Members nation will receive copies of a new draft constitution this month, says Chief Gilbert Blue. The document will revamp the tribe’s government and set a full election for leaders for the first time since 1975. A 10-year-old constitution committee reconvened in January and suggested many changes, trying to find a compromise to satisfy most members. Some changes give more power to the tribe, reworking percentages of voting numbers and adding language to make tribal business information public for members, Blue said. Tribal leaders also took some power away, giving central governing powers to the executive committee instead of the General Council. “I don’t like to divide the tribe,” Blue said. “But the tribe could not delay. We needed to put something forward for the people to vote on.” Constitution committee leaders Sherry Osborn and Jack Canty, don’t like the idea of the power going to a small group. “The power should be vested in the people. … That’s not preserving our culture,” Canty said. Thirty percent of the tribe’s 2,107 members must vote yes to adopt the document, then the tribe can have an election. The 1993 Catawba Settlement Agreement requires that tribal members be given 30 days to review the constitution before a vote.