Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

Unofficial results of the November 7 vote on the tribal constitution were: 2,237 votes in favor, 412 votes against. The constitution provides for: -a three-branch government with a chairperson, tribal council, and Supreme Court Districts for electing the 21-member council; -an elections board to carry out the election of the first tribal council in November, 2003; -five Supreme Court justices (two lawyers and three community members) serving single five-year terms. Turnout for the election was not large, considering that there are 55,229 enrolled tribal members (over 40,000 of them in Robeson County). The tribal rolls now include deceased members and members under 18--thus ineligible to vote. Janice Locklear, tribal enrollment genealogist, estimates that there are about 25,000 eligible voters. The election failed in Raleigh, Baltimore, and the Robeson County Community of Rennert. Some reasons for opposition to the tribal constitution include: its failure to include representatives from communities outside North Carolina (the constitution establishes the state of North Carolina as the tribal territory); the fact that tribal representatives can hold more than one office; and the fact that convicted felons will be eligible for tribal offices.