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 October 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 September 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.

Conflicting statements about who’s in charge have swirled around the community for weeks, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs said it won’t get involved, meaning there’s not an outside arbiter to weigh in.

Things reached a fever pitch in recent weeks when several council members were arrested, tribal accounts were frozen, and the interim council approved a controversial special election that bans women from running.

While the president and original council members disagree on who should be in charge, there’s agreement across the board that the conflict has sown confusion and division in the tight-knit tribal community.

“I don’t know if people are actually going to go vote or not,” council member Nizhoni Friesz said of the special election. “A lot of them perceive that it’s not real. … It’s just causing so much confusion that people don’t really know what’s real and what’s not.”

But Small told MTFP he thinks the special election provides a path forward.

“I believe that it is legal,” he said. “I believe that the traditional law is the law of the land here.”

In a September 29 meeting, the interim council and Small approved a one-time special election on October 30 to fill eight council seats they say have been vacated.

The eight original council members who voted to remove Small, however, say the election is invalid. They argue that Small is no longer president and that the traditional leaders, called chiefs, have no official governing authority. They say they hold the eight council seats and argue the seats are not vacant.

But the new election rules have added a new layer of controversy. The concept of the election was developed by the chiefs, Small said, with a goal of stabilizing the government “in accordance with traditional law and custom,” according to the election rules.

Those rules prohibit women from running, in addition to raising the minimum candidate age from 21 to 30. The eight original council members are also barred from running and there is no primary election or absentee voting. Small said the rules only apply to this vote, and people who are elected to the council will finish out the terms of the person they replaced, serving either one year or three years. On October 22, Small released what he said was an official list of 14 candidates.

But the plan has drawn criticism.

“It’s a civil rights violation,” council member Melissa Lonebear told MTFP of the exclusion of women and absentee voters, given that less than 40% of enrolled members live on the reservation.

The tribe notably elected five women council members and a woman president and vice president in 2020. And five of the eight council members feuding with Small are women.

“[There’s] a lot of talk about just males being able to run in the special election,” Small said in a video he shared on Facebook on October 6. “That is true. That is what [the chiefs] came up with. That is what they want, and I ask that we respect that.”

Council member Theresa Small, who has sided with the president throughout the dispute, would notably continue to hold her post. If the election occurs and new members are elected, she would be the only woman serving on council. Tensions rose exponentially on October 8 when four original council members — Melissa Fisher, Lonebear, Gwen Spotted Horse and Howard Ontiveros — and their family members were arrested upon entering the tribal building. They were charged with offenses related to the protection of government officials, employees and law enforcement officers, according to the tribe’s updated law and order code.

Lonebear, who represents the Lame Deer district, told MTFP that she and other council members were held in the Hardin jail for 52 hours before they were released.

“This whole thing has been so stressful and traumatic for us,” she said.

Spotted Horse said she and her husband were both arrested, which scared their kids.

“Our two little ones have been traumatized because they’re always with us,” she said. “Now when they see us getting ready, they don’t want to leave our side. They’re scared.”

Tribes manage millions of federal dollars in the form of grants and appropriations to support programs and employees, and the dispute recently reached tribal bank accounts.

In a September 24 meeting, the original eight council members passed a number of resolutions, including one revoking Small’s check-signing authority related to tribal bank accounts. Days later, the council announced that the tribe’s bank accounts with First Interstate Bank were frozen amid growing confusion about leadership. First Interstate Bank declined to comment on the situation to protect the privacy of its client.

The newly appointed interim council met on October 7 to approve budgets. The group also passed resolutions allowing Small and other officials to act as signatories for tribal bank accounts.

Several of the eight original council members told MTFP last week that they were unable to access tribal accounts and were not paid in the most recent pay period. Small, however, said the bank recognizes him as a signatory.

Council member Friesz told MTFP on October 17 she feared the conflict could affect the tribe’s federal funding. Federal funds support tribal government operations and the facilitation of health care and law enforcement services. Tribes also use federal dollars to operate programs — like transportation services, food assistance, and wildlife management — that meet the needs of its members.

“I don’t know if our funding would be pulled or if the U.S. government would say, ‘This is getting out of hand, and we’re going to take over the reservation,’” she said. “There’s so many possibilities that this instability is causing that it’s very worrisome for us.”

Lonebear echoed those sentiments, telling MTFP she’s particularly concerned about internal instability when the Trump administration has proposed sweeping cuts to federal programs amidst a federal government shutdown.

“I’m afraid for our reservation,” she said. “I’m afraid for the future of our tribe.”

But Small disagreed with those characterizations. He said the tribe has withdrawn the money it needs for the fiscal year.

“[The government] told us to settle it, and that’s what we’re doing right now,” he said of the dispute.

With the Bureau of Indian Affairs bowing out of the conflict, both the president and council have turned to the courts for a possible resolution.

On October 1, Small submitted a motion for declaratory judgment to the Northern Cheyenne Constitutional Court, which deals with violations of the tribal Constitution. In it, he asked the court to declare that he was not legally removed as president, according to a filing obtained by MTFP. Small told MTFP on October 21 he had not received a response from the court, though he expects one soon.

The council in early October filed a complaint in the same court against the chiefs, asking the court to declare the council —not the chiefs — the governing body of the tribe.

“The Chiefs of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe have absolutely no political or legal authority under the tribal Constitution,” their complaint reads.

The court recently dismissed that complaint, saying it lacks jurisdiction in the case. Council members say they’re not discouraged by the finding.

“[The Constitutional Court] refers to us as the Tribal Council, so they acknowledge us as the right group,” Friesz said, adding that they plan to show the ruling to the BIA and First Interstate Bank as proof of recognition.

Lonebear said the council will continue to pursue answers in Constitutional Court.

“The bottom line is that we need to exhaust all remedies,” she said. “And this is a remedy within our own tribal procedures.”

Note: This story originally appeared on Montana Free Press. It is published under a Creative Commons license.