Green Bay (WFRV)- Members of the Oneida Tribe of Indians will vote Saturday on whether to give $160 million directly to its members, at $10,000 per person.
A member of the tribe exercised his right to petition the Oneida Nation for the vote, which will be decided at a general council meeting held at 10 a.m. at the Radisson Hotel in Green Bay.
Currently, Oneida Tribal members receive an annual per capita payment of $1,200, representing their share of tribal revenues. Receiving $10,000 would be an unprecedented amount.
“I don’t think it’s possible without interrupting employment and services, without hurting the community,” said Bobbi Webster, spokesperson for the Oneida Nation. “It would be very extreme.”
Tribal members older than 21 will be allowed to vote on the petition. Around 1,000 of the tribe’s 16,000 members are expected to attend Saturday’s meeting. Oneida Nation officials plan to present a report on the financial impact of the petition.
This is not the first time a tribal member has asked for a larger payment. In 2007, members voted for a one-time payment of $5,000 per person, which the Oneida Nation paid.
“It’s been two or three years later that we’re realizing the impact,” said Webster. “It did affect employment and services.”
Channel 5’s Jenna Sachs spoke with some tribal members who plan to vote for the $10,000 payment. Some said that’s because they need the money. Others said it’s because they don’t approve of how the Oneida Nation is handling its money.
Webster would not speculate on what would happen to the tribe if the vote passes. She said it is possible the Oneida Judicial System may become involved.
In response to the petition, elected tribal official Elaine Skenandore-Corenelius posted this statement on the Oneida Nation’s website: “I do not agree with this petition. Rather, I’d like to see continued services to those members affected by the national economic downturn… How we chose to deal with the effects of this recession today will affect many more Oneida generations that are yet to come.”
