BINGER, Okla. – Citing fiscal issues and clashes with the tribal council, one of the two claimant leaders of the Caddo Nation has resigned.
In a letter to the Caddo Nation Tribal Council dated June 24, Anthony Cotter tendered his immediate resignation after being accused of embezzling funds from the tribe.
According to the letter, upon taking office, Cotter was originally told he would receive $20 per hour for his work at tribal chairman, the rate used in previous Caddo administrations. However, at the request of the council at their first meeting after his inauguration, Cotter agreed to receive a reduced paycheck of $15 per hour for the early part of his term while the tribe waited for oil and gas royalty funds to be released. Instead, he was paid at the same rate as the tribe’s business committee -- $12.50 per hour -- with a note on the memo line of how much he was owed after taxes.
On May 16, Cotter talked with three business committee members and the acting office manager about receiving some of the back pay he was owed. After the discussion, both Cotter and the tribe’s treasurer, DeLita Butler, signed a check that included some of his back pay. However, a similar request for the following pay period was denied and met with misappropriation accusations.
“This is the kind of nonsence [sic] that I have repeatedly faced, basically on a daily basis,” Cotter wrote. “I cannot continue in good faith to be a part to this turmoil and chaos that is Not in the Best Interest of the Caddo Nation Membership.”
After an unsuccessful run for chairman last summer, the Amber, Okla., resident defeated Dale Butler by 24 votes earlier this year in a special election called by one of the two factions of the Caddo Nation. The tribe, which has about 5,500 citizens, has been dealing with a leadership dispute for almost a year with one claimant government working out of the tribal complex near Binger and the other, led by Brenda Edwards, working off-site.
Thanks to the schism, litigation is pending in the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Court of Indian Offenses and a court-appointed special master, Anadarko-based attorney Jason Glidewell, is working in consultation with both governments to oversee the tribe’s finances. That third party oversight is being partially blamed for the council’s inability to pay Cotter his promised salary.
“We can’t pay him the money,” Vice-chairman Philip Smith said. “It’s in the special master’s hands. While having him (Glidewell) there has slowed down Brenda (Edwards), it’s also slowed us down as well, as he has to approve of all our checks.
“The BIA’s not recognizing either one as chairman, so they’re not going to pay anyone.”
In the event of the chairman position opening up with more than one year left in the term, a special election is supposed to be scheduled within 60 days of the vacancy. In the interim, under the terms of the tribe’s constitution, the vice-chairman assumes the duties of the chairman, which means for the second time in less than a year, Smith will once again be the interim chairman of a faction of the Caddo Nation.
“I just want some peace,” he said. “I’d like to actually get some projects going, like a hotel on the north side of Anadarko or maybe a skate park or snack bar for the kids. Get some industry in here. I’m tired of all this, as we’ve got to go forward. I’m tired of going backwards. I’m also very disappointed, as I thought we would work well together.”
Anthony Cotter