Saturday, 14 September 2002, Knoxville

MOTIONS

Motion passed authorizing the Advisory Council of Indian Affairs to send a communication to the Tennessee's Culturally Affiliated Tribes (numbering approximately 16) concerning the proposed transfer of Moccasin Bend to the Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Park Service instead of being an independent park and informing them of the recent proposed legislative changes and the need for a pre-legislative Memorandum of Agreement.

Motion passed to accept the criteria of the former TCIA (Chap, 0785, dated 08/90) for membership from other organizations in TNIAAC and to write the following criteria into the draft of the new by-laws:
(a) The organization must have a legal non-profit status and be registered/chartered with the state of Tennessee;
(b) 51% of the organization's board of directors must be of Native American descent;
(c) The new by-laws will add "DNA testing" as an acceptable proof of Native American Indian lineage.
TNNAC by-laws will be proposed at the next quarterly meeting.

Motion passed to authorize Teri Ellenwood, tom kunesh and Attorney Fred Standbrook to wrote proposed changes to SB41/HB1617 with recommended amendments to be presented at the next quarterly meeting.

Motion passed to send a registered letter to Gov. Sundquist requesting that he declare the fourth Monday in September as Native American Day, according to state law, to be observed by schools and other institutions.

Motion passed to authorize tom kunesh to seek a grant of $5,000 from the Seventh Generation Fund to write a major grant to create a college-level certificate program for state Native American Cultural Preservation Officers.

Motion passed to seat John E. Smith, Pres. of the Native American Intertribal Association of Memphis as a member of the Advisory Council.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Collect books by and about Native Americans for Native American prisoners in the state of Tennessee, and to mail them to tom kunesh, Box 1063, Chattanooga, TN 37401 or bring them to the next quarterly meeting, December 7. The following 3 books were recommended:
- God Is Red by Vine Deloria, Jr.
- The Code of Handsome Lake
- Myths and Legends of the Cherokees by James Mooney

Obtain the NAGPRA reports of human remains housed with UTK, TVA, and other state institutions and communicate such findings to Native Americans in Tennessee.

MOTIONS

Motion passed to add Cubert Bell, Jr., Memphis, to the House of Representatives Multicultural Advisory Council. Other Native Americans are Teri Ellenwood, Knoxville and Ray Emmanuel, Nashville.

Motion passed to create a (generic) letter that can be used by TNIAAC or the proposed TNCIA concerning the portrayal of inaccurate displays/exhibits about Native Americans by non-Indians. (Example: The TN Valley Fair in Knoxville, which took place September 6-15, and the first communication will be sent to the fair officials.)

Motion passed to replace commissioners/commission-nominees who have missed two consecutive meetings. (ie: Memphis commissioner, Ruth Knight Allen, having missed two consecutive meetings, will be replaced by the next available nominee from Memphis.)

RECOMMENDATIONS

Approved developing a letterhead for TNIAAC's use.
Approved Teri Ellenwood's exploring a permanent gathering place for the ETN Indians and to seek funding for such.

Next meeting: 7 december 2002, Nashville/Middle TN area

Van Lynch, Secretary