Should our tribal leaders have to abide by a written code of conduct?
The short answer is, "no". Our Tribal Constitutions need to be updated to reflect modern times, not the times in which they were written, which were the late 1930s. And, a code of conduct has to contain tangible expectations, not follow the vague, philosophical code of conducts that is commonly used and ignored today.
For example, if we passed a code of conduct for our leaders today, who will enforce it? Or, more importantly, who gets to decide whether our leaders violated it? Other leaders? Tribal members? Most leaders are loath to pass judgment on another leader's moral character because it opens themselves to judgment by others and no one is perfect. And, some just don't have to courage to speak up when they should.
Another reason tribal leaders do not want to pass judgment on another leader's behavior is because most elected official feel that the people elected them so only the people can judge them. And, they are partially right. Elected official do not have the same "job" protection, or due process, that tribal employees have. (In theory anyway. Many tribal employees will say that they really don't have due process because their tribal constitutions do not contain a separation of powers clause.)
Typically, "due process" for tribal employee mean getting a verbal and written, a reprimand, suspension, before termination. Elected official serve at the will of the people and the people really don't need a reason to get rid of them. The people just have to hold a recall hearing and if there are enough votes to get rid of the elected official, out they go.
Back to a code of conduct. Our constitution is very vague; it does not spell out exactly what to do should our leaders commit an unethical act. It says the tribal chairperson supervises the rest of the council. But what exactly does that mean? Does it mean the chairperson must judge other council members' moral character and their workplace behavior? Can they suspend other council members when they use their influences to help friends and relatives borrow money from the tribe? Can they suspend them for getting drunk the night before and not showing up for work? Based on what I know about our tribal constitution, I would say no. And if he did, I'm sure he would lose in a court of law.
Let me provide you with an example of how we can re-write our constitution to ensure accountability among our leaders. Say we want to give our chairperson the authority to punish any district representative who chronically misses work and/or meetings. Then our constitution will read something like this:
As a representative of your district, your attendance at all meeting and General Assemblies are mandatory. (This is the broad statement, or policy, which lays out the expectations of our council representatives. The next sentences will spell out exactly how the chair will enforce policy.) Should a council representative miss three consecutive meetings, and/or two consecutive General Assemblies and report late for worked three days in a row, then the Tribal Chair will suspend the representative with no pay for one week. If the tribal chairperson refuses to enforce their duties, they can be charged with nonfeasance by any of the other council member and subjected to the penalty of one week without pay.
Now say we want to include a code of conduct for our leaders. Here might be an example of one section:
The chairperson can automatically suspend any tribal council person who is untruthful, consumes alcohol, stays out late at night, is unfaithful to their significant other, is cruel to their children and animals for a month. In case it's the chairperson being accused of this crime, then the rest of the tribal council shall suspend him or her.
I don't know about you, but I know I do not want to make this type of judgments about a person's personal behavior. I'll leave it to Wakan Tanka to judge them. Instead, this is the code of conduct I would like our council representatives to follow:
The council representatives will consider themselves to be a role modal for their tribe. Therefore, it will be the responsibility of the chairperson to insure members of the council report to work promptly, dress appropriately, attend every meeting and General Assemblies, and not misuse their influence for their personal gain. The chairperson will suspend the representative one week without pay for each infraction. Therefore, tribal representatives will:
Report to work no later than 15 minutes every day
Attend all meeting called by the Chair person
Attend all General Assemblies
Will not make tribal loans while in office
While not sign off loans made by family and relatives
Refrain from interfering and disciplinary action or in the hiring or firing process of tribal individuals until it went thought the chain of command. (The list can go in indefinitely, but you get my point.)
It's a slippery slope once we judge other people's morality. People we are judging will turn around and start judging us, our children, our parents and things will go downhill real fast from there.
I would much rather have the constitution re-written with provision in there that clearly spells out what immoral/unethical behavior on the job makes up an impeachable offense. Regarding what people do off the job, I will leave that behavior to be judged by Wakan Tanka, or the people at a legally held recall hearing.
