Comanche Nation in Oklahoma Debates Election of Chairman Story-Date: 11:07 a.m. PST Sunday , September 27, 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------ Comanche Nation in Oklahoma Debates Election of Chairman By Leta Rector, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Sep. 28--LAWTON, Okla.--Who decides who runs the Comanche Nation -- the people, the business committee, the BIA, the bank, the opinion of other tribes? This seemingly basic question is at the heart of continuing confrontations between factions of the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma. A contested April recall meeting of Chairman Keith Yackeyonny has been upheld by the BIA. Jacquetta McClung, former Secretary/Treasurer, claims to have been elected chairman twice. The BIA ruled those two meetings invalid, but recognizes Ms. McClung as acting tribal chairperson based on an entirely different matter . Ms. McClung has proposed that the business committee request BIA administrative oversight of all 93-638 federal programs. This requires BIA approval of all expenditures. According to a news release from Ms. McClung, the other alternative would be BIA reassumption of the programs, in which case employees would lose their jobs and tribal offices would possibly have to close. Meanwhile, Mr. Yackeyonny has never left the tribal chairman's office. He said when Ms. McClung comes to the tribal complex, the employees block the door. "These are not even my people. Most of them didn't even vote for me." He conducts tribal business. "We get letters in here every day from other tribes, "Juanita Pahdopony, tribal administrator said. "Other tribes recognize Keith Yackeyonny as chairman." The dispute began at the end of January when three members of the business committee asked Chairman Keith Yackeyonny to call a council meeting to remove Ms. McClung as secretary-treasurer of the tribe. Mr. Yackeyonny said the assembly of more than 300 tribal members voted 2 to 1 to remove her. On Feb. 2, the BIA issued a letter stating that the meeting had been illegal and was invalid. With charges and counter charges, contested elections and disputed results, the unrest continued. In the ensuing chaos, sometimes escalating toward violence, tribal operations were effectively shut down for three weeks. According to one tribal employee, whole tribal programs were endangered. Because tribal funds were not available, some elders did not receive money for air conditioning and people were evicted because they couldn't pay rent, tribal employees said. The Nation was forced to furlough 78 employees. Six employees have taken jobs elsewhere because they were not paid At the annual tribal council meeting April 18 some tribal members voted to recall Mr. Yackeyonny. Ms. Pahdopony said Ms. McClung and supporters began cussing and creating such a disruption that Mr. Yackeyonny adjourned the meeting. The election board left and, according to Ms. Pahdopony, the majority of the counsel left. She said Ms. McClung continued the meeting and those who remained voted to recall Chairman Yackeyonny. Mr. Yackeyonny says the April vote was invalid as soon as the election board walked out. He indicated annual tribal council meeting is for nominations, reports and other issues. A recall meeting of elected officials must be specifically called as such. Additionally, there was no bill of particulars against Mr. Yackeyonny, he said. Dr. Bill Southard, Comanche tribal member, believes the problem lies with the Comanche constitution. "Our constitution and the petition ordinance make it far too easy for a relatively small number, 200 I believe, to overturn the results of an election. I believe our constitution must be revised." Daniel Deerinwater, area BIA director, upheld the April 18 recall action in a Sept. 11 ruling. "They have a piece of paper," Mr. Yackeyonny said. "Is that piece of paper more powerful than our tribe's constitution? Who is right?" he asked, sitting in the chairman's office. "The tribe should be right. Even if the bureau is right, they're still wrong. We can resolve our issues if left alone." "It's absolutely interference," Ms. Pahdopony said. "This is being forced down our throats. Almost the entire majority of the counsel has voted to removed her twice. The BIA is to provide technical and an advisory capacity. They are not to select our leaders. That's what the general counsel is for. In regard to the BIA decision to uphold Mr. Yackeyonny's recall, Dr. Southard said, "There's a very old song that goes, 'It ain't necessarily so.' The bureau's decision has been appealed." "It's a bigger issue than McClung or me," Mr. Yackeyonny said. "It's an issue of tribalism vs. federalism." "I am acting tribal chairman," insists Ms. McClung. "I told her, 'Jacquetta, if you were chairman, you'd be in my office'," Mr. Yackeyonny said. Ms. McClung says she was elected chairman at a June 6 meeting. Subsequently, the BIA determined that meeting to be invalid. In the continuing tug of war over the office, Ms. McClung asked Don Ashapanek of the BIA to attend a July 11 meeting. Mr. Ashapanek said he attended as an observer. "They (BIA) don't do anything they're not asked to do," Ms. McClung said. She said she was elected chairman at that meeting. The BIA subsequently ruled that meeting invalid also. At 2:30 a.m. after the July 11 meeting, Ms. McClung faxed a letter on the Comanche tribe's letterhead to the tribe's bank, stating that she and her business committee members were the only authorized people to do business for the tribe. Tribal Administrator Pahdopony said this brought the tribe to an absolute standstill for three weeks. "The bank, not really fully knowing the goings on of the tribe, didn't know what to do," she said. "Her attorney actually had the nerve to say that our accounts being frozen did not damage us. It caused a lot of damage to the tribe because we had big contracts that were in the middle of doing business. We have brand new Apache community building and we had contracts $6,000, $7,000 and $8,000 each. Some of those peoples' checks bounced. It puts the tribe in a terrible place," Ms. Pahdopony said. Edward Tahahawaha and Norman Nauni, longtime Comanche business committee members, have been recognized by the District Court of Comanche County. Their authorized signatures have unlocked the frozen bank accounts. On July 25, a petition drive was started and, according to Mr. Yackeyonny, 400 Comanches met and "overwhelmingly recalled" Ms. McClung. "One, we removed her (in January), second, we recalled her. But the BIA won't make a call on that," he said. "The business committee wrote her a letter. We rule by committee, not by chairman." Mr. Yackeyonny said a tribal council meeting was held with over 500 members in attendance. "That day, the tribe said to me, 'Keith, at the April 18 meeting, there were so many irregularities. You and the business committee are our government. If we had the resources, we would want you to sue the BIA for all this interference'." "The BIA is supposed to monitor our programs. But they're not in there to tell us how to run our tribal government. They've been dictating to us," Gloria Pocowatchit, administrative assistant, said. The BIA recognizes Ms. McClung as the acting chairperson based on other events. Joe Walker who has been assigned by the BIA to oversee Comanche matters said, "It is our opinion she is serving as acting chair based on the fact that the vice chair resigned." He says the Comanche constitution provides that the next officer moves up when an office is vacated. Since the BIA ruled that the office of chairperson was vacated by the April 18 meeting and the office of vice chair was vacated by his own resignation, Ms. McClung would automatically move up into the office of acting chair. There are reports that Ms. McClung took over the bingo hall following the April 18 meeting. "She physically fought the gaming manager. It took everything in the world to take them out of the bingo hall," Mr. Yackeyonny said. "She came in and took over the complex and they had to remove her again. The business committee told her they didn't recognize her." "Her sister slapped our bingo manager. Someone almost got run over," Ms. Pocowatchit said. She also spoke of a council meeting where "the radical people" were throwing chair and one of them pulled a knife. She said charges were filed against 30 people through the CFR court. "Nothing happened," Ms. Pocowatchit said. "The courts said they don't have jurisdiction." She said the charges were documented because, "We've got a camera running." Mr. Yackeyonny says even if Ms. McClung is recognized by the BIA as chairperson, she has forfeited that position on the basis of a Comanche constitutional provision. "Our constitution says if you miss four regularly scheduled meetings, you're out." He says she missed the May meeting, June 6 meeting, July 11 meeting, Aug. 2 meeting and the September meeting. "Therefore, she's out," he said. "The BIA won't even recognize that. "People have tried to play it up like it's McClung vs. Yackeyonny. I actually like the lady," Mr. Yackeyonny said. "I pray for her every night and every morning, asking God to find her a job. "We feel as the Comanche Nation, it is our right to govern ourselves within the perimeters of the law," Mr. Yackeyonny said. "We know we're not a total island out here by ourselves. The Creator gave us inherent powers to govern ourselves that nobody can take away from us." ----- Visit Indian Country Today on the World Wide Web at http://www.indiancountry.com/ (c) 1998, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. ------------------------------------------------------------