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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.

Details: Category: Education; Published: 13 July 2011

The Joseph K. Lumsden Bahweting Anishnabe School (K-8) is both a Bureau of Indian Affairs school and a Michigan Charter school. As such, a myriad of overlapping regulations exist to govern the school. A single school board of directors serves as the supervising authority. Northern Michigan University serves as the charter authorizing entity.

Located within a public school district that has a significant Native American drop-out rate, the chartering approach to public education was welcomed in the tribal community. Since Bahweting became a charter school, the quality of education has increased significantly. The school has been awarded the Governor of Michigan’s Gold Apple Award for outstanding student performance in the ‘Most Improved’ category on the Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP) tests. The school has also been honored by the U.S. Department of Education with the Title I Distinguished School Award. Of the 48,000 Title I schools nation-wide, Bahweting was among 95 schools so honored.

As a charter school, Bahweting has the flexibility to offer a curriculum that exceeds the Michigan Core State standards, including exposure to the Anishnabe language, culture and values education. As a BIA tribal school, additional requirements to match curriculum with federal standards for education enhances the educational mission even further.

As a public school academy, Bahweting is open to the community at-large. Students already enrolled have preference in admissions for the next school year. There is an open enrollment period in the Spring for the upcoming school year, contact the school for the exact dates. If the number of new students exceeds the number of available classroom openings, the school utilizes a process to determine how the available spots are filled. Contact the school for specific information regarding this process.

NOTE: The school is not operated as a Sault Tribe program.