The Board of Trustees (BOT) has created a range of subsidiary bodies that assist it by doing various tasks. Each body is expected to assist the BOT by developing expertise in a specific subject area. Nevertheless, the type of work and degree of authority exercised by these bodies vary.
Advisory committees provide policy advice to the BOT and tribal staff regarding a particular subject area or the work of a particular tribal department or program. They also educate outside groups about established tribal policy within their subject area. The BOT creates advisory committees by passing individual resolutions for each. Each resolution describes the subject matter of the committee and the staff who are expected to work with the committee.
These committees are governed by the Advisory Committee Code, which describes their internal procedures. The BOT currently has seven advisory committees:
- Cultural Resources Committee,
- Economic and Community Development Committee,
- Education and Training Committee,
- Land Acquisition Committee,
- Law and Order Committee,
- Science and Technology Committee, and
- Veterans Committee.
Regulatory commissions are delegated authority by the BOT to exercise governmental power in a particular subject area. Types of power exercised by regulatory commissions include the power to enact regulations, conduct hearings, issue permits, and impose fines. The BOT has enacted individual statutes that define the subject area and scope of authority of each regulatory commission. The nine current regulatory commissions of the Confederated Tribes are:
- Election Commission,
- Enrollment Commission,
- Fish and Wildlife Commission,
- Gaming Commission,
- Health Commission,
- Housing Commission,
- Land Protection Planning Commission,
- Tribal Employment Rights Office Commission, and
- Water Commission.
Boards of directors are created by the BOT to run particular enterprises or service agencies of the tribal government. They function like the boards of directors of private companies or nonprofit groups. These boards of directors can exercise powers such as hiring staff, running budgets, contracting in their names, or even, in some cases, filing lawsuits.
Current boards of directors created by the BOT include:
Tiicham Conservation District, a tribally chartered soil and water conservation district;
Nixyáawii Community Financial Services, a Certified Community Development Financial Institution;
Cayuse Holdings, an economic enterprise of the CTUIR;
Wildhorse Foundation is a charitable foundation
Health Commission, which operates the Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center; and
Farm Committee, which provides operational oversight of the Tribal Farm Enterprise.
In most cases, these subsidiary bodies consist of five tribal members appointed by the BOT for terms of two or three years. The BOT Secretary sends out notifications when positions are open on these bodies and accepts applications for these positions. For more information about subsidiary bodies of the BOT, contact the BOT Secretary at 541-429-7372.