Tribe to hold April referendum on Six Chief system

AKWESASNE- The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe has announced that it will hold a referendum on April 5th that asks community members if they approve of changing the Three Chief System to a new Six Chief Tribal Council. The Tribal Council passed TCR-2008-08 on February 12, 2008 that directs the Tribal Election Board to make preparations to hold a referendum on the following referendum question:

“DO YOU APPROVE OF CHANGING THE CURRENT THREE CHIEF

SYSTEM TO A SIX CHIEF SYSTEM?”

    YES  [   ]          NO  [   ]

Several education sessions have been scheduled, the first of which will be held on Wednesday February 20 at 5 p.m., Wednesday March 5, at 5 p.m., and Saturday March 15, at 10 a.m.  All education sessions will be held in the lobby of the Tribal Building.

Additionally, the referendum question will be the subject of discussion on CKON’s radio talk show Tethawatharon on Wednesday, February 20th at 10:15 a.m.  The guests include Dwight Terrance and Edward Smoke, members of the Governance Committee. The Governance Committee was charged with the mandate to discuss and review proposed governmental reforms.

It is expected that throughout the course of the educational sessions, community feedback will determine how the new Chief seats on Council will be filled. Once determined, this information will be incorporated into the April 5th Referendum and communicated to the community.

Since the community rejected the adoption of the Constitution last summer, the Tribe has vowed to bring about governmental reforms and generate greater community input and discussion on any proposed reforms.