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1 Seneca Nation of Indians Constitution 1 (1993)

handle is hein.amindian/scninc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 






SENECA NATION OF INDIANS


                                 CONSTITUTION

       Made and adopted in convention assembled, duly called and organized in
accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the said Nation, convened at the
Council House at Cold Spring on the Allegany Reservation; and also at the Council
House on the Cattaraugus Reservation, on the 15'h day of November, 1898.

       We the people of the Seneca Nation of Indians, residing on the Cattaraugus,
Allegany and Oil Spring Reservations, in the State of New York, grateful to Almighty
God for our national preservation, growth and prosperity, for the freedom and manifold
blessings heretofore by us enjoyed honoring the traditions of our Nation, trusting in the
present, with confidence in the future advancement and better condition of our race and
desiring greater enlightenment in order to perpetuate our national relations to provide
for ourselves greater safeguards to pursuit of life, liberty and happiness, and to bring
ourselves, as a Nation, to as high a plane intellectually, socially, and morally as
possible, do make, adopt and establish the following resolution:

SECTION I.

       Our government shall have a legislative, executive and judiciary department.

       The legislative power shall be vested in a Council of sixteen members, who shall
be known and called the Councillors of the Seneca Nation of Indians, eight Councillors
elected to the Council shall be from the Cattaraugus Reservation, and eight Councillors
elected to the Council shall be from the Allegany Reservation. Councillors shall be
elected for four-year terms, except for the November, 1978 election. The staggered
terms will be determined by the four Councillors having obtained the highest number
of votes from the Allegany and Cattaraugus Reservations. The four Councillors, per
reservation, with the least number of majority votes shall serve a two year term. No
person shall be eligible for the office of Counciflor unless he is an enrolled member of
the Nation, has attained age twenty-one (21), and has resided on the Reservation he
represents for at least one (1) year prior to the date on which he takes office.

      The first election under this Constitution will be held on the first Tuesday of
November, 1899, and thereafter on the first Tuesday of November every second year.
The vote of the Nation shall be by single ballot containing the names of all party
candidates and independent candidates, and shall be cast by the individual voter, out
of presence of others, and be cast by him, without inspection by the Board of
Inspectors. That on Election Day the polls shall be open at 9:00 a.m. and close at 7:00
p.m.

      On or before the 15' day preceding the biennial election, all candidates shall file
with the Clerk of the Nation their name and office, and no further candidate shall be
allowed to f'le for office after the 15h day preceding the biennial election, except in case
of death, substitution will be permitted on party tickets so filed.


As amended as of Nuovember 9, 1993

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