Anadarko Daily News
Letter to the Editor
The Caddo Tribal Membership meeting, held in January, was dominated by theatrics. Dramas and aerials constituted the agenda. But very little tribal business occurred. This ploy works to deflect attention from serious tribal matters. It also derails attempts toward accountability. The focus of the meeting consisted of inconsequential matters, name calling, and self-aggrandizement.

The membership meeting turned out to be a waste of time. Unfortunately for all of us because we, the membership, only meet four times a year. It turned into more of a daytime talk show than a Tribal Membership Meeting. It is unfortunate because we have so little involvement by the membership as it is and meetings like this drive more away. A good ploy if ones intent is to usurp power and control the tribal resources. When meetings are set up to bring opposing groups to sharper divisions our energy is spent against each other and not toward a better society for all of us.

The meeting offered little opportunity to ask questions or rationally debate the issues. There were no answers as to why the Caddo no longer have a smoke shop, why we don't have a housing authority, why the college kids get less money, what does the tax commission do with their budget, how did the chairperson get a raise? Maybe there are good and reasonable explanations to these questions, but if there is not opportunity to ask we are left to only ponder

This all points to is a real lack of leadership at the Tribe. The position of Chair has symbolic as well as functional meaning to the people. That is why the opposition can be adamant about following the rules and treating members with respect. It is important that the Chair act accordingly with high ethics and tries to bring us together, not start fights. The division within the tribe stems from the limitations many traditional political elements feel. Officials are seen using their position to exclusively control the resources of the tribe for themselves. Instead of the administration exercising its sovereignty it is exercising its own policies with no interference tolerated. Traditional political elements that do not support the administration are excluded from their rights and privileges. During the meeting members spoke their opinions but only one person was given a time limit and asked to stop talking. Others had unlimited time. This demonstrates my point. Supporters of the administration are given jobs, choice appointments services and the ability to control the floor while any in opposition are asked to stop talking. Looking out for ones friends and family is of course commendable. But that is not the case if you are the so-called leader of the tribe. Then your job is to represent all Caddos not just those who vote for you or aid in keeping the opposition at bay. The opposition is important to any government that purports to be democratic. It keeps the ruling part accountable. Attempts to disregard the opposition does not make the tribe better but just divisive.

In the old days leaders were able to bring the families together for concerted efforts that brought wealth and community to all the people. It seems our present leaders are more concerned with keeping themselves in power than the welfare of the whole tribe. We need leaders with a specific vision of the future so we can direct our energies toward that goal. We need to return to our traditional sense of decorum and social structure. And we need selfless leaders who care for the people like they all were family.

David M. Scholes
Fort Cobb, OK

Anahwake, I now give you permission to use any correspondence from me as you please. You will need NOT my further permission unless I otherwise state in any letter that I would prefer it not be publicized. Thank you for asking. Cindy

Anahwake,
My name is Cynthia(Cindy) Diane Stanley Adams. I live in Oregon and I just found finally after a lot of searching, the most wonderful site; the site of my tribe. I can't begin to tell you how happy this makes me. I can assure you I will be looking often and enjoying.

I am, however, very concerned about the news I have read of our chairwoman's ridiculous methods of handling things. I can tell you Anahwake that regarding the Casino, it is now very important to quickly get a hold of all decision making through a board of directors set up just for the Casino and take all power away from her, (LaRue Parker) or the tribal council necessarily. She is making a huge mistake in the way she is mishandling setting up this Casino, (in fact from what I have read so far, I would not let her make a decision on how to water my plants much less my future) that could easily be a wonderful success. I have worked for an Indian Gaming Corporation for over six years now, and was actually quite fortunate to be a part of a growing success that has surpassed anything anyone could ever imagine. Spirit Mountain Casing Inc. is the most successful Casino in Oregon by far and lists among the top ten in the nation. I know that you are limited at this time because of the laws against class 3 gaming, but there are a lot of things you can do with class 2 to still become very successful. The games are advancing all the time. And the future may change in Oklahoma regarding class 3 gaming. Do some research, there are some very successful Casino's in Oklahoma.

Anahwake, I don't know if there is anything that I can do to help, but I do know a little about The Indian Gaming Industry and would love to help with whatever good advice or information I can come up with. I do have a lot of that at my disposal. I know by experience that truth, honesty and doing the right things certainly are the ground work for success. I truly would like to do whatever I can to help my tribe.

I will share a little about Spirit Mountain Casing and why I believe it is so successful. It is also the most and highest self regulated casino in the nation. Everything is always on the up and up.

There are Many Indian Casino's here in Oregon and all across the nation. Spirit Mountain was the first and only to my knowledge that did not get any help on it's start. By that I mean, no funds or backing from the Syndicate or Comstock or any other large "Consulting Firm" as it were. They started on there own. And they have always given back to the community right from the start. The main Motto at Spirit Mountain is "Your Smile is Our Only Business" and as long as we keep that perspective, the people keep coming back. They always comment on how friendly and wonderful it is here compared to our competitors.

Spirit Mountain Casino's gross revenue at end of last year was $70,000,000.00 from $35,000,000.00 on the first year open, which was even at that time 5 times more than was expected. It has grown in leaps and bounds, but (I believe) by keeping good ethics all the way around.

Please do let me know if there is anything I can offer.
Cindy D. Adams

FROM: The website manager
RE: Domain name and website TheCaddo.com

If you search the Internet using a search engine, such as Google, you will find many websites relating to Native American tribes. Most are identified as official or unofficial sites of the tribes. Many use the tribal name to describe the content of their website. The official Caddo Nation website is now using the domain name of http://caddonation.netride.net. This is where official tribal information should be found. The home page link to "Tribe Phone # and Addresses" gives contact information for the tribal council.

This site, thecaddo.com, is clearly identified as unofficial. If you search "Caddo tribe" you will find this site listed as Caddo Tribe of Oklahoma: thecaddo.com -- an unofficial website . The introduction to this site at the top of the home page clearly describes it as "independent of the Caddo Tribal Council". It says "This site is provided by a group of members of the Caddo Tribe of Oklahoma, an organization concerned with, but independent of the Caddo Tribal Council....... It also states that we present our opinions. It says "We provide a place to answer the membership's questions and to highlight current tribal issues. We present our opinions on the current issues in order to keep our membership informed about the actions of the Caddo Tribe." The constitutional right of freedom of speech allows us to do this.

We have not registered our site with the intention of infringing or violating anyone rights. We searched other registered domain names. Some of the other domain names that have been registered (although not all have active websites) are caddo.net, caddo.com, caddonet.com, caddonet.net, ecaddo.com, ecaddo.org, and caddogroup.com.

Thecaddo.com is by, for, and about Caddos and the Caddo tribe. The Caddo Tribe is more than the elected officials which govern it--the essence is the many people who are its members. We are dedicated to maintaining the proud and honest spirit of those people.