Administration and Tribal Lawyer's Constitutional Breach.

In the Shoalwater Bay Constitution, section six under Powers of the General Council (a) it says, “The Tribal Council, all Tribal officers and agents, and all subordinate Tribal organizations shall be required to obtain the approval of the General Council prior to taking any action with re­­gard to these powers.”

Directly under point (a), the Constitution explains what is meant by these General Council powers. Under point one in this section, it states, “To relinquish any area of Tribal jurisdiction to any government, person, organization, or agency, whether public or private.” As a caveat, agreements between police departments to enforce the law, like the one between the Pacific County Sheriff’s department and the Shoalwater Bay Police department, although they do need Council approval, do not require a General Council vote. 

In the same way that many tribal Constitutions have protected their sovereign rights, checks were put in place because tribes worried about giving State governments too much power over them. Such apprehension against State control were borne out in the recent contract.

Under point twelve of the WSP contract it requires the Shoalwater Bay Tribe to provide access to any, “employee or agent of the State of Washington or the United States of America for the purpose of inspecting the Purchaser’s place of business and its records . . . statement of its organization’s structure, tax status, capabilities and performance.”