Alex Rabiee has declared his candidacy for the position of Chief of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma. His campaign announcement appears below.

Hensci, fellow Seminoles! My name is Alex Rabiee. I am a member of the Nurcup Harjo Band and I am fuswvlke (Bird Clan). My great-grandmother was Lizzie Kernell. My grandparents were Dixon C. Fife and Leister Johnson Fife. My parents are Perry Rabiee and Elsie Fife. I have lived in Seminole 47 out of 50 years, residing in Lawrence, KS., for 3 years. I attended Seminole Public Schools, and I graduated from the University of Massachusetts Global with an Associate’s Degree in General Business. I am also the only candidate for Chief who has never served in tribal government, nor have I ever worked for the Seminole Nation.

I began my first job at 16, stocking groceries at the local Homeland grocery store, which eventually led to a career in the grocery retail industry spanning over twenty years. I have performed every job in the business, from cutting meat to decorating cakes to analyzing the financial side of the business. I currently work as a manager for the world’s retail giant, Walmart. I have been in management for over ten years, with seven of those years spent at Walmart. While living in Lawrence, KS., I managed a building services contracting company that led to the creation of my first small business.

I spent three years working for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, gaining valuable insight into how to create, grow, and maintain tribal businesses. The story of how the Citizen Potawatomi Nation evolved from 2.5 acres of tribal land held in common and $550 in the bank to the economic powerhouse it is today is amazing! I believe that the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma could greatly benefit from following a similar path.

The major challenge our tribe faces is that approximately four-fifths of our members live outside the Seminole reservation boundaries. Grant monies received from the federal government to provide goods and services to our people only apply to approximately one-fifth of our members residing within the reservation. Approximately four-fifths of our tribal members are underserved, have been underserved, and will continue to be underserved unless something changes. That is not right, that is not fair, that is unjust.

The problems of our tribe are many, and they start at the top with our tribal government. Out of the Five Civilized tribes, the Seminole Nation is the only tribal nation that does not give its people the power to hold tribal government accountable through initiative and referendum petitions, but most importantly, the power to recall elected officials through the petition process. If I am elected as our next Chief, I intend to change that. I want every voting-age member of our tribe, regardless of where you live, to have the power to hold me and the General Council accountable. Once we have accountability, everything else will fall into place, and the forgotten Seminoles living outside the boundaries will be underserved no more. I look forward to serving all of you. Mvto!