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A critic of Douglas County Commissioner Marilyn Kittelman accused the first-term Republican on Wednesday of pushing an advisory vote on tribal land holdings to inflame a national debate on the issue.
Evelyn Badger-Nores said the advisory vote on the Nov. 7 ballot asking whether there should be a cap on the amount of land the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians can move into tribal trust is nothing more than a vehicle for two national groups opposed to tribal rights.
Badger-Nores, of Roseburg, accused Kittelman of being a pawn for the groups Citizens Equal Rights Alliance and One Nation United, which she said oppose federal laws and treaty rights that benefit tribes.
“This is a very unique chance for these radical groups to maybe get some national publicity,” Badger-Nores said during the public comment portion of the Board of Commissioners meeting. “This is not a local issue. This is a federal issue. And this is an issue that has divided this county to an unbelievably sad state.”
Kittelman denied that the advisory vote has anything to do with those groups. She said it was an opportunity for Douglas County residents to weigh in on how they feel.
“I do believe there should be a cap. I have said that all along,” Kittelman said. “It’s an advisory vote. It doesn’t carry the weight of law.”
David Jaques, a close personal adviser to Kittelman and chairman of the Douglas County Planning Commission, said it was unfair for Badger-Nores to label people who have concerns about the tribe’s increasing land holdings as radicals.
“She tries to build some kind of a bizarre scenario where citizens that have the right to express themselves before the public on issues as significant as tribal land transfers are now, in her mind, categorized as some kind of radical extremists,” said Jaques, who also serves as national president of One Nation United.
Jaques accompanied Kittelman to a meeting with officials from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs during a recent trip to Washington, D.C. Barb Lindsay, One Nation United’s executive director, also attended at the invite of Kittelman.
Jaques said it was distasteful for Badger-Nores to attempt to “embarrass a duly elected commissioner.”
Donald Keogh, who is organizing a recall effort against Kittelman, said Douglas County residents do not want to be associated with any group that promotes discrimination. He said the advisory vote plays to those groups.
Sutherlin resident Jack Van Dolah criticized Badger-Nores for her comments about Kittelman.
“I think that everything that Ms. Nores is bringing up is character assassination,” Van Dolah said.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
Evelyn Badger-Nores said the advisory vote on the Nov. 7 ballot asking whether there should be a cap on the amount of land the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians can move into tribal trust is nothing more than a vehicle for two national groups opposed to tribal rights.
Badger-Nores, of Roseburg, accused Kittelman of being a pawn for the groups Citizens Equal Rights Alliance and One Nation United, which she said oppose federal laws and treaty rights that benefit tribes.
“This is a very unique chance for these radical groups to maybe get some national publicity,” Badger-Nores said during the public comment portion of the Board of Commissioners meeting. “This is not a local issue. This is a federal issue. And this is an issue that has divided this county to an unbelievably sad state.”
Kittelman denied that the advisory vote has anything to do with those groups. She said it was an opportunity for Douglas County residents to weigh in on how they feel.
“I do believe there should be a cap. I have said that all along,” Kittelman said. “It’s an advisory vote. It doesn’t carry the weight of law.”
David Jaques, a close personal adviser to Kittelman and chairman of the Douglas County Planning Commission, said it was unfair for Badger-Nores to label people who have concerns about the tribe’s increasing land holdings as radicals.
“She tries to build some kind of a bizarre scenario where citizens that have the right to express themselves before the public on issues as significant as tribal land transfers are now, in her mind, categorized as some kind of radical extremists,” said Jaques, who also serves as national president of One Nation United.
Jaques accompanied Kittelman to a meeting with officials from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs during a recent trip to Washington, D.C. Barb Lindsay, One Nation United’s executive director, also attended at the invite of Kittelman.
Jaques said it was distasteful for Badger-Nores to attempt to “embarrass a duly elected commissioner.”
Donald Keogh, who is organizing a recall effort against Kittelman, said Douglas County residents do not want to be associated with any group that promotes discrimination. He said the advisory vote plays to those groups.
Sutherlin resident Jack Van Dolah criticized Badger-Nores for her comments about Kittelman.
“I think that everything that Ms. Nores is bringing up is character assassination,” Van Dolah said.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
