: CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS

Arended

: CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS

iF of the

CROW TRIBAL COUNCIL

PREAMBLE

The Crow Tribe,of Indians, in an effort to enforce the respect

of their basic human, constitutional and treaty rights, do hereby reestablish the Crow Tribal Council to represent, act and speak for the

Crow Tribe in any and all tribal matters, and to promote the general

welfare of the Crow Tribe, do adopt the following constitution and

bylaws for the conduct of Crow Tribal matters in conjunction with the

lawful right of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to conduct same.

Article I

The Crow Tribal Council shall be composed of the entire membership of the Crow Tribe.

Article II

The council shall elect every two (2) years, in conformity to

its rules of procedure, a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and

Vice-Secretary. The Chairman shall have no vote unless there be a

tie vote before the council. The election for these officers shall ~ ,

be held the second Saturday of May every other year after May le, sti

then the first election shall be held under this constitutional change.

Officials are to assume their duties July 1, after election.

Article III

Any duly enrolled member of the Crow Tribe, except as herein

provided, shall be entitled to engage in the deliberations and

voting of the council, provided the females are 18 years old and the

males 21 years.

Article IV

All nominations for officers of the council and any other tribal

matter before the council shall be by voice, standing, hand-raising

or secret ballot, as the council shall elect at each of its meetings.

Article V

through its tribal council, reserves unto

ove for cause any officer of the council, for

r non-diligence in connection with the

protection of the rights o e Crow Tribe in its relations with the

Bureau of Indi fairs or thé~local employees.

See Resolution 80-86

itself the right to

misconduct or negligenc

Article VI

The Powers, Duties, and Functions of the Council:

1. The council shall establish its own rules of procedure.

2. Meetings. There shall be regular tribal council meetings

held each year on the second Saturday of January, the second Saturday

of April, the second Saturday of July, and the second Saturday of

October, and as many additional meetings shall be held as tribal

‘business may require. All meetings shall be called by the Chairman

and the Committee. :

3. Notice of meetings and agendas. It shall be the duty of

the Secretary, or in his absence, the Vice-Secretary of the Crow

Tribal Council to give notice of all tribal council meetings of the

Crow Tribe in writing for a period of at least seven days prior to

each meeting date. Notices shall be posted at one public place in

each district of the reservation, and at the Agency Headquarters, and,

where possible, in the local newspapers and by radio broadcast. Notices

in addition to the date, time and place of the meeting, shall list in

numerical order the business to come before the tribal council meeting.

No business shall be transacted at the meeting unless it has been

included in the public notice. Copies of proposed resolutions or other

business to be considered shall be furnished to the elected district

representatives by the Tribal Secretary | seven (7) days prior to meeting

dates.

h. Items of business. Agenda of the tribal council meeting shall

include all items required by the (1) Tribal Chairman and committee,

(2) Superintendent of the Crow Agency, and (3) any petition duly signed

by 100 qualified voters. All requests to the Chairman and committee

for a general council meeting shall be in writing and shall clearly

state the nature of the business to be presented before the general

council.

5. If the Commissioner of Indian Affairs desires to present any

matter to the council for its action, such request. shall be presented

in writing to the Chairman or the committee, who shall as herein

provided, advertise such request as provided, and set the date for the

council sessions.

6. Except where otherwise specified in this constitution and

bylaws, decisions of the council shall be by a simple majority of the

vote cast.

7. The council shall perform the duties assigned to it under this

constitution and bylaws and shall have such powers in addition to those

expressly conferred on it thereunder as may be necessary to achieve its

effective operation and to realize its objective.

8. All matters presented and coming before the Crow Tribal

Council to be voted upon by the members of the Crow Tribe shall be

decided and determined by a simple majority vote.

.

9. There shall be a committee composed of two (2) members

from each of the Six Districts of the Crow Reservation and two (2)

members from off-the-reservation Indians elected for a term of two

(2) years, in accordance with the tribal council's rules of procedure, to act as an executive committee to work with the officers

under the general direction of the council. The first election of

these committee menfbers shall be held within 30 days from and after

‘adoption of this constitutional amendment, and all subsequent elections

to be held the second Saturday of the month of May at 2-year intervals

on alternate years from the tribal officials election. Each district

shall select its own election judges from within said district whose

expenses shall be paid from tribal funds. The results of such

elections shall be final and conclusive.

10. The Crow Tribe, through the Crow Tribal Council, shall have

the power to levy, assess and collect taxes and license fees upon

non-members of the Crow Tribe doing business within the boundaries of

the Crow Indian Reservation, subject to review by the Secretary of

the Interior.

Article VII

Status and Functions of the Council:

1. The Crow Tribal Council is the voice of the Crow Tribe.

2. The Crow Tribal Council is the medium, the body, the tribal

organization through which the Crow Tribe speaks to the government

and the general public.

3. The Council, representing the entire Crow Tribe, shall voice

the opinions, wishes, sentiment, hopes and decisions in any and all

tribal matters for the Crow people to the Congress and the Interior

Department, by resolutions and through tribally elected delegates who

shall, under instructions of the council, proceed to Washington or

elsewhere to present in person such decisions and their own arguments

and appeals in support thereof as the council shall direct by majority

vote. +

4. Subject to existing federal law which endows the Congress

with plenary powers over the Indians in their tribal state, and which

in turn passes such authorities down the line to the Secretary of

Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, who by regulations

based upon acts of the Congress, control the management of Indian

Affairs subject to constitutional limitations. The Crow Tribal Council,

without legal status as such, but being the mouthpiece and the voice of

the Crow people, will from time to time call to the attention of the

Congress its views and wishes with respect to the administration of its

rights, property and affairs by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

3

5. Because of existing law governing Indian administration by

the Congress herein pointed out, the Crow Council admits its limited

authority in the administration of its own tribal matters, but also,

understanding the constitutional limitations of the government in

this same field, the Crow Tribal Council will sponsor all legislation

with state, federal and local governments on behalf of the Crow Tribe,

and will, through tribal council resolutions and elected delegates

and representatives, consult with and otherwise deal with representatives of the department of the government of the United States on all

matters affecting the interests of the Crow Tribe.

6. The Crow Tribal Council, which encompasses the entire membership of the Crow Tribe, so far as the Crow people are concerned, shall

be supreme in determining by a majority vote of those attending, any

course of action taken which is designed to protect Crow tribal

interests.

7: The American system of "majority rule" used in the Congress

of the United States shall prevail in the decisions of the Crow

Tribal Council in regularly called and duly assembled conventions, and

its majority decisions shall be conclusive and binding over the losing

minority. ;

8. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, being a part of the United States

Government, shall in no wise interfere directly or indirectly through

its field representatives or agents with the deliberations or decisions

of the Crow Tribal Council. The council, existing under the legal

handicaps herein pointed out, belongs to the Crow Tribe only, and not

the government, and as such will make its decisions without Indian

Bureau interference or advice, inasmuch as the Indian Bureau, under the

broad powers in Indian administration conferred upon the Congress and

the Indian department by both the Congress and the courts, can and does

nullify Indian tribal council actions the country over when same takes

issue with its own views. However, the Crow Tribal Council, regardless

of same, hereby reserved unto itself the right to initiate moves look-—

ing to the protection of the Crow tribal rights and interests under their

treaties and under the American constitution guaranteeing all basic

human rights to all who live under the American flag, and to the equal

protection of the laws of our country.

9. The Crow Tribal Council in a duly called session will decide

the manner of voting, whether by districts or in the council itself or

whether by secret ballots in the districts or in the council, and on

this issue the local Indian Bureau representatives will have no voice

whatsoever - the council reserves this right unto itself.

10. Every member of the Crow Tribe, outside of the exception herein

provided for, shall have equal opportunities to discuss any and every

question of tribal concern before the council, and to participate,

without interference, in all votes taken upon any snch questions.

Article VIII

SECTION I: -, This Constitution and Bylaws shall be amended by a

majority vote of the qualified voters of the Crow Tribe voting at

an election called for that purpose by the tribal council, provided

that no amendment shall become effective until it shall have been

approved by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs or his authorized

representative.

SECTION II: All eligible tribal members may vote at such duly

called elections. The enactment of rules and procedure for conducting such an election shall be the responsibility of the tribal

council. The tribal council shall enact an election ordinance.

AND, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the above listed changes are

those which the tribal council wishes to make in the present Crow

Tribal Constitution and shall do so regardless of any or all other

resolutions or provisions, and if other resolutions or constitutional

changes are in conflict with the above state rules, they shall be

henceforth repealed, rescinded and expunged- from the records.

Arlcle 1% 7 foe

/2-26-G6

BYLAWS

- Article I

Duties of Crow Tribal Council

Section 1. The Chairman of the Council shall preside over all

meetings of the Council, perform all duties of the Chairman and

exercise any and all authority detailed by the Council, and shall be

entitled to vote only in case of a tie.

Section 2. The Vice-Chairman shall assist the Chairman when

called upon so to do; in the absence of the Chairman, shall preside

and when so presiding shall have all the privileges, duties, and

responsibilities of the Chairman.

‘Section 3. The Secretary of the Council shall forward a copy

of the minutes of. all the meetings to the Superintendent of the

Reservation, and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and the Regional

Director, and shall conduct all correspondence of the Council and

shall keep all records and minutes of the meetings, records as to

expenditures and allotment of tribal gratuitous and other funds over

which the Council has sole charge.

Section 4. The duties of all appointed special committees or

officer of the Council shall be clearly defined by resolutions of the

Council at the time of their creation or appointment. Such committees

and officers shall report from time to time as required to the Council

and their activities and decisions shall be subject to review of the

Council.

Section 5. Regular and emergency meetings of the Crow Council

shall be held on call of the Chairman at Crow Agency, Crow Agency,

Montana.

Section 6. No business shall be transacted unless a quorum of

100 is present.

Section 7. Order of business:

fe} Call to order by Chairman

b) Reading of minutes of last meeting

(c) Unfinished business

3} Reports

e) New business

(f) Adjournment

Section 8. It shall be the duty of the Chairman of the Council

to duly notice all tribal council meetings of the tribe for a period

of at least seven (7) days prior to such meeting date, for decisions

of the Crow Tribe affecting the sale or lease of tribal property, or

of legislative matters affecting the Crow Tribe.

6

Section 9. A salary is to be paid to each officer or member of

the Crow Tribal Council when serving as an authorized delegate as

follows:

Within the State of Montana eeecercceccccrceereccccs $10.00 per day

Outside the State of Montana, with the

exception of trips to Washington, D. Cy esea basse. dbeen Det cer

To Washington, De. Ce eecccccccccccccerecccccecesercs 25.00 per day

In addition to the above scale of salaries a per diem is to be

- paid each officer or member of the Crow Tribal Council, computed in

accordance with the U. S. Government Travel Regulations and in

addition transportation via rail, air or personal car, whichever is

administratively determined to be in the best interest of the Crow

Tribe.

Approval

Resolution No. 31 adopted February 3, 1955, approved by letter

to the Chairman of the Crow Tribal Council from Commissioner Glenn L.

Emmons dated March 18, 1955.

-

Article II

Ratification of Constitution and Bylaws

This Constitution and the attached Bylaws, when adopted by a

majority of those attending District Councils called to vote on

accepting a Constitution and Bylaws shall be binding upon the Crow

Tribe.

CERTIFICATE OF ADOPTION

Pursuant to the Constitutional election held on June 2h, 19h8,

this Constitution and Bylaws of the Crow Tribal Council of Montana,

was adopted by a vote of 295 for and 130 against in an election in

which 425 votes were cast.

(Signed) °

Robert Yellowtail

Chairman, Tribal Council

(Signed)

George Hogan, Sr.

Secretary, Tribal Council

(Signed)

Le C. Lippert, Crow Agency

APPROVAL

This Constitution and Bylaws, having been proposed and ratified

by the members of the Crow Tribe on June 24, 1948, at a referendum,

is herewith approved.

¢

(Sgd) William Zimmerman, Jr.

William Zimmerman, Jr.

Assistant Commissioner

Washington, D. C.3 May 23, 1949