Opinion
Column: Indiana Native panel threatened by feuding


"Wanted: One chairman of the Native American Indian Affairs Commission. Qualifications: verifiable American Indian heritage (blood quantum test may be required), high tolerance for personal Internet attacks and deference to a small cadre of American Indian women who call the shots and the men who back them.

There is no preferred candidate. Salary: $0. Benefits: Never a dull moment.

The position opened mid-afternoon Wednesday, when W. Brent Gill, of Seymour, called Gov. Mitch Daniels' office and said he had had enough.

His resignation as commission chair followed five months of what his four or five critics say was stalled leadership.

They say Gill was a clueless and ineffectual newcomer to state American Indian politics. They openly, relentlessly, questioned his American Indian credentials, as well as that of at least one other American Indian on the 17-member commission."

Get the Story:
Ruth Holladay: Infighting leaves American Indian panel without leadership (The Indianapolis Star 2/3)

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