Arrests, frozen accounts, a controversial election: Leadership crisis grips Northern Cheyenne Tribe

[RandySF]

A months-long dispute gripping the Northern Cheyenne Tribe centers around who is in charge and a controversial election that excludes women candidates scheduled for Oct. 30 is only causing more confusion.

The volatile situation sparked last spring when Northern Cheyenne Tribal President Gene Small, a rancher who campaigned in 2024 on transparency, initiated an audit into the council’s use of federal COVID-19 relief funds. Some council members balked, but the examination moved forward on a 6-5 vote, and the fallout since the audit got underway has burned through the tribal government.

Headquartered in southeast Montana, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe has around 12,403 enrolled members, 4,618 of whom live on the reservation, according to the tribe’s enrollment office.

Events have been rapid-fire: The tribal council on Sept. 11 voted to remove Small, citing alleged constitutional violations. They maintain that the removal vote did not come in response to the audit. Two council members — Torrey Davie and Theresa Small — notably did not attend the removal hearing and have since sided with the president. On the same day, a group of traditional leaders, called chiefs, issued a declaration calling for the removal of the eight council members who voted to oust the president. The chiefs then selected eight new temporary council members to serve, and Small held a swearing-in ceremony for them. Meanwhile, the eight original council members continued to meet and issued a public statement saying they were the official governing body of the tribe.



https://www.kare11.com/article/syndication/associatedpress/arrests-frozen-accounts-a-controversial-election-leadership-crisis-grips-northern-cheyenne-tribe/616-85187f04-7308-4549-9411-335c97c1e707

[stopdiggin]

1. do 'traditional leaders' have authority to either remove, or alternately, appoint

board members?