link. X post in First Americans: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1191



This image taken from video, shows a welcome sign near the entrance of the Cherokee Visitor Information center in Cherokee, N.C., on Sunday, March 22, 2015. A Cherokee advocacy group is challenging a half-million dollars in extra pay the Tribal Council recently approved for itself, saying the North Carolina tribe can’t afford raises for top officials while other services suffer. The group argues that Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians lawmakers violated tribal law when they voted in October to give current and former council members raises retroactive to 2010, according to a letter to the council. The raises and back pay through 2015 exceed $500,000, and hundreds of thousands more in tribal funds will go to adjusted retirement benefits, the group says.(AP Photo/Alex Sanz)

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