This report I must say was not a very
joyful one for me to do. The findings into the allegations just seem to be
the tip of the iceberg. Please see my findings below and please note that
these are my personal opinions and my personal findings.
1.
Signing the Chiefs Name and/or Rubber
Stamping:
James brought this to my
attention in April when Jerry did an Executive order. I called and spoke
to Jerry within 2 days on this issue. I was satisfied with the answer I
received so it was not an issue for me.
Sharon also contacted me to let me know
that she did have Chief’s Power of Attorney. So once again this was not an
issue for me. Elder Carlino brought this up again to me in July. I did not
tell him or James for sure if there was one. They knew the right thing to
do was to go straight to the source and ask for themselves. They choose
not to. For those who were told by James that
Sharon held Chiefs power of attorney, he
neglected to tell them that it was not an open power of attorney and that
Sharon needed the Chiefs approval before
she could even think about using it. He also neglected to tell those that
he told of the legal ramifications if
Sharon were to use the power of attorney
in the wrong way. James also neglected to tell people that
Geneva held Shawna’s power of attorney for the Enrollment Dept. The Enrollment
Dept is a very serious place as it does all of the verification process to
let in new members. Was anything wrong done there? No. Was this done with
Councils Approval? No. Was it an open power of attorney? The point is, this
is something that does not need council’s approval. It was not hidden from
council. We knew about it and we knew that there was nothing going on
illegal with it. We also knew as well as Sharon that if something illegal
had been done with it, we could take the proper legal steps needed to fix
what was wrong. I also found it ironic that Gail would be bringing
this up to anyone when you had her check into it for you. If she felt there
was a problem, she should have mentioned it to you right away. Not take it
to others to make an issue of it. Also, the person so worried about this,
James Ellis, knows that Geneva carries a Power of Attorney for his wife, and
the Director of Enrollment, Shawn Ellis. I see nothing wrong with someone
having a power of attorney for someone else within the tribe, as long as it
is not an open power of attorney.
2.
Marriage of John Watson to Sharon:
They are not married. According
to
Missouri state laws they are not married.
Common Law is not recognized in
Missouri unless you have been together
since before 1921. They have not gone thru a traditional Cherokee marriage
ceremony. My findings, this should not be an issue.
3.
Volunteers:
Gail and James have once again
brought this up. In April or May, James was trying to get one of his family
members into the Enrollment Dept. James did not have the authority to do
this. At the time his wife had taken a leave of absence from Enrollment
because of health issues and school. So she too did not have authority to
let anyone in to do volunteer work in Enrollment. The Only person at that
time that could allow anyone to work in Enrollment was
Geneva. She could not be reached to let
anyone in, so
Sharon sent out an email to the Executive
office and to council stating that James was pushing to get Heather, his
cousin in there. He knew this was wrong but still tried to do it knowing
full well that Sharon didn’t have the authority to let anyone in the
Enrollment Dept. Don’t know why this is an issue when it has already been
settled.
4.
Paypal Account:
I have spoken to Vice Chief
Watson about the Paypal account on several occasions. The Paypal account has
never been kept secret. It is there for everyone to see right on the
website at:
http://www.westerncherokeenation.org/press_release/pr-06-04-03.shtml
I have spoken to him about what
it has been used for I have been told in the purchasing of a microphone and
in the purchase of toner for the office printer. And one deposit made into
the tribal checking account. Right now donations are being taken to help in
the fixing of the roof after the storm damage. It was suspended for awhile.
I have the email to show where it was just recently reinstated.
5.
Misappropriation of funds:
On several occasions, Treasurer
McElfresh has mentioned to me the possibility of Vice Chief Watson doing
wrong with Tribal funds. I have told Gail to mail, or email me what she had
and I would check into it on two (2) different occasions. This started
before Powwow and I have yet to see any proof of this. My opinion is that if
she had any evidence at all, she would have brought it to council so that we
could deal with it. So my finding on this is that it is untrue.
6.
Asking
Sharon to Step Down:
This is one of the saddest for
the corporate side. By Gail and James own admission, they both ask
Sharon to step down, their reason was they
felt that her and John were either married or too close for her to have your
power if attorney. If they felt this strongly about it, they should have
taken it to council to be put on the agenda or talked to you personally
about it. My findings in this matter as you already know. This is grounds
for recall. It goes against our constitution, our by-laws and the
Missouri
State Laws.
See charges on James Ellis,
See charges on Gail McElfresh
Since this investigation has started, I have
come to the conclusion that others either by their own words or by their
actions are also involved in an all out attack on John Watson. It seems to
me that this is being done right before elections to try and discredit John
so that others can have a better chance at running for chief. I have seen
by the emails that Tim Spencer has sent that he is probably one that is
helping James. I have seen the emails that Janet has sent to James Green
that she is probably another helping James. I have seen the emails just
recently sent through the voice that people wish we could turn back the
hands of time and forgive and forget. I feel that these issues are way too
serious and need to be dealt with now. I feel that the best thing for the
people would be to bring to light the wrongs that have been done and to deal
with them accordingly. Some seem to have forgotten that the upcoming hearing
is for James Ellis and Gail McElfresh, even though it seems like it is all
about John Watson.
For sometime now that we have had an Elder
that has disrespected the Tribal Council, the Executive Office and the Board
of Elders. I don’t think that any one of us should be acting on our own in
these matters. They should be taken to the proper place and dealt with
accordingly. We all look to our Elders for their guidance and knowledge.
When they lead us in the wrong direction, they should be the first to step
up and admit this and do the right thing. When we have an Elder that
continues here say/gossip, and does not go to the source, how can we say
they are walking in the native way? How can we continue to go to them for
their guidance and knowledge if they are not advising us to walk the native
path? To continuously state that you are an absentee Chief and to distrust
John for no apparent reason is totally disrespectful, I no longer look at
him as an Elder. He is not here for the good of the people. He is not
walking in a native way.
Then we have another Elder who by her own
words says that she will back anyone who is “out to recall John” What type
of person is this? This is not the native way when she has tried to recall
John before and failed. I no longer look at her as an Elder. She has shown
disrespect in not living with the decisions made in the past. This too is
not walking in a native way. It is also not good for our people when our
Elders are taking things this personally and not doing what is right for our
people.
The Enrollment Dept. needs to be gone over
very well as to a lot of allegations have been made about missing files. I
feel that we need a new Enrollment Director as there seems to have been a
cover up in the fact that the Ellis’s did not have files in the office and
now they are trying to say they did. This is immoral and the person who is
our Director needs to be dealt with accordingly. She has not been doing what
is best for our people and is not walking in a native way.
I feel that since the charges have been
filed, James Ellis has not walked in a native way and has not done what is
right for our people. Instead he has shown exactly how personally he has
taken things by spreading more here say and rumors to the people. He has
also shown a very childish side by filing charges on all of the Tribal
council except one (the only one that will help him, even though she has
been shown and told by others that he is using her) and by filing recall
charges on yourself and Vice Chief Watson.
This is truly a sad day for the Western
Cherokee People. I pray that we get through this and be a much stronger and
wiser tribe for it. I pray that we never have to go through anything like
this again.
