Soboba is partly responsible for Bobby Salgado’s demise.

On Oct. 5, Salgado pleaded guilty to accepting $875,000 in bribes and personal income tax evasion.  To prevent corruption at the top, first understand human nature then adjust tribal culture.

Like many tribes in Southern California, Soboba has never compensated its tribal council members. Members insist that everyone should share and share alike.
Data from Native Finance Institute’s 2010 Tribal Council Compensation Studies suggests that underpaid and unpaid councils also under-work. Staff reports that council members do not show up for work meetings to learn and discuss backgrounds for critical decisions. Other council members state that they cannot get quorum to make decisions. Nearly three quarters of council members who work full time feel underpaid.

Nowadays, when an employee is hired, there is an implied if not explicit contract that states the job’s responsibilities, rate of pay, hours of work, paid and unpaid time off.  If the tribe’s compliant with Fair Labor Standards Act and pays their non-exempt workers at least a minimum wage, then why isn’t the council paid?
A 2008 study showed that human brains process the value of money and social status in the striatum part of the brain, back and forth all the time. Conducted by the U. S. National Institute of Mental Health and Japan’s National Institute for Physiological Science, researcher Caroline Zink determined that people “likely weigh cash and status against one another” when they make decisions. Human beings check this “worth” internally, especially when they know what others are earning.

Experimental psychology research on the effects of power, conducted by Deborah Gruenfield, professor at Stanford Business School, showed, as leaders attain more power, they tend to become more single-mindedness in decision making, orientated to action and depersonalize others.

Other psychoanalyst explained why someone who knew better would commit a crime.

“Often the behavior in question is caused by intense anxiety, stress in the workplace or home, or feeling overwhelmed,” said Chicago psychoanalyst Mark Smaller. Then they split their personalities and compartmentalized risky, unethical, or illegal behavior “to an extent that they don’t feel any sense of shame or guilt.”

Tribal reservation is a small and closed society where everyone’s opinion is heard.  A tribal chair can be incredibly powerful but face criticism and pressure 24/7 because he lives next door to the members.

In Native Finance Institute’s studies of tribal council salaries, fear of vocal criticisms about greed and losing an election were the common reasons many tribal chairs avoided asking for pay or a raise. The news reported that Salgado’s son died of a drug overdose.  Salgado must have known and felt helpless. One can only imagine the internal turmoil and stress in this convicted former chairman’s personal life.

But none of this can excuse his behavior.
Even though Salgado knew better, he most likely couldn’t escape his emotional fate.  “Who could blame him for taking the money when he wasn’t paid (to be chairman)?” said a tribal leader.

If Soboba members expect their council to work solely for the benefit of the tribe, they have to pay the council and receive accountability in return.  Soboba should establish a fair system of compensation along with strong ethics and vigorous tribal governance.  There is no way to conjecture whether or not Salgado would have turned down bribes, if he had received a salary.  But, it is likely that the lack of pay deterred other eligible candidates from running for council.
Cynthia Tam is the founder of Native Finance Institute, Trusted Advisor for Tribal Council’s Compensation and Benefits. Http://www.NativeFinanceInstitute.com. 619-200-6277.