Covering tribal politics can be tricky. Here's why.
Posoh ("hello" in Menominee) and waewaenen ("thank you") for reading the First Nations Wisconsin newsletter.
In transitioning from writing for the Chicago Tribune to writing about Indigenous nations in Wisconsin in summer 2020, I quickly learned I couldn’t cover governments the same way.
For one, Indigenous nations are sovereign and it’s comparable to covering a foreign country. Indigenous governments are not subject to “freedom of the press,” so I don't have the right to access records.
I always kindly request records in any case, but with Indigenous governments, it actually is just a request.
It’s difficult to understand the nuances of tribal politics, as these are internal matters, but tribal officials do sometimes make known what's happening for the sake of transparency for the benefit of tribal citizens on the reservation and abroad — and sometimes for the benefit of non-Indigenous observers.
While I'm a descendent of the Yaqui tribe, which doesn't have a reservation in Wisconsin, I represent a non-Indigenous-based entity in the form of an independent news outlet.
I'm on the outside looking in and. while I can ask a lot of questions, I can only report on the verifiable information provided.
This month, Menominee Nation officials made known why they ousted the tribe’s chairman.
They accused him of inappropriately acquiring tribal funds stemming from an investigation over several months.
The chairperson is elected by the legislature, which is elected by tribal citizens.
Recent political shake-ups within the tribe also include the suspensions of the tribal administrator and administrative planner.
During the pandemic, the Ho-Chunk Nation president and the tribal legislature made publicly clear why they were squabbling in tribal court.
The legislature had made blanket cuts to the tribe’s budget, including to the president’s office, as a result of lost revenue from the casinos being shut down because of the pandemic.
The president believed the legislature didn’t have the right to affect his office, arguing for the separation of powers. The tribal supreme court disagreed and sided with the legislature.
Elections in the Oneida Nation were crowded with more than the usual number of candidates in the summer of 2020 as a result of the pandemic.
One major topic on everyone’s platform was how to rebuild the tribal economy affected by the pandemic and how to diversify revenue away from gaming.
These are just a few examples of my coverage of tribal politics, and I intend these articles to provide a little insight.
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And if you have tips or suggestions for this newsletter, please email me at fvaisvilas@gannett.com.
About me
I'm Frank Vaisvilas, a Report For America corps member based at the Green Bay Press-Gazette covering Native American issues in Wisconsin. You can reach me at 920-228-0437 or fvaisvilas@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank. Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to this reporting effort at GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA.
Menominee tribal administrator decries political power struggle as reason for suspension
Ho-Chunk Nation Supreme Court rules against tribal president in budget dispute
Ho-Chunk president sues own tribe's officials over budget
Oneida Nation election candidates seek to rebuild economy after pandemic
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: First Nations: Tribal sovereignty makes covering tribal politics hard
