When and where

1991, Hannahville. The elected tribal housing board met in the double-wide trailer offices. I was working in the housing program, and the housing crew I had set up was repairing the older federally funded homes.

The problem

I had designed a report to track jobs and hours for each project. It worked at first. Then planned jobs began to be disrupted by board members’ demands. A job on the schedule could be pushed aside by one phone call.

The housing board did not want to buy tools on my recommendation, so I hired a local construction company that brought its own tools and a non-tribal construction manager. The two-person maintenance crew rejected it. Their refusals usually traced back to internal family politics: relatives and friends demanded that their jobs come first, and the crew followed the family instead of the plan.

What we did

In 1991, I gave both crew members a three-day suspension for not following directions from the construction manager. They appealed. The appeal went to the elected housing board, the same people whose demands had been disrupting the schedule.

I gathered all my written documents and handed them to the seven elected board members. Only four showed up, but that was a quorum.

What it became

My aunt chaired the meeting after I stepped down as chair. She had supported me in getting a budget for the housing program. Most members were silent and thumbed through the paperwork. They complimented the organization of my documents, then slid it back to me with one comment: “You forgot to sign your name on the discipline form.”

A motion was made to overturn the discipline and reimburse both men for the days they missed. It passed. I was devastated, but I know deep down it was the proper decision. Later I talked to my aunt about it. She understood how I felt, but she told me she had a job too.

The records of this appeal no longer exist. As I understand it, the tribe’s HR department keeps personnel files for seven years. This account is mine.

Lesson for boards today

Nepotism is not only about who gets hired. It also decides who gets disciplined, and who is allowed to overrule it. Questions to ask your own board:

• Who hears an appeal, and are they independent of the people involved?
• Can a relative or close friend of the person appealing sit on the panel? Is there a written recusal rule?
• Is there a written standard employees are held to, and who keeps the records if it is challenged later?

…knowing that nepotism could arise at any time, from any direction, even from the people closest to me.

From the book A System Built by Tribal Members, Chapter 8, “Held to a Higher Standard.” Leroy Wandahsega II, Founder, Potawatomi Life. General education, not legal advice.