Snoqualmie Tribe TERMINATES 43: Shameful Act of Degradation

Snoqualmie Tribe banishes nine members, disenrolls 43

Posted: May 26, 2008
by: Babette Herrmann / Today correspondent
SNOQUALMIE, Wash. - In November, the Snoqualmie Tribe will open the doors to a brand-new casino about 30 minutes southeast of Seattle. But instead of the media spotlighting pre-opening news on the $330 million project, the focus has shifted to the banishment of nine tribal members and the disenrollment of about 43. The decision to banish former Chairman Bill T. Sweet and several of his family members, among other supporters, was made final during a closed-door general membership meeting at the Issaquah Hilton April 28. In addition to voting on the banishments, the tribal council announced that the 43 individuals purged from the rolls failed to meet the blood quantum requirement for membership. According to a tribal press release, some members have already appealed the decision, while others have accepted it.
Councilmember and Chief Nathan Patrick Barker said that Sweet and some of his supporters recently attempted to seize control of bank accounts, shut down health and social programs, fire the entire staff and reach out to the BIA in an effort to receive backup on the effort. They are accused of running a ''shadow government.'' ''They tried to undermine the tribal government in every shape and form, and that was what they were judged on,'' he said. Sweet, who was suspended as chairman in August 2007, has his own take on the events that led to his fate. And Barker was elected to the council during a general membership and emergency election meeting in September. For those facing banishment, the punishment is harsh. They are purged from the rolls and no longer eligible to receive benefits or dividends from future casino revenues. And those banished are no longer allowed to participate in tribal government and events, or even claim Indian identity.
Sweet's problems began during elections last May. He recalled that the election went according to protocol, and those that were nominated and elected are the true tribal council to this day. Barker, who served as the sergeant-at-arms during that election, said that a nomination to move the election process to the beginning of the meeting after the agenda was the first inconsistency to take place that day. He claimed the real eyebrow-raiser occurred when Sweet closed nominations while four tribal members stood waiting to nominate their person of choice for the council.
He also said that a former councilmember was forbidden to vote because she forgot to bring her tribal identification. The rule requiring members to present their IDs during elections was approved at the last meeting in 2006. Those minutes were not ratified by the council prior to the election, which Barker said makes that rule unenforceable. ''I think he let the room get away from him as far as the election process went,'' he said. ''It's unfortunate and, in hindsight, I think he would have run things differently.'' Over the course of the next three months, Sweet said that tribal business proceeded as usual and he felt no inclination that something big was going to happen. He said that he felt blindsided when, during open forum at an August council meeting, a tribal member stood up and read a letter written by Honorary Chief Jerry Enick. The letter stated that he was suspended and that the May elections were null and void. ''It was very emotional and I am still torn up inside,'' he said.
Sweet added that Enick and his supporters have spearheaded the process that ultimately caused his banishment and the disenrollment of numerous members of his family. A tribal press release stated, ''Many of [Sweet's] relatives were revealed to not meet the 1/8th blood quantum requirement for membership.'' Barker said that a tribal attorney, who was present at the August meeting, sent out a certified letter stating that Sweet had 30 days to file for an open meeting to discuss the charges. Yet Sweet claims never to have received the certified letter. And he further claims that his attempts to meet with Enick and other tribal council members fell upon deaf ears.