After considerable thought and discussion with my family and close advisors, I have made a decision to resign as Chairman of the Hopi Tribe effective December 31, 2008. This decision is not an easy one, but it is made with the best interests and welfare of our tribe and tribal members in mind. We have gone through much turmoil in the past two years that affected every member of this tribe. It affected the very meaning of what "Hopi" stands for. We are all tired of this seemingly unending political turmoil. It is affecting our daily lives. It is affecting our families and even our ceremonies. It is affecting our tribal government operations.

Our administration pursued the fundamental principles and tenets of a democratic form of government. We pursued the preservation of the constitutional rights of our tribal members. We pursued a government that is transparent and accountable to the people it serves. We pursued to protect the integrity and credibility of our tribal government. But when I look at our people, I see how this situation has affected them deeply. Many people come to me sobbing and telling me how saddened they are. So I said - no more. Our lives and our way of life as Hopi and Tewa people are more important.

As we enter our new ceremonial cycle of Soyal Muya - a new beginning, let us look at this decision as a new beginning and an opportunity where we can all begin a reconciliation process - a healing process - and work together for a new and healthy year and brighter future.

I now challenge Todd Honyaoma Sr. to do the honorable thing and honor his word and promise he made to the people on two separate occasions to "step down" on December 31, 2008 as he previously stated. To the members of the tribal council and other key officials of the tribe, I also challenge you to look within yourselves and ask yourselves why you sit on the tribal council and why you work for the Hopi Tribe. As leaders, we must honor our word to our people and be accountable for our promises and actions because it is the tribal members who we serve. We are their servants. I believe these are the first important steps toward true reconciliation and healing.

Our tribe has experienced a similar situation before where our government was "shut down" but history has proven that our government can be re-established. Let us look at his as an opportunity to reshape our tribal government to one that can be accountable to the people - one that can be transparent where nothing is hidden and there is full and open disclosure of all revenue and funding sources and where there is periodic accounting to the people on expenditures - a government is "by the people and for the people." One giant step toward achieving this is to immediately move forward with the revision of our tribal constitution. Our tribal government must be brought back to where there are true checks and balances and where we honor and respect the civil rights of the people we serve; and where we respect and honor the rights of our villages as true autonomous governments. In the end, we must return our tribal government back to the people.

There are other important issues that must be addressed immediately, including but not limited to the Black Mesa Project Environmental Impact Statement and the full restoration of the Tribal Appellate Court. I urge you, the tribal council, to seriously consider and take positive action on these issues immediately. Our natural resources are vitally important to us as Hopi and Tewa people. Our teachings tell us that we must not exploit our resources as they are important to the preservation and perpetuation of our tradition and ceremonies and to our future as Hopi and Tewa people. Our sovereignty, albeit limited, is important. We must preserve it and strengthen it. We must protect it - and the most important way of protecting our sovereignty is by enforcing our laws through our judicial system. We cannot delegate our sovereignty or give it away to an outside organization.

I wish you all the best and encourage you to work together to achieve all the good things in life for our people. I thank you and the Hopi and Tewa people for the privilege and the honor to serve you and to have worked with you. Kwakwah'.