Ethics violation prompts removal of tribal ABC Commissioner
Travis Smith began his career with the Tribal Alcohol and Beverage Control Commission on Feb. 27, 2024. He was guaranteed a four-year term until a fellow TABCC member submitted a grievance to the Eastern Band of Cherokee’s Office of Internal Audit and Ethics Aug. 14 of this year.
The complainant alleged Smith “acted individually, jointly or through another to threaten, intimidate, or discipline any person as reprisal for any legitimate action taken by the person” and “failed to maintain or enhance the honesty and integrity of his respective office; and safeguard the reputation of the EBCI as a whole.”
An OIAE investigation of each count uncovered substantial evidence the TABCC member had violated both — for many months, on multiple occasions. Specifically, Smith had been “engaging in a persistent pattern of intimidation and public belittling of staff, issuing conflicting directives that impeded departmental operations and creating a hostile work environment” that caused “emotional distress and a decline in morale among TABCC employees.”
The findings were filed Nov. 6, and the Cherokee One Feather posted the news on Dec. 3 the same day it'd received the documents. Smith was removed from TABCC, fined with $2,500 upon Ethics Review Committee recommendation and barred for 5 years from any appointed position.
On Dec. 4, Principal Chief Michell Hicks posted to Facebook that the EBCI was accepting applications for the vacant TABCC position.
Travis Smith of Birdtown placed fifth — and last — in 2025 tribal council primaries, preventing him from advancing to the four-slot General Election. Ten years ago, however, his candidacy was viewed favorably by EBCI voters.
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During his single term from 2015-2017, Smith was largely responsible for initiating the impeachment of former Principal Chief Patrick Lambert. According to The Smoky Mountain News, the then-council member made “a spur-of-the-moment move to order an investigation” into Lambert’s office, which “carried narrowly with 55 percent of the vote.”
Tribal council removed Lambert in a 9-3 vote after finding him guilty on eight of 12 articles of impeachment. The chief claimed impeachment was merely retaliation against his investigation into the previous administration — which led the FBI, citing “possible criminal conduct,” to raid the Qualla Housing Authority office.
Due to Lambert’s landslide win and similarly high approval rating, the measure was unpopular among EBCI members. Pro-impeachment incumbents fared worse than their anti-impeachment counterparts in subsequent races. With a last-place finish in the 2017 Birdtown general election, Smith was no exception.
SMN reported that in response to his defeat, the former council member took to Facebook.
“I worked 21 years for our Tribe before being elected and I will seek employment again,” he wrote.
Indeed, Smith did seek employment again with the Eastern Band. He became Secretary of Housing in 2018, a position he held for a year before re-entering his former field of construction management. Then, five years later, he was appointed upon a unanimous vote to replace Shannon Ross as TABBC commissioner.
The Office of Internal Audit and Ethics also investigated Smith’s predecessor.
Multiple times throughout the week of Aug. 20-25, 2022, Ross claimed to be an Alcohol Law Enforcement officer in attempt to persuade a bartender to violate the one-drink-at-a-time policy at Harrah’s Casino. Despite his ploys, staff called security, and Ross was driven home by the same chief ALE officer he’d previously claimed to oversee. The Ethics Review Committee recommended Ross pay $1,000 and “obtain an alcohol assessment with adherence to the recommendations of that assessment.” He retained his TABCC position.
The commission stayed out of trouble for some time before confronting a larger issue in 2024, when George M. Littlejohn did a friend a favor.
The OIAE found that the TABCC member worked behind-the-scenes to ensure Myers Construction, owned by his close friend and step-uncle, won a contract with his board “and subsequently benefitted from the contract financially.”
Myers Construction also paid Littlejohn $12,000 for his work at the Tribal ABC store.
This violation was graver than one too many drinks or tactless false identity. Littlejohn was removed from the board, fined $5,000 and barred for five years from appointment to any tribal position.
Though the One Feather only displays audits and investigations filed in and after 2022, the OIAE has investigated multiple other complaints about tribal officials in roles from the medical board to council. Some were dismissed on all counts; others were upheld as significant violations. Nonetheless, the TABCC ranks first in most audited EBCI bodies, with three substantiated grievances.
Correction: A previous version of this story indicated that the Cherokee One Feather received the EBCI filings in November but didn't publish the documents until Dec. 10. The One Feather actually received the documents on Dec. 10 and posted them that same day.
