MUSKOGEE, Okla. – A vote of no confidence, an absent Muscogee (Creek) Nation National Council representative, and a DUI charge were all on the table of discussion at a meeting for members of the Muscogee Indian Community on Monday, April 10. While it was not an official community board meeting, a dozen or so citizens gathered to discuss their concerns with tribal government leaders.
One of the main points revolved around Muskogee District Seat B National Council Representative Joyce Deere, whom the citizens at the meeting claimed has not been present at a MIC meeting in years. While it is not a legal requirement for MCN National Council representatives to appear at the community meetings from the district they represent, some believe that it is a common courtesy.
Rep. Deere’s absence over the past few years resulted in a vote of no confidence from the community in February of 2022. An excerpt from that meeting’s minutes reads as follows:
“Pam Shoemaker made a motion to call for a vote of no confidence in the Muscogee district representative for Joyce Deere based on their representation of the Muscogee Indian community followed up by a formal resolution. Followed by discussion among the community members. Michelle Thompson second Pam Shoemaker motion to call for vote for no confidence based on representation for Joyce Deere. 16 yes/1 abstain.”
A topic of concern that came up involved the process of removing a council member for wrongdoing or misbehavior. One community member present asked “What do you have to do to get removed by Council?”, to which Lisa Deere (Mvskoke) replied “We have one on there now with two DUI’s”. Lisa Deere was referring to Representative Joe Hicks, who was arrested in February for a second DUI offense. Deere said she emailed Speaker Lowe with concerns when the news broke on Rep. Hicks’ first DUI charge in 2022.
MCN National Council Speaker Will Lowe was believed to have been invited to the meeting, however due to a miscommunication it was later discovered that he was not.
The community members had intended to bring up their claims regarding the council’s lack of communication, and accusations of limited accountability among its representatives.
“It’s imperative the Council put some sort of principle of conduct in place,” Lisa Deere said. “Our ancestors never had to have anything in writing to tell them how to behave.”
Shoemaker went on to express her concern that Rep. Deere had attended out-of-town events like the recent Citizens Beyond the Reservation conference in Phoenix. However Shoemaker noted that in spite of that trip, Rep. Deere had not made a trip to the Muscogee Indian Community to speak with her constituents in some time.
“It’s embarrassing to me that my National Council draws a paycheck and travels all over the United States, and does not think enough of this community to show up,” Shoemaker said.
One council member that was present at the April 10 meeting was Muskogee District Seat A Representative Mary Crawford, who members said made an effort to frequently attend MIC meetings. If she was unable to attend, the community claimed that she would answer their questions, or would listen to their concerns.
Lisa Deere filed a complaint on Rep. Deere and Rep. Hicks on April 4. The complaint outlines three main points. First, that there does not appear to be any principle of conduct for the council. Second, that Rep. Hicks has not been censored based on his two DUI offenses. Third, that Rep. Deere had refused to speak with constituents from her district. An excerpt from the complaint reads as follows:
“It is disappointing I must request the MCN National Council to adopt some sort of principles of conduct for themselves. In the past, I’ve worked at the Nation indirectly with the National Council and for the National Council. However, I never thought, as estē-cátē people, principles of conduct would have to be addressed or written for our elected leaders of the National Council.”
Mvskoke Media reached out to Speaker Lowe, Second Speaker Robert Hufft, and Representative Deere for comment on the meeting. However, none of the aforementioned council representatives responded to our request for comment at the time this article was published.
The members from the MIC present at the April 10 meeting said that they will continue contacting council representatives regarding their concerns and complaints.
The MCN National Council is dire need of updating its code of conduct or to implement a code of conduct for its members as a whole. From the Speaker on down.
To allow an elected National Council official to maintain his/her elected position after having been charged twice with a DUI reflects poorly on the MCN as a whole. Being charged once with a DUI is enough to sustain some punishment for that elected official.
I am from Alaska. After residing in Muskogee for 26 yrs. Even growing up there.. I have residential status here. I would like to air my feelings about the Creek Indian nations. I had the God-loving>{ in CHRIST name}pleasure of financial help.. from Mr. Alan Topah a few yrs. back.. it was during COVID… Mr. Topah and most were doing their jobs at home. In the middle of all the sickness and fear of lockdowns… These were striving to help people. Alan was uncontactable for a day or so … His Dear wife’s father was not doing well. He handled his job, family AND I’M SURE MANY.. MAY GOD BLESS AMERICA! WE HAVE BEEN PREPARING FOR WHAT LOOKS LIKE TO ME.. VERY, EXTREMELY “WORLD WEATHER DISASTERS AND CONFLICT W/OTHER COUNTRIES. I SECOCOND YOUR EMOTION AS FAR AS ” NEVER ATTENDING MEETINGS.. I too have been struggling… I went thru 3,3? months having many of my own problems.. and a kind stranger said…” Any1 w/CDIB CARD FRM ANY TRIBE IS GETTING HELP FROM CREEK NATIONS. I’M BLESSED BY THEM.. I AM NOT SURE WHO IS NOW HANDLING “MERE FAX’S.. MY INFO (4,5 TIMES FAXED TO THE INTAKE OFC. HAS ME PRETTY SHOOK UP…. I JUST HOPE FOR THIS SEASON… GOD HOLDS US IN THE PALM of HIS ✋
This is a very good example of why most of the citizens are not happy with the constitution that changed from allowing us to vote only in our district as the constitution originally was written to voting for all candidates in every district and it is not working. Most citizens in each district are not familiar with candidates running in each district. And going back to voting in your district does allow for some accountability to the district that a National Council member holds. The question here would be is how does a national council representative hold it’s accountability to all the people that elected them as it is written today and not to just a select few but no one is questioning this. This way it is written is pretty broad. . The constitution says that a candidate must reside within a district for a year to be eligible to run in a seat but they are not held to accountability in that district of which they reside nor are they required to attend community meetings to report to the people of any district the nations business. If you can see something is wrong about this then let’s return to district voting and write our own legislation back to the people. ❤️ There is so much to be said that not only I as an elder and great grandmother have a responsibility speak my voice in a time that is called for but have found there are more unheard voices coming together in this hour. 😘🙏
Mr. Braden, my name is Rita Williams..I commented and didn’t know that it was taken down by our Mvskoke media free press until I received messages from citizens. That’s ok, I won’t I won’t use Mvskoke media to post my concerns.
Hello Ms. Williams,
Your concern was brought to my attention recently and I realized that we had not yet approved your comment. None of the comments on this story had been published until today, 4/24/23. I apologize for the misconception that we censored your comment. Sometimes we do not always have the chance to approve comments the same day they are posted, we apologize for the delays.
-Braden Harper, Managing Editor.