Resultados chi-cuadrado para las variables de la dimensión económica

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success by how much cash they have on hand, rather than being concerned about shrinking annual revenue. At the annual membership meeting late that fall general manager Barry Hipps states, “the management is concerned about this decline and efforts are underway to increase marketing strategies and to plan for a 50th anniversary season celebration in 1999” (CHA 1997, November 13).

In 1998 the CHA made another poor business decision. A team of investment

consultants convinced them to transfer $500,000 of their cash reserves into a 40% bond, 60% stock portfolio. Subsequently, the Board moved against capital improvements because it decided reserve funds were in a too diminished state to be spent. Hindsight being what it is, this seems a poor decision given the dilapidated state of the theater facilities, which are detailed later in this chapter. In 1998 a committee to promote the 50th anniversary of the Drama was formed and a concerted effort to increase advertising for the following year was put in place.

The first evidence that the Board anticipated a deficit between expenses and revenue appears in 1999, two fiscal years into their decline of cash available. Preseason the Board minutes show that they expect that attendance will increase with the added advertising and emphasis on the 50th anniversary. Considerable effort is put into the commemoration, however attendance continues to decline. At mid-season, the minutes reflect the Board’s frustration, “It was agreed that the marketing initiatives in place were about all CHA could do at this time.” In the fall of 1999 Leon Jones succeeded Joyce Duggan as Principal Chief of the EBCI and Board Chairman Ed Henson felt it was time, “to discuss with him whether the Tribe might be in a position to loan funds to the Association” (CHA 1999, November 11). Although the Chief did not extend a line of credit to the CHA, they did not come away from

the meeting empty handed. Now sustained by gaming revenues, the EBCI moved to waive the CHA’s obligation to pay tribal levy on its ticket sales.

Lacking the cash on hand to open its attractions in the spring of 2000, the CHA turned to a venerable local branch of First Citizen’s Bank for a loan. First Citizen’s provided an unsecured $300,000 line of credit to the CHA, of which $150,000 was used to open the season. The Association then repaid the full debt in the fall when the attractions closed. This pattern repeated itself until the fall of 2004 when $200,000 is borrowed and left unpaid, leading to financial crisis. In 2000 ticket prices were raised but revenue continued to decline as Drama attendance fell again. Board and tribal member Jim Cooper, a well-known hotelier, offered his opinion that the casino was part of the problem because it was drawing the wrong type of customer to the reservation. Gamblers did not care for the cultural attractions and seldom left the casino anyways. However the EBCI’s relation to gaming was set to change dramatically. “Chief Jones advised that in meetings with Governor Hunt, he had learned that the Governor would like to see the overall image of Cherokee improved, as well as see improvements in the presentation of Cherokee culture” (CHA 2000, April 7). As guardians of “the presentation of Cherokee culture,” the CHA understood this upcoming amendment to the state gaming compact could be the life preserver they so desperately required.

In 2001 the Board continued to look for ways to trim its budget while increasing its revenues. When Board and tribal member Mary Jane Ferguson suggested that they suspend the policy of offering refunds and give rain checks instead general manager Hipps countered that people would be less likely to purchase tickets on days when it looked like rain if they thought they might not get their money back. Here the CHA minutes reflect not necessarily a lack of ideas but a lack of will to make major changes. As the situation worsens, the

possibility of a tribally funded bailout is alluded to. Ray Kinsland, a non-native officially recognized by act of Tribal Council as an honorary member of the EBCI, suggests the Tribe cannot allow the organization to fold, “due to the local interest in preservation of the Tribe’s history, and the fact that the CHA pioneered this interest and has certainly been the primary organization in promoting this preservation of history and culture” (CHA 2001, August 27).

With the new Cherokee Preservation Foundation finally open in 2002 optimism returned to the Board. The Foundation’s executive director, Dr. Susan Jenkins, an enrolled member of the Oklahoma Choctaw, met with the Board to discuss CHA operations and tour the facilities. “It was the consensus of the committee that CHA should seek a very significant amount of grant assistance from the Foundation,” especially for capital improvements and marketing funds (CHA 2002, March 12). Attendance that year made a modest 7% gain and Dr. Jenkins addressed the CHA membership at the annual meeting. She challenged the CHA “to think and ask where the Association would like to be in ten years” (CHA 2002,

November 14a). Her words were prescient. The lack of any long-term vision for the future of the CHA would prove to be a decisive factor in its collapse.

At a 2002 meeting among a team of professional planners and designers, representatives of the Tribal government and the CHA Board, a search for a downtown master plan was begun. Jim Cooper again voiced his concern that, “not all businesses are benefiting from gaming.” He went on to note, “some of the community looks tired and worn and is not enticing to visitors” (CHA 2002, November 14b). Mary Jane Ferguson suggested, “CHA perhaps needs to enhance the Drama, perhaps reinvent ourselves and maybe go a step further… it might be a consideration to add to or redo the script… age may have taken its toll” (CHA 2002, November 14b). Tribal Council member Marie Junaluska noted, “The

Drama and the Village have gotten old to the tourists… nothing has changed about these attractions” (CHA 2002, November 14b). In a letter to the Board, Dr. Jenkins suggested that the CHA apply for a planning grant to re-write the Drama script. This amounted to

considerable pressure on the Board to make changes from within its own ranks, from the Tribal Council, and from the Cherokee Preservation Foundation. These requests and warnings, however, did not prevent the organization’s collapse.

In 2003 ticket prices were raised again and the mood at CHA turned apprehensive. “It is unclear at this time what effect the weak economy, threat of war, and high gasoline prices may have on attendance” (CHA 2003, March 10). A $300,000 grant from the CPF is used for improvements to stage lighting and props, however Dr. Jenkins continued to urge the CHA to think more broadly about its future. In a memo to the Board she advised them to “explore the possibility of presenting a second performance in conjunction with Unto These Hills” (CHA 2003, April 11). However, this suggestion was not met with enthusiasm, “It is the consensus of the members that the CHA would not wish to produce a second show” (CHA 2003, April 11). Dr. Jenkins continued to advocate broader change because it is the mission of the CPF to provide seed money for new ideas. Providing funds to cover basic operating expenses is outside its stated goals. As attendance at the Drama declined yet again general manager Hipps pointed to external factors outside of their control such as rain, increased competition in the tourist industry, the overall condition of the national economy, and the loss of

manufacturing jobs in the southeast as driving forces shrinking their business. Poor showings at local attractions are not isolated the Board seemed to argue, but part of a slump across the entire region. While this is probably true, the implication here is that Unto These Hills declining revenue and rising costs are not a result of their management. External factors

aside, they remain confident in their Drama, “Trustees who have visited the Village and Drama this year are impressed with the quality of these productions” (CHA 2003, July 25). The Board’s undying loyalty to the Drama – a loyalty to what the Drama was, or how they remembered it to have been, rather than what the Drama was currently – was a major contributing factor to their inability to comprehend the scope and severity of the problems afflicting CHA, as well as inhibiting them from implementing radical changes. CHA’s situation was so profoundly precarious it may have been the Board was unable to see some aspects of it. Or perhaps they were in denial?

In 2004 a grant was made by the CPF for improvements to the auditorium’s rain shelter and to provide for microphone amplification for the actors. The CHA’s financial situation grows worse and Chairman Henson made plans to meet with newly elected

Principal Chief Michell Hicks, a CPA and successful former corporate executive. The Board begins to ponder its final options: closing the Drama and only operating the Village; closing both the Drama and the Village and selling off its assets; or exploring the possibility of the Drama and Village becoming tribally owned and operated attractions. When the Board and the EBCI tribal government convened a special session to discuss a downtown master plan, the radical reservation-wide reforms recommended to properly “theme” family vacations in Cherokee forced Chairman Henson to admit CHA was in no place to take a leadership position. “CHA is ready to step aside… CHA has no money, but would be willing to

cooperate. Perhaps CHA has become outdated” (CHA 2004, August 23). As their attractions close for the season the reserve funds are spent with the First Citizen’s loan still to be repaid. The CHA is essentially bankrupt and in the ensuing discussion it is suggested, “perhaps the Tribe would bail out CHA for one year” (CHA 2004, August 23). The CHA’s financial

situation has deteriorated to the point that they can no longer afford to cater the lunch at the annual membership meeting (CHA 2004, August 23).

At the September 2004 Board meeting Vice Chairman and tribal member Bob Blankenship announced he had received written notification of Chairman Ed Henson’s resignation. Immediately the Board took steps to proceed with a resolution to Tribal Council. CHA assets will be used to secure an $800,000 line of credit underwritten by the Tribe, while the Association’s charter and bylaws will be rewritten so that the Board of Trustees is

reduced to nine members: three are to be appointed directly by the Principal Chief, three others will be elected by the CHA membership, and those six will confer to appoint three more. Unanimously, the Tribal Council moved to underwrite the loan. The old Board retired and the new regime stepped forward. At their first meeting that winter, “It was noted that the above actions represent historical changes for the CHA… for the first time all trustees elected are members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians” (CHA 2004, November 12).

Why did the old regime not take more aggressive steps to preserve their stake in Unto These Hills? Did they foresee that the future demanded the Drama be reformed and

collectively decided they wanted no part? Regardless, one is struck by the strange mixture of confidence combined with resignation with which they proceeded into bankruptcy. Although the CHA had ambitions for the future, it seems they had no long-term plans beyond doing in the next season what they had been able to do in the previous. Simultaneously, the old regime could not envision a future without Unto These Hills as it had always been. An organization rooted in another era politically, socially, and economically and with their leadership

appointed to the Board for life it seems the CHA was unable even to perceive, much less comprehend, the radical changes of renaissance sweeping through the Tribe. As revenue

generated by Harrah’s Cherokee Casino lifted the Tribe out of poverty, Cherokee political clout and ambition awoke in a world where the sun had set on CHA’s influence.

“It was just a train wreck, start to finish”

When the Cherokee assumed management control of the CHA in late 2004 two things happened simultaneously. First, tribal members discovered just how badly the CHA

organization and its facilities had decayed. From an organizational and infrastrucutal standpoint the entire operation was in crisis. Second, as the new management began to take radical steps to reverse the CHA’s downward spiral they met with staunch resistance from non-Indians among the staff in the business office and among the performers and production staff in the theater.

Tribal member James Bradley was general manager of the CHA during this period of transition and had to confront major problems with communications and the office

workspace. To him some of the practices of the old regime were downright bizarre. Well right off the bat we didn’t have a phone system with voice mail. So if people called and anybody was away from their desk or they were off hours, they just had to call back. Too bad for them, you know. All the

communication was done by fax machine. There was no email, no network. The printer upstairs in the accounting office was a dot-matrix printer. The accounting software was the DOS version and even though they had updated the software to make it Windows friendly, they never used it. It was on our computer, they just wouldn’t use it.

There used to be a huge [school bell] out here by this bookshelf… And when the phone rang it would go off so everybody upstairs could hear it. And it was just crazy and annoying. And one day Chelsea, it went off and we were in here talking about something, and she was like, “I can’t stand that anymore!” And she just went over there and hooked the wires and just turned it off. It was crazy. Why do you need a fire alarm to go off (laughs) every time the phone rings?

What James describes here is a gulf separating the old CHA from what he considered to be typical twenty-first century business practices. For the Cherokee who worked in the office, the absence of internet and voice mail was evidence that the old regime was stuck in the past. This was meant figuratively, in the sense that they were unwilling to adopt new practices, and literally, in the sense that their office technology was too old to be functional.

I too encountered this persistent past as I waded through the massive CHA archive for my research. From January through September 2006, I was employed as the CHA archivist and endeavored to inventory the association’s collection, bloated beyond belief by fifty-seven years of benign neglect. As a result of the archive’s directionless growth, the CHA office building was stuffed with nearly six decades of junk and mementos, much like the attic or garage of a beloved grandparent. Some of these properties were outright trash and I aided the new regime in identifying documents and objects to destroy. As I write these words I know my academic colleagues will receive them skeptically. Shouldn’t I know that one person’s trash is another’s treasure? After all, some archaeologists have built their careers dissecting middens! No, trust me, it was trash. Everywhere. We encountered the problem of junk almost every day. James Bradley described the situation:

There’s just junk everywhere. It’s the Historical Association but we don’t need to keep credit card receipts from 1957. And, you know, the attendance information and the stuff that we need, numbers of people that were here – that stuff’s difficult to find. That’s not here.

In addition to the outrageous quantities of useless documents stored in the CHA’s main office building there was a warehouse sized building in the backstage area known as the Folder Room, the sole purpose of which was to store junk. There was

obsolete lighting and sound equipment, palettes of unsold programs, boxes of discontinued souvenirs.

They were just sitting up there. And they would order things in bulk. Like, we have enough [purchase order] books to last us another fifty years. And they all say ‘19__’ dash, so, you know, we have to cross that out.

There were items of historical significance mixed in with the trash, in my opinion enough to fill a museum solely dedicated to Unto These Hills. Often the difficulty lay not only in discerning which items were valuable and which were disposable, but physically accessing items that were hidden behind old lawnmowers, stacked on shelves eight feet high, left in the summer heat with the hornets and bees.

Although there were obstacles to be overcome simply in making the CHA office building up to date, the Mountainside Theater and its backstage facilities had fared the worst. John Tissue, a non-Indian with family ties to the area and considerable outdoor theater experience at Theater West Virginia, was brought in as theater manager in the transitional period before becoming general manager in 2007. He outlined the decay of the CHA’s greatest asset.

In its pristine state or even in a slightly used state we have a great facility. But when the revenue started declining they just triaged buildings, they said, “We’re only going to repair a building when that’s the last resort. We’re going to let it go until its crisis.” And so all our buildings now are in a state of crisis because they just let them decline. From the stage steps to the concessions stands, to the cast housing, to the office and its infrastructure: phones,

computers. All that stuff was either non-existent or decayed to a point where it was practically unusable.

Yona Wade, a tribal member and Master’s student of Theater Arts Management at the North Carolina School of the Arts, elaborated on the plumbing situation, which was a major

The basics that you need to operate safely and hygienically. The ratio of people to bathrooms, what we seat, maybe it was there at one point but it just wasn’t updated. We just don’t have the facilities available to service as many