Article XV - Beloved Women
ARTICLE XV: POLICY ON BELOVED WOMEN
Historically, there was a Beloved Woman from any or all of the 7 clans... only about a 1/2 dozen or so of them have been mentioned in history... Women were not considered important to the European invaders so they didn't realize the women were the REAL chiefs/ leaders!
We do recognize a position for a Beloved woman from each clan.
We allow the Beloved Woman to have a VETO for anything that comes up
in /from councils. She does not need to vote at anytime except in case of a tie or she may come and announce a veto. She may voice her opinion on any resolution or proposal. She may also introduce a resolution herself at anytime. She may announce a resolution cannot be considered.
Her position is for LIFE.
Therefore we carefully consider before promoting anyone to this
position.
No more than 1 living Beloved woman from her clan may have the
position at the same time, however, a woman may be nominated for the position while there is a beloved woman serving if the current beloved woman is older than 75 years of age in order to prepare her for service in that capacity and to start the nomination and approval process but she may not be confirmed in that position as long as the current beloved woman is living.
A beloved woman must be nominated by 2 sponsors: 1 must be a member
of her own clan and the other must be from a different clan and on the council at the local level.
Once a Beloved woman is nominated, a period of not less than 7 years
must pass while her name is brought up at least 1x a year in the councils and a vote taken to allow her to remain under consideration. If at any time the vote is not unanimous, her name and nomination is removed and 4 years must pass before her name can be re introduced for nomination to the position. [if at anytime a living beloved woman vetoes the nomination of another beloved woman, that veto cannot be overturned except by the subsequent unanimous vote of all living clan mothers and in this instance, 7 years must pass before the nomination can be made and prior to the nomination, written approval must be obtained from each of the living Beloved women. This written approval must be dated and must be at least 7 years plus one day after any prior veto by a Beloved Woman].
If at the end of 7 years she has continued to display the habits,
lifestyle, and characteristics of a beloved woman, and each year she has unanimously been approved by the council, she will be voted on by the council first and if that passes she will then be ratified by all the members of her clan. The council vote must be unanimous. From her own clan, at least 2/3s of all the voting members of her clan must vote affirmatively for her to be named a beloved woman.
At the conclusion of this 7 year examination process, the vote by the
council and the vote by her clan, if she is approved, the chief and council and any other serving /living beloved women will meet with the newly selected Beloved woman and have her give her oath to serve and present her with 7 ears of white eagle corn, a cape/mantle of white SaSa feathers, the wing of a white Sa-Sa, and a gorget engraved or carved with the words in Cherokee of her title, her clan, and her name and the date of her 1st nomination to the position.
She may also, at this time, receive the distinctive "Beloved Woman" Facial tattoo: Two feathered serpants facing each other and tattooed around her lips so that when her mouth opens, the snakes mouths open as well.
All external symbols of her office will forevermore be considered the property of the Constitutional Cherokee and are on loan to the Beloved Woman during her lifetime.
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During her 7 year evaluation period, after her nomination, although she cannot vote and she has no veto power, a beloved woman nominee may appear before the council at anytime and give voice to her opinion on any issue or resolution, and although she many not vote, she is encouraged to come and speak unless there is a living Beloved Woman from her clan; if so, then she must have the approval and consent of that Beloved woman before she will be allowed to speak.
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In the event a woman dies before the 7 years of evaluation have passed, and at least 4 years have passed since her nomination, and if there is a current /living Beloved woman from that clan who also agrees to it [if none is living from that clan this step may be skipped], the council and her clan may vote to have the honor awarded to her posthumously. She will be awarded the title and it shall be recorded. She may be cremated with the symbols of her office [except for the gorget which will return to the tribal archives] or if the immediate family member making the arrangements does not choose to have these items interred with the Beloved woman, any of those symbols not interred or cremated will be kept in the archives of the tribe. At no time will the symbols of the office of the Beloved Woman be given to anyone other than the tribal archives or to another beloved woman and these items may not be inherited by family members unless the family member has also been designated by the Constitutional Cherokee to serve as a Beloved woman.
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