Information on the Upcoming Referendum on Constitutional Amendments

The date has been set for June 14 for the Pawnee Nation to carry out a referendum vote on proposed amendments to the Constitution.

With funding through a three year ANA-SEDS Capacity building grant, the Governing Documents Committee was formed in June 2007 to identify and address needs with the governance, infrastructure, and administration of the Pawnee Nation.

Following a review of the Pawnee Nation’s Constitution, the Committee unanimously agreed on the need to develop amendment to Article VI, the filling of Pawnee Business Council vacancies, Article VII, the removal of Pawnee Business Council members, and Article IX, formal documentation of the tribal courts.

The Business Council then officially appointed the Committee on September 26 to carry out the necessary revisions. The appointess were past Pawnee Business Council Presidents, a former Head Chief of the Nasharo Council and the current Head Chief

At weekly meetings, the Committee used the theory of due process to draft amendments to Article VI, Section 1 (Vacancies) and Article VII, Section 2 (Recall), Section 3 (Suspension), Section 4 (Removal). Also , in order to document the role of tribal courts, the Committee developed Article IX (Tribal Courts).

Support for this process was provided by the Tribal Planning Office and John Parris, Attorney General for the Pawnee Nation. Additional consultation was provided by Suzanne Chaney, Community Services Office for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

In order to obtain input and feedback on the proposed constitutional amendments, the Governing Documents Committee held two public meetings.

At both the October 2 and December 6 meetings, members of the Governing Documents Committee, Elizabeth Blackowl, Duane Pratt, Marshall Gover, William Howell, and Pat Leadingfox, as well as Attorney General John Parris, fielded questions and offered feedback to the opinions of Pawnee Nation citizens.

After each of the public meetings, the Governing Documents Committee carefully reviewed meeting minutes and notes. With consultation from the Attorney General, the Committee modified the proposed constitutional amendments to address comments or concerns expressed by the Pawnee Nation citizens during the public meeting.

Upon completing their task, the Committee presented their proposal for amendments to the Pawnee Business Council on March 12. The Business Council then referred their proposals to the Election Commission to set the date for the vote.

The Election will be held at Pawnee Nation Multipurpose building located at 808 Morris Road on Saturday, June 14, 2008.

The Polls will open at 8:00 a.m. and close at 7:00 p.m.