DAVID YEAGLEY
FOR CHAIRMAN 2012
Of the Comanche Nation
Dr. David A. Yeagley is the great, great grandson of Bad Eagle (quin-ne kish-su-it, also known as Cruz Portillo, Ko-dose, Tu-vi-ai, etc.), 1839-1909. Dr. Yeagley’s mother was Norma Portillo Yeagley (d. 2005). Her father was “Anacleto” George Portillo (d. 1987). He was the son of Ygnacio Portillo (d. 1903), who was the son of Bad Eagle, or Cruz Portillo.
PLATFORM: (to be achieved gradually, over a period of years)
1. SELL THE TRIBE to achieve true sovereignty. Under private management, we can write our own terms, and create a new treaty, while preserving our national relation to the US government. Under a business model government, we can have control over our future.
2. CREATE A NEW CONSTITUTION that will reflect our true intuitive, tribal ways as a people. I have already drawn up a new constitution that reflects these original values. We will also have an executive, legislative, and judiciary government.
3. ABOLISH THE CBC and eventually establish a representative government. We can set up a virtual government, a shadow government, and within five to seven years, develop and entirely new and efficient government to replace the present form.
4. ABOLISH BOARDS which are responsible for non-representative decisions, and which allow for selfish and wasteful abuse of tribal money.
5. ABOLISH DEPARTMENTS which have wasted millions of dollars annually through salaries, expenditures, and nepotism.
6. ABOLISH COMANCHE JOBS that have allowed individuals to take millions of dollars from the tribe.
7. LIMIT SALARIES to $25,000 a year. No employment for the Comanche Nation should be remunerated with more than the US national poverty line allows.
8. MORE CASH TO THE PEOPLE as the result of the elimination of all waste, inequities, and Comanche “jobs.” Eliminating departments, high salaries, and unnecessary programs would put tens of thousands of dollars in the hands of the tribal members where it belongs.
9. ESTABLISH COMANCHE NETWORK including all forms of media to insure participation of the people in necessary and appropriate government decisions.
10. HONOR FULL-BLOODS by placing them in all our governmental positions, so that we encourage our people to value Comanche blood. We should also have a special council of full-bloods as advisory to all major tribal directions.
DETAILS: Dr. Yeagley’s Platform as candidate for Comanche Chairman, 2012
1. SELL THE TRIBE
The concept here is to achieve management apart from the United States government (the BIA). If the tribe were established at as a 501c3, for example, a private billionaire could support it much more effectively than the US government. We would maintain our nation-to-nation relationship with the US government, but not be limited by the BIA. We would have access to government grants, just the same, but we would not have to comply with rules than cripple our people, encourage racial dilution, and hiring of non-Comanche people.
“Sell the Tribe” does not mean surrender independence or forsaking our identity. It means to put us under a different kind of financial system that allows us to preserve our people more effectively. The US government has given about $3.2 billion to 566 tribes across the country. The Comanche Tribes got $270,000 for 2013. This is for land management, basically. I say this is not worth sustaining. We can do better. The entire BIA 2013 budget for all the tribes, as per President Obama’s request is now only $2.5 billion, which is a decrease of $4.6 million from 2012. This figure is mere pocket change for billionaires like Donald Trump, Warren Buffet, or Ted Turner. It makes sense to appeal to larger sources of revenue, and to appeal independently from other tribes.
As a non-profit business, the Comanche Nation could avail itself of enormous funds which are currently unavailable, and could raise far more revenue than any programs offered by the United States government. Our relationship to the US government must not be inhibitive or crippling. The US government relationship should guarantee our security, our land, our ethnicity, and our nationhood, but not limit us to development as a nation.
Our present condition is like a black hole, into which endless resources are poured, but nothing is produced, no contribution is made to the country or to the world. We are an expense, nor an asset. We are a burden, not an advantage. We are like an infant overgrown, who has never cut the umbilical chord. We are neither independent nor sovereign. We should work to mature as a nation. We should become economically independent and solvent. For this, we need a different system of management and different resources.
2. CREATE NEW CONSTITUTION
In 2006, I created a draft for a new constitution for the Comanche Nation. (A number of copies were handed out at the 2007 General Council. It was submitted earlier to the Elders Committee.) It was 12 pages long, plus an Introduction, Preface, and Preamble. In a sense, this might be incorporated into our present constitution, or vice versa.
There must be a tri-part government: executive (decision making), legislative (law making), and judiciary (court system).
To be “representative,” efficiently and effectively, we must revive our family and clan identities, and also our demographic identities (i.e., where we live). Families and clans and demographic groups must have their own representatives. These representatives (from 10 to 30) shall represent their groups. The representatives are “chiefs” or “senators.” This group will be our senate.
Our Chairman will have a cabinet which he selects and appoints.
We will have a Comanche court system. We will have judges, advocates, and juries. We will have our own system of rewards and punishment.
We will have a financial committee, overseeing all financial matters, and making monthly reports to the people.
These are some of the major developments in the new constitution.
3. ABOLISH THE CBC
It will take time to re-organize our Comanche government, but something like the CBC is entirely unnecessary. We will begin by creating a “virtual” government, a “shadow” or “ghost” government, like a “fantasy” sports league. This government will be created, even as the regular, present government continues—until it can safely be replaced by the new government.
The new Chairman will, with and through his cabinet, create the virtual government by selecting qualified individuals to serve. The function will all be through computer and data. The virtual government will be responsible to evaluate and operate, as though the data was applied to reality. In a few years, the virtual government operations will be demonstrated as reliable, and then be carefully placed under the actual Comanche government.
4. ABOLISH BOARDS
The existence of boards has long been a clandestine method for individuals to basically abscond with millions of dollars over the years. We can begin by limiting the number of boards that exist, and limiting the number of board members serving on each. No person should be allowed to be a member of more than one board, for example.
5. ABOLISH DEPARTMENTS
There are several departments and programs in our Comanche Nation which clearly have served only to provide very large salaries for very few people, many of whom are not Comanche. All such departments need to be eliminated entirely. These departments are well-known among the people. Creating departments is not a wise way to “create jobs” for Comanche people.
6. ABOLISH COMANCHE “JOBS”
The problem with Comanche “jobs,” as they exist today, is the fact that there are not enough of them. They are exclusive privileges of family and friends of those in power. These creates nothing but discontent among the Comanche people. As noted, many of the “jobs” come with six-figure salaries. This is essentially criminal. This is abuse of one’s tribal identity, and abuse of the tribe.
7. LIMIT SALARIES to $25,000 A YEAR.
As noted, all salaries, for any “Comanche job” shall be limited to $25,000 per annum. This way, we can eliminate the selfish, greedy, and insincere among us, at least from our government. There needs to be a limit to the Comanche Nation payroll, period. This will help eliminate unnecessary “jobs,” and attract more dedicated employees.
The only alternative to this is to limit Comanche jobs to Comanches with education, degrees, or professional qualifications. If we had a business model government, instead of the BIA system, we would not need the bureaucracy we now have, and there would be opportunity to develop.
8. MORE CASH TO THE PEOPLE
By eliminating the waste of tens of millions of dollars annually, our tribe can place a profoundly significant amount of cash into the hands of each voting, tribal member. This is where the money belongs. The per capita arrangement of the casino operations is a fraction of what Comanche people should have. Comanche members should not have to be looking for a “Comanche job,” a static, bureaucratic position, but instead, we should be free to develop our lives the way that is best suited for us. We should not be burdened with a “Comanche job.” If the people had the tribal money that each member should have, the condition of the people would improve radically and quickly. A casino-connected board member, for example, or a department head, who takes in $200,000, is taking in enough for six or eight individual job salaries (at $25,000 each). Many Comanche people are poor, and $25,000 is a lot of money.
9. ESTABLISH COMANCHE NETWORK
Communication among the leaders and the people is critical. Our nation has completely failed in this regard, to the endless frustration of us all. There has been no effort to improve on this except ComancheMedia, which has never been support with one nickel from the CBC or any department.
There needs to be a communication system, a network, combining all modern forms of communication: telephone, internet, television, radio, newspaper, newsletter, snail-mail, etc. There needs to be a department of professionals who know how to develop such a network.
The pace of the business world is far too rapid for any governing body to consult the Comanche people every time a decision is needed to be made. Our Tribal Council meets once a year. This is not anywhere near enough. It is obviously impractical for all Comanches to meet together every week, or even every month. Therefore, the need for a communications network is more critical than ever before.
A complete network would eliminate the frustration and resentment over the fact that those Comanches who live close by the complex have the greater influence over what it happening. All Comanches should have access to all news, and contribute to any decisions. Electronic voting systems, by phone, by internet, can be set up. We can have an efficient system. Right now, we are in the stone age of communication.
10. HONOR FULL-BLOODS
The future of the Comanche Nation, its integrity, its ethnicity, depends upon preserving what’s left of the blood lines. We should honor full-blood Comanches above all other Comanches. We should encourage young people to honor our blood, to marry other Comanches. This takes planning, foresight, sincerity, and devotion beyond which our tribe has shown as a whole. Our future depends on our blood.
It was unwise to lower the blood quantum below ¼. It shall be nearly impossible to remedy that error.
We can devise ways to encourage the preservation of our blood, and also to discourage its dilution. Indiscriminate sex and childbirth weakens our people. Government programs always encourage the obliteration of Indian blood, and for this reason, we need to be as independent of government programs as possible.
I believe that only full-blood Comanches should hold tribal office. The status of full-blood is determined by more than the “fraction” figure printed on the CDIB. The people know who are the full-bloods and who are not. There should be a special, elite organization of full-bloods. These should take the responsibility for language preservation, for blood preservation, and for cultural preservation.
