December 19 - Seminole Tribe of Florida

2A • The Seminole Tribune • December 19, 2012A season of sadness and joy• James E. BillieKind of neat sitting underneath thisround chickee, by the old fire, my feetback in the old grass roots. Feels good.Smoke getting in my eyes and burning. Makes meknow that I’m still alive. It’s kind of neat insidemy house, too, where we can smell the aroma ofthe cedar Christmas tree and its dying leaves. Man,that’s good.I just can’t believe that Christmastime is hereagain. It’s a little sad and joyous at the same time.It’s sad because it reminds us that a lot of ourolder Seminole people have passed on this year.It’s sad that they are gone now. At the same time itis happy for those of us who are still here and canenjoy the many pleasures the Seminole Tribe cangive us.We are a lot more fortunate than most peoplein the world. I never dreamed the Seminole Tribewould ever be at such a prosperous state. Thatgives me some mental relief that no one is reallygoing to starve in the Seminole Tribe.At the same time, I still see newspapers andpeople writing stories about Christmas, but they donot use the word “Christmas.” They say “Xmas.”It continues to baffle me how some people don’tbelieve in Jesus Christ, so they put a cross overChrist and call it Xmas. So, in my family we stillhave Christ in our Christmas, so I hope you peoplewill do the same thing.I saw a story set in California the other daywhere some town was banning the Nativity scene.I thought that was one of the oddest things I hadseen in my life. What is this world coming to?Whatever it is, the residents still overcame the banby using real live people instead of mannequins.They managed to have their Nativity scene.I have always enjoyed Christmas. The firsttime in my life I evergot a present was atChristmastime. Itwas at the old FirstBaptist church alongStirling Road. And itwas a sack of candyand oranges. I wasabout 4 or 5 yearsold when I saw that.It was such a happyoccasion for mebecause, boy, I reallyloved candy. And allthe sweet things thatyou can get ahold of. That was the only time that Iremember getting a bag full of candy, so that wasprobably the first present I ever got.I remember when I first saw Santa Claus,he scared the living you-know-what out of me.I almost crawled underneath my grandmother’sdress trying to get away from him. Nowadays, Iwonder who that Santa Claus was. It was probablySunny Claus. Back in those days, there was aCanadian Indian couple known as Sunny Clausand Shirley who used to come down here andminister to the Seminoles quite a bit last part of the‘40s and ‘50s.Hopefully, we will all have a good Christmasand start the New Year together.So, I would like to say to everybody in theSeminole Tribe, as well as friends and employeesand whoever reads this paper – even though I maynot know you – Merry Christmas and have a goodNew Year.Sho-naa-bish.James E. Billie is Chairman of the SeminoleTribe of Florida.Seminole Unconqueredelectronic cigarettes will befirst made in U.S.BY BEVERLY BIDNEYStaff ReporterHOLLYWOOD — The electronic cigaretteindustry is poised to become big business, and theSeminole Unconquered brand is preparing to be asignificant player in the field.“This is going to be life-changing,” PresidentTony Sanchez Jr. said. “For me, this is about thehumanitarian side; we will affect the world.”Tobacco-related illnesses kill nearly 6 millionpeople every year worldwide, according to theWorld Health Organization. The Campaign forTobacco-Free Kids reported that about 400,000Americans die from tobacco use annually.The Tribe is currently looking into building amanufacturing plant in Broward County. Virtuallyall electronic cigarettes are made in China, so theTribe’s plant will be the first on U.S. soil, said JohnCameron, CEO of Safecig. In addition, Gamingrecently passed a new policy that allows electroniccigarettes in all non-smoking rooms at the casinos,Hollywood Board Rep. Chris Osceola said.The Tribe partnered with Safecig to producethe brand. In addition to Seminole Unconquered,the Tribe will seek out other businesses that wanttheir own brand or private label and produce thoseas well. Examples include sports teams, businessesand hotels. The Tribe will manufacture all privatelabelbrands.“Native Americans gave us tobacco, and nowthe Seminoles are giving us electronic cigarettes,”Cameron said. “A lot of people will be makingelectronic cigarettes, but we want to make the bestand the safest electronic cigarette.”Cameron, who hasn’t had a tobacco cigarettesince January 2011, feels like an anchor wasBeverly BidneySeminole Unconquered electronic cigarettes.Beverly BidneyPresident Tony Sanchez Jr. is with John Cameron,Safecig CEO.taken off him when he started smoking electroniccigarettes. He no longer smells like smoke nor doeshe wake up in the middle of the night to smoke.Electronic cigarettes provide nicotinewithout any harmful, carcinogenic chemicals. Theingredients are vaporizing fluid, distilled water,natural flavors, essential oils and nicotine, all ofwhich are approved for human consumption. Inaddition, they mimic the physical act of smokingfor the user.“Electronic cigarettes are like having a cellphone connected to a donut,” Cameron said. “Theyare electronic devices you consume.”Cameron believes that properly marketedelectronic cigarettes will save lives. Those whouse electronic cigarettes will continue to get thenicotine their bodies crave without being ostracizedfor their addiction.“There is going to be a revolution in whatpeople smoke,” Cameron said. “We will impactmore humans than penicillin did.”The Tribe plans a national launch of the productnext year. Seminole Unconquered electroniccigarettes will be widely available at stores, smokeshops and casinos. They are currently availableonline at www.seminolecig.com. Once the brandis launched, a national marketing campaign willfollow.“We have to tell the world about it,” PresidentSanchez said. “It can’t be the world’s best keptsecret.”No time for cruise control• Tony Sanchez Jr.As the Seminole Tribe continues to grow, notonly financially, but in all ways, includingmembership, there will always be issues thatwe have to address. We must make sure that we maintainour financial power, keep reinforcing the need for ouryouth to be educated and continue to address the ongoingchallenges to our sovereignty. There will never be a timewhere we can say, “Let’s put it on cruise control.”That was evident when I traveled to Washington, D.C.recently, to attend the Tribal Nations Conference hosted bythe White House. My observations at this event made merealize, more than ever, how blessed we are. While backhome the Seminole Tribe is wrestling with how to controlits membership growth and better manage the financialsuccess that we have, other Tribes were focused on makingsure their health coverage – that they are entitled to by thetrust responsibility of the United States – is continued.It occurred to me, while very important, healthcoverage is just not one of the priority issues that weSeminoles talk about. With our success, we don’t giveit a second thought. The current status of the SeminoleTribe is well documented in Indian Country because ofour success. We enjoy a certain notoriety. People alwayswant to talk to me. They always want to know what is thesecret to our success. Well, there has been a lot of trial anderror. We have definitely made our share of mistakes alongthe way.When I am asked, I tell Tribes, “First of all, you needto determine what it is you ultimately want to achieve. Atthat point, you will see what you need to do.” They wantto know our “secret,” but they never ask me what mistakeswe have made. I think that is more important, to learn frommistakes – not only your own but others as well.The trip to Washington was – no matter how manytimes you have been there, no matter how many times youhave met with various Cabinet members – enlightening.You are definitely reminded that, hey, as people in theadministration change, our fight as Indians will alwayscontinue. I think the Obama administration has been verygood about making sure that American Indian Tribes dohave a serious presence.For me, personally, I wanted to hear and furtherunderstand Obama’s message for Indian Country andalso to lend support for up-and-coming Tribes and thosewho are just struggling to survive, day in and day out. Weaccommodate other Tribes when we can, share our stories,offer our help, but, more importantly, we remind otherTribal leaders, “Hey look, we Seminoles have been veryfortunate. We count our blessings. We don’t take anythingfor granted. This is a fight that you have to fight as well.”Tribal members can take comfort in knowing that weare going to continue to be visible and continue to fight forour sovereignty.The economy has had a lot to do with the currentonslaught of legislative attacks on Indian sovereignty.States have budget deficits to deal with, so when theeconomy was good, hey, there was more than enough taxbase to satisfy their budget requirements. That, however,is not the case today. What we are seeing today is just asymptom of the economic downturn.Here in Florida, we will have to continue to fight theannual casino legislation battles. It would be nice if wedidn’t have to, but that is the environment that we are intoday. However, given that issue, we have shown thatwe have still been able to protect our market. We don’tnecessarily view the state as a bad guy. They have thesame issues as we do, trying to take care of the citizensof Florida without having to raise taxes or transfer burdento the business owners. In fact, we are looked upon by thestate as an opportunity to help some of their problems.In terms of dollars and cents, the Seminole Tribe paysmore to the state than anybody around. It’s because ofour level of success that we pay so much. It’s not exactlylabeled as a tax. Because of our agreement with the state,we must pay for our privilege, and we pay more thananybody else around. But I think that, in order for us tocontinue what we have and protect what we have, that is ascenario that will continue to exist...unless the state feels itcan do better by opening gaming up statewide.At which point we would not have to pay themanything.But the state has seen that even when they had givenin to the pari-mutuels, gave them slot machines, what thestate was promised never materialized. They have notdelivered. On the other hand, we have been committed tothe Compact and we have made our payments, on time, tothe state. We are a known quantity, a proven quantity.That is another factor that will go in our favor whenit is time to renegotiate the Compact. Where other peoplecome in and make promises, the Seminole Tribe delivers.Gov. Rick Scott definitely has been very cautiousaround this issue. Gaming is a very touchy, sensitivesubject, and I can understand the approach he has taken.It’s not just a straight black and white issue. There aremany different positions people can take. Scott has toLetter to the EditorDear Editor:compromise; he has to dealwith us and deal with them.I have had the opportunity tospeak with him on two separateoccasions when he came tovisit us at the HollywoodSeminole Reservation. I takethat as a sign that, hey look, ifsomeone is willing to take thetime and visit us and try to findout what we are, it can’t be abad thing.While we are talkingabout the level of success wehave had, the Tribal membersneed to know that with the Tribal prosperity, there is a costassociated with it, not only in terms of dollars and centsbut also in terms of personal sacrifice. Someone has to bein Tallahassee. And someone has to be in D.C. And whenyou have to be in those places, you know what? You aresacrificing a lot of precious time away from your family.All of us must understand it is no different than thesacrifices made by our ancestors. We are just continuingon the path that set us in motion. Just because we haveto travel somewhere, it is not all fun and games; It’s longhours, and it’s personal sacrifices – I know this is whatwe signed up for. Sometimes I think that gets lost ineverything that we do.I think, at times, Tribal members understand whatwe are trying to do, and there are times when I get thefeeling some people are waiting for the other shoe to falloff so they can see, “See, nothing’s changed. It was just ashow. Now, the real colors start to show up.” Take a lookat the people who are in there; take a look at their past. Aleopard doesn’t change its spots. As long as we continueto be transparent, however, some of those apprehensionsthat people have will eventually subside, maybe notcompletely, but they will subside.I can understand where Tribal members question,“Hey, what are we doing?” because some of the things weare doing are things you can’t touch or feel...changes inpolicies, administrative changes, not always somethingwhere you can walk out the front door and say, “Hey, Isee it.”I can understand where some of the insecurity maycome from. But, I think if the people took the time andreally started digging in and really started looking at thechanges that have been put into place, they would reallybe surprised. It is a testament to this administration. Weare not in trouble. You don’t see any stories where theSeminole Tribe is not able to fulfill our obligations.Take a moment and just look back and see where wewere at 50 years ago versus where we are today. Whereonce no bank would give us a loan, now we enjoy a levelof success that has everyone lining up to conduct businesswith us. Once, we had to go knock on numerous doorsbefore somebody would eventually open up and say, “Allright. OK. I’ll take a chance.” We don’t have to do thatnow.Despite our internal challenges, we have managedto keep our heads above water and continue to be moreprosperous. In order to keep the current momentum going,there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. We mustcontinue to work on our social issues and educate ouryouth and position them to be the leaders of tomorrow.That’s not only a dream and a desire, it is ourresponsibility to make that happen.This Board of Directors has been very adamant onkeeping information flowing freely to our constituents –not only when we have good news to tell but also whenwe experience a rough patch. We will come in and tell youwhen we are going through difficult times, and we willbalance that with a plan of action: Here is what we aredoing to address this situation and start experiencing somepositive results. As long as you keep that informationcoming, the less likely that people are going to startrumors or take the first thing they hear as gospel and startspreading that.This is the time of the year where everyone tries toget a lot of work accomplished because of the upcomingholidays. We do it with the thought firmly in mind that wemust make good decisions and not make hasty decisions.As the elected President, I have been very fortunate tohave the current Board of Directors to work with.That is not to say we don’t have disagreements, butthe disagreements create opportunities to discuss andexplain the thought process, which may get someone tochange his mind. This Board will continue to act with theTribal members’ best interests at heart.As we finish up the year with the Christmas holidays,from the entire Board of Directors, Merry Christmas andHappy New Year. Be safe.Sho-naa-bish.Tony Sanchez Jr. is President of the Seminole Tribe ofFlorida, Inc.I was more than a little disappointed at the low number of people who attended our Veteran’s celebration atBrighton on Nov. 2. This was our annual Tribalwide event to honor and show our respect for our proud warriors.More people should attend this event.Moses Jumper Jr.Big CypressThe Seminole Tribuneis a member of theNative American Journalists Association.Letters/emails to the editor must be signedand may be edited for publication.Subscription rate is $35 per year by mail.Make checks payable to The SeminoleTribune, 3560 N. State Rd. 7, Hollywood,FL 33021Phone: 954-985-5701Fax: 954-965-2937Or subscribe online atwww.SeminoleTribune.orgThe following deadlines apply to allsubmissions to The Seminole Tribune:Issue: Jan. 25, 2013Deadline: Jan. 9, 2013Issue: Feb. 22, 2013Deadline: Feb. 6, 2013Issue: March. 29, 2013Deadline: March 13, 2013Please note: Submissions that come pastdeadline will be posted in thefollowing issue.Advertising:Advertising rates along with sizes andother information may be downloadedfrom the Internet at:www.SeminoleTribune.org/AdvertisePostmaster:Please send address changes toThe Seminole Tribune3560 N. State Road 7Hollywood, FL 33021Publisher: James E. BillieEditor in Chief: Camellia Smith-OsceolaCamelliaOsceola@semtribe.comSenior Editor: Brett DalyBrettDaly@semtribe.comCopy Editor: Kathryn StolarzKathrynStolarz@semtribe.comStaff Reporters:Peter B. Gallagher, Andrea Holata,Beverly Bidney, Eileen SolerIf you would like to request a reporter orwould like to submit an article, birthdaywish or poem, please contactSenior Editor Brett Daly at954-985-5701, ext. 10725Or by fax at 954-965-2937© 2012 Seminole Tribe of Florida