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Indian commission violated Tennessee Open Meetings Act |
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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 02 September 2010 |
Indian commission violated Tennessee Open Meetings Act
By Nicole Young
THE TENNESSEAN
September 2, 2010
In a settlement expected today, the state attorney general will admit that the now-defunct Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs violated the state Open Meetings Act in failing to give public notice for its June 19 meeting.
The agreement, expected in Davidson County Chancery Court, will strip six Indian groups of their state recognition as Indian Tribes, said Bob Tuke, a Nashville attorney who represented plaintiff Mark Greene in the case.
The recognition brings with it federal money, minority status and new opportunities for individual members.
"We believe these groups don't meet the requirements of being a tribe, but we don't deny that they are Indian," Greene said Wednesday. "We were blindsided. We had notice that the meeting was going to happen, but we didn't know what was going on during the meeting.
"It was obviously all worked out."
Greene, of Nashville, filed suit against the state in late June after he attended the commission's June 19 meeting.
He said he was employed as a lobbyist by the Cherokee Nation to prevent the six groups, named in the suit as the Reminant Yuchi Nation, United Eastern Lenape Nation of Winfield, Tenn., Chikamaka band, Central Band of Cherokee, Cherokee Wolf Clan, Tanasi Council, from gaining tribe status.
Admission of error
In a release dated Aug. 27, the Tennessee Attorney General's office admitted the commission's error. Officials said they based that decision on materials submitted by former members of the commission and other information.
"(The notice) did not disclose the commission's intention to deliberate about and approve the applications of the six Indian tribes seeking state recognition," according to the release.
In the settlement, the attorney general and Tuke are asking a judge to rule that the commission violated the Open Meetings Act. For Greene, that decision would be a victory for Tennessee.
"This settlement shows that the Sunshine Law has teeth," he said. "If it's violated, we can count on our attorney general and our court system to address it."
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100902/NEWS01/9020334/1001/NEWS/Indian%20commission%20violated%20Tennessee%20Open%20Meetings%20Act
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