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Reminder: the Secretarial Election is a federal election

While the Sault Tribe’s upcoming secretarial election affects the way the tribe is governed, it is important that tribal citizens note this is a federally administered election conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

These special elections are led by a secretarial election board with a BIA-appointed chairman. Sault Tribe citizens are asked to direct questions regarding the election to Secretarial Election Chairman Nicholas VanAlstine. Mr. VanAlstine may be reached at 906‑632‑6809.

With tabulation night and the deadline to submit ballots set for Nov. 19, the Sault Tribe encourages all registered voters to return their ballots ASAP to ensure their vote counts. For more information on the secretarial election, including the proposed amended constitution as well as the current Sault Tribe constitution, please visit https://saulttribe.com/government/secretarial-election.

 

Sault Tribe Secretarial Election ballots mailed out

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians’ secretarial election enters its final month, with ballots scheduled to be mailed to registered voters by Oct. 26 and election results expected Nov. 19.

Tribal citizens will vote “yes” or “no” on proposed constitutional amendments that would establish three separate, co-equal branches of tribal government: legislative, executive and judicial.

The federally administered election is overseen by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and a Secretarial Election Board. Voter registration closed Oct. 19, and only eligible tribal citizens who registered for this election will receive ballots.

Important upcoming election dates include:

• Oct. 23: Final registered voters List to be posted
• Oct. 26: Ballot packets mailed to registered voters
• Nov. 19: Deadline for ballots to be received 3 p.m. EST. Ballot counting begins at 4 p.m.
• Nov. 24: Deadline to submit written challenges to election results by 4:30 p.m. EST.

Registered voters may return completed ballots through the U.S. Postal Service or hand deliver them on Nov. 19 only, between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. EST, at DreamMakers Theater at Kewadin Casino in Sault Ste. Marie.

Ballot packets will include instructions for completing and returning ballots. Ballots will be opened and counted beginning at 4 p.m. on Nov. 19 at DreamMakers Theater, with results expected to be posted that evening.

If approved and certified by the Secretary of the Interior, the amended constitution would take effect.

To prepare for a potential transition, the Sault Tribe Board of Directors approved a Constitution Implementation Plan on Sept. 22. The plan establishes an 18-month timeline for updating tribal laws and codes while maintaining government operations, programs and services.

Tribal citizens can find additional information about the secretarial election, voting procedures, important deadlines and the proposed changes to tribal government on the secretarial election landing page.

Read the Proposed Amended Sault Tribe Constitution here.

 

Adoption and Foster Home Promotion and Recruitment

Details
Category: Child Placement

Adoption and Foster Care Promotion and Recruitment Services are services and activities designed to increase the number of Sault Tribe families available to provide temporary foster care placements or long term adoptive placements for children serviced by the Sault Tribe Binogii Placement Agency.

The majority of families licensed by the agency are relative providers. The agency works diligently with relative caregivers to assist them to access financial resources. The agency also provides adoptive home studies to primarily relative families.

An ongoing need for the agency is to recruit non-relative Native American homes to allow the agency to have increased access to homes that fall within the Sault Tribe priority of placement. Although the agency is able to recruit families and license Sault Tribe homes, many times these homes end up adopting the children in their care, which creates a need for new homes.

The agency is able to provide these services to relatives and tribal members free of charge. Sault Tribe Binogii Placement Agency accesses alternative funding to defray these fees and costs.

The Sault Tribe Binogii Placement Agency conducts quarterly recruitment meetings in all service areas. ACFS staff is active in conducting presentations at various meetings, and providing information at fairs and booths to recruit foster and adoptive families. Information packets are given to any one inquiring about becoming a foster or adoptive family. Advertisements are routinely placed in the Sault Tribe’s newspaper.

November of every year has been designated “Foster Parent Appreciation” month and extensive promotion of foster parenting is undertaken. Some activities include articles in the tribal newspaper, ongoing public service announcements, flyers, paycheck inserts, and distribution of brochures.

ACFS, through the Sault Tribe Binogii Placement Agency, holds a child placement license with the state of Michigan. This allows the agency to license foster homes and relative placements located off the reservation via the Michigan Bureau of Children and Adult Licensing. As a matter of best practice, the agency uses the same standards of licensing for all homes whether they are issued a tribal license or a state license.

External Links:

For more information about child placement, please visit:

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Photo by Ken Bosma / CC BY