There is a fire beginning to smolder over the mountains in the lands of Yona Guska.

The flint that struck those sparks came from the action of Chief Michell Hicks and his administration to enact a censorship on the tribal-owned newspaper, the One Feather, by prohibiting further publication of a column called Rants & Raves, followed by their decision to force veteran One Feather editor, Joe Martin, out of his job. The steel the flint struck was the People who are the traditional heart and soul of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Fire in the Mountains

Read the full series to date:

Fire in the Mountains (Part 1)

First Signs of Smoke (Part 2)

 

The Tinder 

It worked like this. The citizens of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians needed a way to voice their disagreement with the actions of their government to other citizens without placing themselves in danger of retribution for their actions. And in an Indian nation where the ability to engage in any kind of business - profit or non-profit - and usually the best jobs with the best benefits are completely controlled by the tribal administration, retribution both happens and is something you give serious consideration to before taking any action at all.

Martin gave the People the opportunity to speak out about what bothered them by allowing them to submit anonymous or "name withheld by request" articles to the One Feather to be published in Rants & Raves. According to some critics, Martin - an award winning journalist and editor - went further and was not always friendly to the administration that wrote his paycheck. In general, though, the effect was that of true first amendment freedom of the press.

It worked great for awhile. If nothing else, it gave the People a feeling of hope that others who just might be like-minded would hear what they had to say in a political environment where they felt the administration-controlled courts, councils, committees, and other decision making entities gave them little consideration.

Eventually and especially during and due to the circumstances of this last tribal election, though, more and more complaints about the tribal administrators found their way into Rants & Raves, into the Asheville Citizen-Times, and into other online publications and forums. Questions and comments about vote-rigging through absentee ballots, turning away voters at various polling points, money that was being siphoned off to private corporations instead of staying within the Boundary or at least within the programs and benefits of all the citizens of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians found their way out into the public view, many through Rants & Raves.

Finally, on October 1, Chief Hicks issued an executive order to the One Feather and its editor to stop publishing the column altogether. When Martin pressed the tribal administration for an explanation and justification, they cited issues relevant to a rant by a local coach degrading minor-aged athletes and concern for the future welfare of "the children."

The problem, though, was that the rant the administration cited as their justification was not received by the One Feather until October 2 - the day after the executive order to strike the column from future issues of the paper, essentially blowing the administration's justification out of the water and affirming the Peoples' assumption that the order was the direct result of a Chief wanting to silence his dissenters.

Although unhappy about the Chief's decision, they continued voicing their concerns in the other publications that allowed anonymous posting and mostly left the public fight for the column in the capable hands of Martin. Martin was, afterall, protected by their own Ordinance No. 214 which includes Article II, Chapter 75-50-58 giving the citizens of the nation certain civil rights that include freedom of speech and providing freedom of the press.  He was the most appropriate person to argue their case.

And argue he did. In a tribal-administration appointed court that ruled in favor of the tribal administration, in the One Feather, and in the Asheville Citizen-Times. Martin exercised both his personal freedom of speech and the freedom of the press granted him by the ordinances of the Eastern Band Cherokee Nation through the very document to which the tribal administration swears its oath.

Striking the Flint

On November 1, Eastern Band Cherokee Nation Deputy Finance Officer Charles Penick sent an official memorandum informing Martin that he, Penick, was exercising his authority to enact the "Involuntary Transfer Act" and move Martin from his position as "One Feather Editor" to "Operations Manager, number 451-1400-011" (the Operations Manager of the tribal daycare center). Penick cited an unspecified violation of the tribes "Code of Ethical Behavior." The memorandum, dated November 1, was signed and dated on October 31, 2007, by both Penick and Interim Assistant Deputy Finance Officer Pamela Straughan. It was also noted on the memorandum that the decision was not eligible for appeal.

When asked, Robert Saunooke, Martin's attorney, stated the code of ethics violation was reported to be relevant to statements Joe was alleged to have made in the Asheville Citizen-Times that were "unfriendly toward the Chief." And, while the tribal administration is asserting it is Martin who is guilty of wrong-doing, Saunooke is pointing his finger at the tribal administration who he charges as being guilty of violating their own freedom of the press law.

Saunooke also points out that the tribe failed to form the editorial board that would have supervised the actions of the One Feather editor and that, in so doing, the decision-making responsibility for what will and won't be published in the One Feather defaults to not the tribal council or even the Chief, but to the editor. Saunooke told us that both the Chief and the council had refused to make their appointments to the editorial board prior to Hicks' censoring the Rants & Raves column and despite requests from Martin that the board be assembled.

On November 2 contrary to verbal agreements Penick had made with Saunooke and Martin outside a courtroom on October 31 that resulted in a paid administrative leave for Martin while the issue was resolved, Penick issued a second memorandum stating that lack of response from Martin in the form of a formal resignation or assumption of duties at the daycare center by 9:00 a.m. on November 5 would result in formal termination. Saunooke delivered a written response to the November 2 memorandum stating explicitly that his client was not resigning and was not accepting the position as Operations Manager, number 451-1400-011 - a position to which it was clear his transfer was being orchestrated specifically to find a legal means to terminate his tribal employment altogether since Martin lacked the necessary educational and skill background required for position 451-1400-011.

Saunooke explained to us that his client, Martin, had done nothing at the One Feather that could justify an attempt by the tribal administration to fire him directly, and that the decision to move Martin into a position for which he had no educational or work-related experience or background was merely a setup so they could find reason for justifiable termination of employment. You don't have the skills, you're not qualified, you're fired.

As of this writing and though the final fate of Martin's position as editor of the One Feather is unknown beyond an assurance that he and his attorney will have their day in court, unofficial sources state the tribe has taken Martin's refusal to accept the Operations Manager 451-1400-011 position as an excuse to terminate. Martin's paid administrative leave ended as quickly as it had begun.

Flint finds Steel

We began to investigate this story when we first got wind of the rumor of censorship. Journalists take any infringement on freedom of the press seriously. What effects one impacts all, and so we began to ask questions.

Our investigation led us over the mountains to the People of Qualla Boundary, and to a laundry list of complaints that will take a series of articles to cover with any depth of explanation at all. Over the next few weeks, we will endeavor to provide as much information about each complaint as possible.  In the meanwhile, we will begin at the beginning and what we have determined is the highest utmost item on the list to the people we interviewed...

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