May 19, 2020
This year’s General Council will be held on June 6, 2020. The format will be changed to ensure safety from COVID-19, and compliance with guidelines from Federal and State health officials. This year’s General Council will not include an in-person meeting, but all the required business will be conducted. Reports will be posted as videos to the website or live-streamed. Financial statements that can not be posted will be provided to the General Council in an appropriate format, and applicants for tribal membership will be placed on a ballot for General Council consideration. We are still working out all of the details for the new format, but the Business Committee is committed to giving a full report. We will announce details as they are available.
The General Council requires 250 people for a quorum, and participants come from every age group, including those over 60 or who have other vulnerabilities to COVID-19. The State of Oklahoma is currently in Phase 2 of the Open Up and Recover Safely plan. Under these guidelines, individuals should “continue following safer-at-home guidelines if they are over 65 or part of a vulnerable population.” Details for Phase 3 are not available yet, so we are unsure of the guidelines after May 29th. Also, the Center for Disease Control still recommends limiting large gatherings in communities that have COVID-19 cases. The Delaware County Health Department recommends that people continue practicing social distancing. COVID-19 is still active in Oklahoma. We believe that these factors indicate that it is unwise to ask people to gather in a group of 250 people where social distancing would be nearly impossible. In particular, members 60 or older, or with compromised immune systems would not be able to attend.
The Business Committee is committed to the safety and health of all Seneca-Cayuga people. In this case, that means doing our part to limit the spread of COVID-19 and protect vulnerable populations by conducting the General Council in a new way this year.