On December 17, 1994 the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community held its annual
election. The "traditionals" won overwhelmingly in all of the Council races
and the Chief Judgeship, held by the Tribal Chairman's son, Bradley Dakota,
ended in a tie with Nancy Edwards. The election was an almost complete loss
for Dakota's faction; it lost a council seat and was in jeopardy of losing
the judgeship. Moreover, Dakota's proposal to establish a tribal
corporation to own and lease slot machines was overwhelmingly defeated. In
short, the election was a disaster for Dakota. And it was made worse by the
prospect of a contentious election using the recently purged voting list
for the post of Chief Tribal Judge. It was an election that Bradley Dakota
might well lose.
It was in this context that Fred Dakota, Tribal Chair, "discovered" that
over two hundred enrolled voters did not meet his newly stringent
interpretation of the tribe's constitution. Never mind that Fred Dakota had
been aware of this issue for years and had even sponsored a proposal to
change the constitution to bring it into alignment with actual practice.
Never mind that each of the persons on the roll had been presented to the
Tribal Council and had been voted on with full knowledge of the
circumstances. Never mind the unfairness of taking full-bloods who had been
voting members of the Tribe for decades off the voting rolls without any
hearing or any semblance of due process. Never mind the unfairness of
refusing to seat the fairly and newly elected Council member, Jerry Curtis.
Despite the will of the electorate the new Tribal Council was never sworn
in. And Amy St. Arnold, who had been voted off the Council, remained
illegitimately seated. This rump council continued defiantly in power.
Not surprisingly, this high-handed activity, approved by a bare majority of
the old Council, brought protest. The protest boiled over in a number of
contentious council meetings. Ultimately, Fred Dakota and his Council
seemed to see reason. They agreed to submit the entire controversy to a
court for determination. But what court? Even Fred Dakota could see that
any decision by his own son would lack legitimacy. After an extensive
search, a state judge from Utah agreed to hear and resolve the controversy.
Judge Thorne was also a tribal judge and an acknowledged Native American
jurist of high integrity.
Both sides litigated the matter vigorously. Judge Thorne issued a
preliminary decision ordering a new election for Chief Judge using the 1994
voting rolls. The purged voters, contrary to Fred Dakota's wishes, would be
able to vote. Fred Dakota's son's judgeship was in peril. More profoundly,
it was apparent that, while he had not yet ruled on the underlying issues
in the case, Judge Thorne appeared to be leaning towards reinstating all of
the disenfranchised voters for all purposes.
Fred Dakota with a majority of the "old" (and by now illegitimate) Tribal
Council voted to ignore the decision that they had only months before
agreed to abide by. Even Tribal Attorney Joseph O'Leary joined in,
questioning who Judge Thorne was to dictate who should be eligible to vote
in tribal elections. Apparently Fred Dakota, his Council, and his attorney
succumbed to collective amnesia as they reneged on their agreement to abide
by Judge Thorne's decision.
This then is the context of the Fight For Justice take-over. People had
been illegitimately stripped of their votes. A newly elected Tribal Council
was denied its rightful place. The old rump Tribal Council had failed to
honor their own agreement to litigate and thereby settle the matter. Like
the followers of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Fight For Justice had been
cheated out of what was rightfully theirs and then denied any legitimate
ways to seek redress through the courts.
186 days later, FFJ continues to occupy the Tribal Center and to call for
negotiations.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
To Concerned Individuals,
I am writing on behalf of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and Fight For
Justice members, who are seeking sanctuary here in my parish. I am asking
you to open your hearts and minds and give generously to help me support
these individuals who are fighting for their rights, in this struggle that
may and will affect the entire nation of Anishinabe. We are asking for
money to help defray the cost of utilities, food, medical bills, bail and
office supplies. These expenses are very high due to all the people
involved and living here. We have received some donations from caring
people such as yourselves around the nation, but this money has run out as
we are in our 186th day here. We continue to pray for everyone and for this
to end peacefully. We thank you for whatever support you can give.
Megwetch,
Fr. John Hascall, cap. OMF.
Holy Name of Jesus Church
Route 1 Box 45
Baraga, Michigan 49908
P.S. If you have any questions please call us here at the Parish Office.
We can also fax additional info if needed.
Phone: (906) 353-6836 or (906) 353-7099
Fax: (906) 353-6800
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Comments from NativeNet listowner, Gary Trujillo (gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us):
For more information on this subject, please see Laurie Anne Whitt's
article of 15 November 1995. You can retrieve a copy from the NATIVE-L
archives by sending a message to "listserv@tamvm1.tamu.edu" containing:
// job echo=no
database search dd=rules
//rules dd *
select * in native-l.12878
print all
/*
(that's the numeral "1" in "tamvm1" and the letter "l" in "native-l").