Brian Harris
Chief
Patricia Leach
Assistant Chief
Rod Beck
Secretary/Treasurer
Executive Committee Duties
The five-member Executive Committee is elected by the General Council to oversee the routine daily operations of the Nation government. There are five elected officials that serve four year terms. Each office comes with specific responsibilities as described in the Nation's constitution. The Executive Committee is specifically asked to oversee the following laws on behalf of the General Council:
- The General Council resolves that the existing reservation cannot be reduced in size or terminated.
- The General Council resolves the Catawba General Council and Executive Committee Records are the property of the General Council and not of any member or officer.
- The General Council resolves that residences placed on Catawba property must be at least 300 yards from other residences not separated by roads, and does not affect the existing residences.
- The General Council resolves that non-Indian spouses of deceased or divorced Catawbas who do not have children may not reside on the reservation longer than six months and may be compensated for water systems or residences left as incurred costs to that spouse and the deceased.
- The General Council resolves that residents of and visitors to the Catawba Reservation are subject to the constitution, by-laws, and resolutions of the Catawba Nation. Authority of enforcement is vested in the Executive Committee.
- The General Council resolves that applications have to be presented to the Executive Committee and approved before new home sites and facilities can be claimed and utilized on the reservation. Such residences must be registered to enrolled citizens.
- The General Council resolves that reservation property can only be claimed and utilized by application for one year, home and small acreage, approved by the Executive Committee.
- The General Council resolves that citizens claiming Reservation property must furnish proof of that property utilized on a regular approval basis or the control of that property reverts back to the control and supervision of the Executive Committee.
- The General Council resolves the authority to Executive Committee to developing and controls of new residences on the reservation in compliance to existing laws.
The current Executive Committee was elected on July 25, 2019 and took office in August 2019. Their terms will expire in July 2023. They can be reached at the Longhouse offices during regular business hours.
Statment to Catawba Citizens on Recent Wall Street Journal Article
A number of Catawba citizens have raised concerns arising out of a recent Wall Street Journal
article about how the Two Kings Casino was established and subsequent coverage from other
news outlets which reinterpreted the Wall Street Journal to falsely imply that the National Indian
Gaming Commission is investigating certain public officials or their relatives. We understand
why Catawba citizens would have questions after reading these articles and want to let you know
about the due diligence the Executive Committee has undertaken since these articles came out.
We spoke with the National Indian Gaming Commission, and they told us that the issues raised in the articles about politicians and their relatives were outside of their statutory authority. Rather, the NIGC is conducting its standard investigation as it reviews the Tribe’s gaming agreements and gaming operations. The NIGC expressly told us that this was limited “to the requirements of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, including ensuring that the Tribe maintains the sole proprietary interest in its gaming operation. Actions by the Tribe’s vendors outside the confines of IGRA are not within the scope of the Agency’s jurisdiction.” They added that they “did not share information [regarding this review] with any of the newspapers that have reported on the matter.”
Unfortunately, the Charlotte Observer and other news outlets leapt to the false conclusion that the NIGC was investigating various public figures and their relatives. However, the Charlotte Observer has now acknowledged that its article about the Wall Street Journal was in error and as a result they “have rewritten the top of that story to remove the reference to an investigation into the politicians and their family members.”
The Two Kings project was thoroughly reviewed by the Department of Interior and affirmed by a federal court. The related legislation, which applied strict federal Indian gaming laws to the project, went through a fully transparent hearing process with Congress. The Catawba Nation continues to work closely with the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) on its standard review of our casino project. NIGC is reviewing all agreements, and our tribe, just like any other tribe in the country, is required to follow any amendments or requirements presented to us by NIGC. We are committed to full compliance with Federal and Catawba gaming law.