If you are in a leadership position, whether on a tribal council, serving on a tribal board, or a CEO, you always have to be aware of liars and the lies they will tell you. It is very easy to be fooled by their cowardly lying tactics because they are so good at them.
In tribal politics, liars have an advantage over honest tribal members. Liars are better politicians because they have no shame or pride as opposed to honest tribal members. Liars are able to schmooze tribal leaders (CEOs, tribal board members, and tribal council members or members of their family) without batting an eye; even though they may not like the tribal leaders they are schmoozing. On the other hand, honest tribal members have a hard time schmoozing anyone - well, because they are honest. They can't bring themselves to act insincerely.
Is it a form of lying when a liar schmooze's a tribal leader? I think so. First, he or she is not sincere when they are schmoozing a tribal leader. Insincerity is a form of lying. A schmoozer will probably make a lot of flattering comments that they don't mean to a tribal leader. They will laugh at jokes that they don't think are funny and give the impression they really admire the person, when they really don't. In addition to lying, this type of behavior is also called deceitfulness, false pretenses, and hypocrisy.
Ask any former tribal council member or former tribal board member and they will tell you, they don't have as many friends (schmoozers) and not nearly as many people coming up to them and telling them how terrific they are as they did when they were elected/appointed to a tribal official position.
So let's say you are a tribal leader, and there is a big fight in one of the tribal organizations. At a social event, one of the individuals (let's call her Ann) who is on the losing side of the fight, makes it a point to say hi to you and your spouse. Ann has never made any attempt to talk to you or your spouse before.
At first you may think it is no big deal because this has happened many times ever since you became a leader. However, half way through the event, Ann walks over to your table and strikes up a lively conversation with you. She is very animated. She hangs on your every word. She laughs at all your bad jokes. She constantly praises you, and she agrees with everything you say. During the course of the conversation, she hints at the problem she and her cronies are having with other tribal members. When you remain noncommittal, she moves on to your spouse and visits at length with her. When you and your spouse return home that night, your spouse immediately begins to tell you about Ann and the problems she is having with some no good, crooked, mean tribal members who she works with and could you help her out?
What would you do? After all, Ann is your constituent, and she has every right to come to you for help.
Before you answer the question, let me tell you a true story. A few years ago, a friend of mine told me Duke (not his real name) told her that I was not as good of a politician as I thought I was. Duke was referring to a couple of issues that did not go the way I wanted them to. Unknown to Duke, I was pleased that he viewed me as an unskilled politician. Here is why...
Although the correct definition of a politician or political leader (from Greek "polis") is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision, in Indian Country, the title of politician immediately conjures up an image of someone like my fictional characters, Joe, The Tribal Worker, or John, the Tribal Board member. Both Joe and John are unethical, cowardly, and have no loyalty to anyone except to themselves, and they will make up any lie to get their way. This is how many tribal members view their politicians. So, I was glad I was not identified as a good politician.
Let me get back to my question: What would you do if a tribal member who had never made any attempt to make small talk or to socialize with you in any way all of a sudden treated you like you were his or her long lost friend, simply because you were in a leadership position and he or she wanted your help?
Here is what I would do - nothing. Why? Because I do not like to be taken for a fool! If that person thought I was dumb enough or gullible enough to fall for insincere flattery, than they do not know me very well.
On the other hand, if a person came into my office or approached me in a sincere, honest respectful manner and told me of his or her concerns, I would take the time to listen closely to his or her concerns.
Unfortunately, many tribal leaders are too cowardly and/or unethical to worry about doing the right thing when a liar comes to them and tells them nothing but lies. Instead, they weigh the liar's political clout against the political clout of the individual(s) the liar is complaining about. If the liar has more clout, tribal leaders often audaciously promise to support the liar without regards to fairness or worry that they might be taking action against someone who is innocent, or that a leader's support for a liar might not be what is best for the organization and/or tribe.
So tell me, are you the kind of leader who will listen to and support a liar?
