THE WICOCOMICO INDIAN
NATION
CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE I

We, the descendants of the "Historic Wicocomico Indian Nation" shall reestablish the Tribe through the known descendants of William Taptico, John Vesey, and all others that are proven descendants of the Wicocomico's.

Our purpose is to perpetuate the existence of the Wicocomico Indian Nation for the future descendants of the Nation and all families descended thereof. The Tribal Government shall be dedicated to the fair treatment and welfare of all the members of the Nation and to abide by the laws of the United States, State of Arizona, State of Virginia, the Wicocomico Indian Nation Inc. and the Tribal Government.

ARTICLE II

The governing power of the Tribe shall be vested in the Tribal Council with the following positions structured as indicated.

TRIBAL CHIEF (WEROANCE) AND COUNCIL POSITIONS

The Chief of Staff shall be the Senior Council Advisor and Chairman of the Tribal Council.

Until such time the Wicocomico Tribe is recognized by the Federal Government as a "Historic Indian Nation of Northumberland VA.,the tribe will abide by the Wicocomico Indian Nation Inc. By-Laws and Articles of Incorporation of Arizona and Virginia. At such time the Tribe is recognized, the Constitution and By-Laws shall be revised to conform with the requirements of the State and Federal Government.

The Tribal Chief(Weroance) shall have full veto powers over the Councils actions and decisions. The veto may be over turned by a simple majority of the Council. The Sub-Weroance will vote only in the event of a tie vote.

A quorum (four members)must be available before a council meeting can be conducted.The Sub-Weroance shall not be considered as part of the quorum.

ARTICLE III

To provide continuity at the end of the three years, three members will be retained for one year for the purpose of staggering the positions in the future. Elections may be called prior to the three year term if the majority of the Council votes to do so, however the Weroance has the power to use his veto powers. Election rules and regulations shall be addressed as an addendum.

There shall be one life time position, that of the Weroance( Al Byrd). The Sub-Weroance shall serve at the pleasure of the Weroance.

ARTICLE IV

Council Meetings shall be called as needed by the Weroance and a minimum of once a year. Meetings shall be conducted by email. The Director of Administrative Affairs shall schedule and record the meeting. The agenda will be set by the Chief of Staff and will accept items from all Members to place on the agenda. To keep the meeting orderly, only five items shall be placed on the agenda based on the importance of the items. All other requests will be placed on the agenda of future Council Meetings, however this does not preclude the necessity of calling an emergency meeting. All minutes of the Council Meeting shall be retained on discs for a period of five years.

ARTICLE V

Applicants for membership in the Nation shall have reasonable proof of being a descendant of the Wicocomico Indians or William Taptico, John Vesey or other known family names. Membership fees are a $160 for life time membership or $32 per month for 5 months. The membership fees are for the entire family ( children under eighteen years old), only the descendant(s) shall be entered on the Tribal Rolls as Native American. At times membership will be free for a period of time.

ARTICLE VI

The History and Culture of the Wicocomico Nation shall not be compromised and shall remain true to our Nations verified research. Members of the tribe shall not,at any time, attempt to display our culture or mode of dress as any other than what is described in our "History Of The Wicocomico Indians." If at any time our research is found to be incorrect, the Tribal Council shall have the authority to change our history to reflect the correct information. Members or Tribal Council shall not attempt to rewrite our history to be"politically correct".

Research material shall be from verifable records, such as family bibles,census reports, wills, guardianship records, birth/death certificates, war records property taxes and land grants.Family tradition will not be used as verifiable material, but may be used as leads to research the subject matter, but not as fact.

Our history shall be verified with the above sources of information. In the event an assumption must be made, it will be declared as an assumption until proof is available.

ARTICLE VII

To create an economic base for the Wicocomico Nation,several areas of revenue producing activities must be explored and action taken. All revenues shall be used for research, education and events that will increase public awareness of Native American problems.

ARTICLE VIII

To ensure the Nation is in touch with it's members, regions will be developed with Tribal Representatives, that will offer assistance to new applicants and members. The Tribal Represenatives shall consist of volunteers that will coordinate regional functions with the responsible Council Member. Duties and responsibilities of the Regional Tribal Representative will be addressed in a seperate addendum.

ARTICLE IX

The Public Relations Council Member shall be notified in the event of media coverage. No member is authorised to speak to the media officially for the Wicocomico Tribal Government or insinuate they have this authority. If at any time an interview is requested by the media, the Public Relations Council Member will be notified.

In the event of interaction between other Indian Nations, the Protocol Council Member will inquire about the other Nation concerning their protocol, to prevent embarrassment of both parties.

ARTICLE X

Addendums to the Constitution shall be attached as riders to Article X, and will identify the Article to which it pertains to. Additional Articles shall be approved by the Council Members.

FOR THE COUNCIL MEMBERS.

Al Byrd
Weroance