Catawba Indians could change tribal constitution in Saturday vote

Americans have lived under the same Constitution for more than 200 years. South Carolina adopted its current foundational document over a century ago. Members of the Catawba Indian Nation could have a new constitution by next week, if enough tribal members vote to support a new proposal this Saturday.

More than 2,000 registered Catawbas – whether they live on the reservation in eastern York County or across the country – are eligible to vote in this weekend’s election, which will also choose all officers of the tribal government for a term. If approved, it will be the first tribal constitution adopted since the nation regained federal recognition in 1993.

The constitution, which was envisioned in the settlement agreement with the federal and state governments that restored the Catawba Indians’ status, will streamline the structure of tribal government and, its authors hope, make the nation better able to work with federal agencies and other outside groups on issues affecting the tribe.

Previous attempts at passing a new tribal constitution to replace one adopted in the 1970s have foundered because the changes couldn’t garner enough support from members of the tribe. The terms of the settlement require at least 30 percent of all eligible Catawbas – almost 700 people – turn out for the election and vote in favor of the new constitution.

How many people have the opportunity of writing a constitution?

This time, Catawba officials started work on the new proposal in January 2014, with several attempts in the year and a half since to solicit public engagement from ordinary Catawbas.

“We had a lot of general focus groups, and also some that focused on specific demographic groups, like seniors and younger members,” said Elizabeth Harris, the Catawbas’ community planner who worked with the group that put together the new constitution. “Those sparked some good conversations about what people of all ages want from their government.”

After the draft version of the constitution was written, the writers held public meetings to gather tribe members’ reactions and mailed out a survey to all registered Catawbas around the country to collect their thoughts.

The new constitution will create a clearer separation of powers between different branches of the tribal government. The General Council of all Catawbas will be given legislative authority, while executive actions will be carried out by a larger executive committee of tribal officials, and the actions of tribal government will be scrutinized by a newly created tribal court.

The constitution also enlarges the executive committee by splitting the post of secretary/treasurer into two jobs and increasing the number of at-large committee members from two to three. Committee members’ four-year terms also will be staggered so that only around half of the committee officers will be elected every two years, a change that should boost stability in tribal government. If approved, the assistant chief, the newly created secretary and one at-large member will face re-election after just two years.

Officials say the revised constitution will make the tribe more effective and improve the qualifications for people holding top posts.

“We’ve had the same constitution since 1975, and the tribe has outgrown that,” said Catawba Chief Bill Harris. “We have to adopt to our size now and the unique challenges we face.” Besides, Bill Harris added, “How many people have the opportunity of writing a constitution?”

Change is never easy

But Jason Harris, a candidate for chief and member of the executive committee, is concerned that the new constitution would curtail the power of the General Council, to which all tribal members belong, in favor of the smaller executive committee.

“(The current constitution) has been in place since 1975, and people are very used to having that involvement,” Jason Harris said. “Now that’s going to change. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but change is never easy.”

The General Council appointed a constitution committee to guide the revision process, but feels that committee ultimately had little say over the final form of the document. Still, Jason Harris wouldn’t say whether he plans to vote for the new constitution, saying he wanted voters to feel free to make up their own minds.

“Overall, I think it’s a fair document,” he said.

A third candidate for Catawba chief, Denise Bryson Williams, could not be reached for comment for this story.

How to vote

Tribal members can vote from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Longhouse, 996 Avenue of the Nations, Rock Hill. Voters will have to show a form of photo ID, either a state-issued ID or a tribal membership card. Tribal members who live far from the nation’s ancestral reservation in York County have already sent in their ballots by mail, and all ballots will be counted Saturday night by a seven-person tribal election committee.

Also on the ballot Saturday are candidates for assistant chief, secretary/treasurer (which will become two separate jobs under the new constitution), and two at-large committee members. Results should be known by Sunday morning.

Even though previous attempts to change the 1975 constitution have fallen short, Elizabeth Harris hopes to see members give the new document enough support on Saturday to get it through this time.

“We can’t get all tribal members to agree on everything, but even if there’s a part of the constitution you don’t like, hopefully we can agree on something that makes our government stronger,” she said. “Something all our members want to see is a stronger government.”

This story was originally published July 24, 2015 at 4:16 PM with the headline "Catawba Indians could change tribal constitution in Saturday vote."