Hatito Fellow Tribal Citizens,
If you have not already mailed in your ballot for this year’s tribal election, you need to do so today. Timely mail delivery cannot be assured, so you need to get those ballots in immediately. I want to encourage you to vote yes on the land swap proposal. Our neighboring tribe, Modoc Nation, owns 40 acres in our reservation area. We own 24 acres in their reservation area. We are asking for permission to exchange those lands, helping each tribe to “clean up” their reservation jurisdiction. This transfer of lands will help both tribes. We will need to negotiate further details, but we need your approval to proceed. I have personally corresponded with Suzanna Prophet, one of the former owners of the 24 acres who sold the land to us. Her exact words were “This is a brilliant idea. It is progress.” Naturally, we will need to negotiate terms with the Modoc to make up for the differential in number of acres, but that is doable. Again, I encourage you to vote YES for this land exchange. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to me by text, email or phone. I may be reached at 918 238 5151, ext. 1820 or 918 533 8422, cell.
Chief Glenna
Following is a statement from Business Committee member Clint Kissee.
There have been some questions from tribal members about the land swap question on the Eastern Shawnee ballot this year. Basically, if the question passes, it would allow a land swap between the Eastern Shawnee tribe and the Modoc nation. The land would include approximately 24 acres owned by the Eastern Shawnee tribe and approximately 40 acres owned by the Modocs. The land currently owned by the ES sits inside the Modoc reservation boundaries. The land owned by the Modocs sits inside the ES reservation boundaries. If the land swap happens, it would give both tribes land inside our own respective reservation boundaries. The Modoc tribe has agreed to this swap in principle, but final details wont be worked out unless the question on our ballot is approved by a majority vote of our people. Hopefully this will answer the questions that have been asked.
