Citizen Potawatomi Nation Constitutional Reform

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s political system barely functioned. The tribal constitution vested all governmental authority in a meeting known as the General Council. Limited powers were delegated to a five-person body known as the Business Committee whose members served two-year terms of office and ran the nation from a small surplus Army trailer house with a budget of less than $1000 per year.

Most tribal citizens were not able to vote on tribal matters because they required in-person attendance, effectively disenfranchising those members who lived out of the area.

The Citizen Potawatomi thus embarked on a long-term, gradual process of constitutional change.

In 1985, a new constitution made absentee voting possible. Still, many tribal citizens remained detached from the nation’s affairs and voter turnout was low.

After many years of consensus-building, the new constitution was put to a vote in 2007. It was approved by 82.8% of the votes.

The old five-person Business Committee was disbanded and replaced by a government with well-defined roles for the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

The centerpiece of the reforms is the new legislature, which brings transparency to debates over the issues facing the nation. The executive representatives — a Chairman, ViceChairman, and Secretary Treasurer —are members of the legislature. This structure was designed to smooth the transition between the two governing systems.

All meetings of the legislature are video streamed and archived on the Internet. As a result, citizens can follow Citizen Potawatomi politics wherever they live, whenever they can.

As a result, citizens can follow Citizen Potawatomi politics wherever they live, whenever they can.

Unlike many tribal nations, every Citizen Potawatomi citizen living within the United States is represented in the new legislature.

Since the legislators live all over the country, the nation has set up an innovative “virtual legislature.” Sessions are held through video conferencing with a special split screen that allows representatives to see one another during their meetings.

Recognizing that the creation of a new government would be a work in progress, the 2007 Constitution removed the need for federally-supervised constitutional elections and Bureau of Indian Affairs approval of any future constitutional amendments. The Citizen Potawatomi Election Committee, already in place to supervise tribal elections, is now empowered to supervise constitutional elections. This change strengthens the nation’s autonomy and allows Citizen Potawatomi to use its own election procedures.

This avoids the high cost, low voter turn-out, and delays caused by holding separate constitutional elections under antiquated federal rules.

Given the Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s history of dispersal, connecting citizens to their roots is an overarching concern. The push to involve citizens living outside Oklahoma by giving them a voice in the nation’s government is a truly remarkable feature of the latest constitutional reforms.

Over 60% of the nation’s 28,000 citizens live outside Oklahoma; enabling them to elect representatives in the legislature is a ground-breaking acknowledgment that non-residents are valuable members of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and their voices matter.

Although some citizens living in Oklahoma were initially nervous about giving “outsiders” an equal say in the nation’s affairs, the new system benefits everyone and harnesses the skills of all citizens no matter where they choose to live.

It means that a tribal citizen can to pursue graduate degree studies at UCLA or take a fantastic job in Wisconsin but still be an integral and important part of the nation.

Interestingly, one of the biggest effects of the political changes at Citizen Potawatomi has been an upswing of interest in cultural activities.

Citizens, both within Oklahoma and from outside the state, have been requesting eagle feathers, holding naming ceremonies, and wanting to participate in language programs and cultural teachings.

The Citizen Potawatomi Court has even had requests for rulings from citizens who live far away, but who want to honor their cultural and citizenship ties in divorce and child custody cases.