The Ho-Chunk Nation’s Annual Meeting of the General Council
convened in the first-ever virtual setting on Saturday, December 5. This Annual Meeting is one of the largest and
most vital events of the Ho-Chunk Nation because the tribal membership meets to
set policy for the Ho-Chunk Nation.
Meeting virtually has become a useful tool in preventing the
spread of covid-19. Governments, businesses,
schools, individuals, and the world has had to adjust their daily lives to stay
safe during the pandemic. Wisconsin
became a hot spot for the virus in the past few months and community spread is
uncontained.
“The Health and safety concerns of Tribal Members especially
Elders are a primary consideration at the Office of General Council,” wrote Office
of General Council Advocate Cari A. Fay in the ‘Legality of Holding a Virtual
GC Meeting’ notice.
The Office of General Council coordinated and broadcasted
the E-Meeting from Ho-Chunk Gaming – Wisconsin Dells with assistance from Lumi,
Majic Productions, and the Ho-Chunk Nation IT Division.
Like past in-person General Council meetings, the
determination of quorum for this year’s E-Meeting was to be established through
registration and electronic vote.
Although quorum was not met this year, Emcee Matthew Mann announced that
there were 1,239 individuals registered at one point during the meeting. A total of 727 individuals participated in
the final quorum vote.
Current policy states twenty percent of the eligible voters
of the Ho-Chunk Nation constitute a quorum.
The number needed for a quorum this year was approximately 1,233 or
more.
Enrolled Ho-Chunk Nation tribal members needed to operate
two different electronic platforms, Zoom and Lumi, to participate in the
E-Meeting. Members viewed the meeting in
Zoom, and casted their votes in the Lumi website. The Office of General Council also live-streamed
the E-Meeting on a YouTube channel but consequently cut it short because
non-tribal members gained access.
The Hocak Worak Facebook page posted an ‘Enrolled Tribal
Member Virtual Packet’ the night before the E-Meeting. The packet provided multiple links to
documents typically distributed at an in-person General Council meeting, along
with links to Zoom and Lumi.
One of those documents was the Ho-Chunk Nation Annual
Report. The Planning and Development
Division from the Department of Administration gathered information and
produced the report. This report is
located at https://ho-chunknation.com/ho-chunk-nation-annual-report-2019-2020/.
Other documents included the Proposed Agenda & List of
Resolutions and a Scanned General Council Booklet. The booklet contained the Office of General
Council Mission Statement, proposed resolutions, meeting procedures, meeting
minutes, attorney review and analysis, Office of General Council Report, and
the Office of General Council 2021-22 Budget.
Unlike past in-person General Council meetings, the Ho-Chunk
Nation Legislature did not release funds for a payout to attendees, and the
Office of the President did not approve paid administrative leave for tribal
member employees to participate in the historic event.
Like past in-person General Council meetings, routine
activities took place. The White Eagle
Post 556 posted the colors at Ho-Chunk Gaming – Wisconsin Dells. Bear Clan members Robert Funmaker and Harrison
Funmaker were also present. Steve
Wileman and his IT crew assisted tribal members through the Help Desk phone
lines.
The drum group was offsite this year. The Little Thunder Drum Group led by William
Collins broadcasted from the Amber Rave Roundhouse near Black River Falls,
Wisconsin. They rendered honor songs and
provided songs during breaks in announcements.
The emcee called on Representative Sharice Davids in the
late afternoon to speak during the historic meeting. She congratulated the Ho-Chunk Nation on
forward-thinking and thanked the members who registered and logged in for their
participation. Davids was one of the
first two Native American women elected to the United States Congress in
2018. She recently won a second term.
The emcee also announced birthdays and made shout-outs to
tribal members participating from out of state.
The broadcast concluded a little before 5:00 PM. The General Council did not address the new
seven proposed resolutions or the two tabled resolutions from the 2019 General
Council meeting.