OKLAHOMA CITY — A grassroots Kiowa group is suing the Bureau of Indian Affairs over a rejected request for a special election.
On June 8, the unnamed group’s spokeswoman, Anita Johnson, filed litigation in the Western District of Oklahoma against Southern Plains regional director Dan Deerinwater, acting regional director Terry Bruner, agency superintendent Rose Roberson and Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell for denying a request for a secretarial election on a proposed new Kiowa constitution.
In May, the group submitted a petition with 546 signatures to the Southern Plains regional office in Anadarko. That request was denied in less than two weeks, claiming that the BIA could not conduct the election since the tribe does not have a functioning business committee or election board.
Along with claims that the office could not meet the statutory deadlines laid out by the Code of Federal Regulations due to agency staffing issues, the BIA also denied the request stating the tribe was not reorganized under the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act, a 1934 law that allowed Oklahoma-based tribes to regroup and establish a charter and bylaws.
Under the Code of Federal Regulations, the Department of Interior may call for a secretarial election on a behalf of a federally-recognized tribe upon receipt of a request from the tribe’s recognized governing body or a valid petition with enough signatures as determined by the tribe’s constitution.
Under the Kiowa constitution, a valid petition requires signatures from at least 400 enrolled tribal members older than 18.
Unlike a tribal election, which is conducted by and under the exclusive authority of the tribe in question, a secretarial election is conducted pursuant to federal statute or a tribal constitution. It is overseen by a BIA-appointed election board rather than the tribe’s election board.
Although the Kiowa Tribe did not reorganize under OIWA, it has never voted to reject the Indian Reorganization Act. As per the Code of Federal Regulations, such a move would automatically make the tribe and its citizens ineligible to request a secretarial election.
The proposed constitution would keep the Kiowa Indian Council, which consists of all Kiowa citizens aged 21 and older and replace the tribe’s business committee and hearing board with a three-branch government similar to what is used by the Cherokee, Osage and Muscogee (Creek) nations.
If adopted, the constitution would create six legislative districts within the boundaries of the former Kiowa-Comanche-Apache reservation and guarantee a seat for tribal citizens who live outside that area. Those districts would also be used for appointments to the tribe’s election board.
It would also empanel the first Kiowa court in memory and establish the framework for a Kiowa Supreme Court and trial court.
A motion for a temporary restraining order was denied earlier this month. No hearing date has been set on the injunction request as of Friday.
Attempts to reach Deerinwater and Bruner for comment were unsuccessful.
The lawsuit comes as tribal members wait for the Interior Board of Indian Appeals to act on challenges to a separately announced vote.
Earlier this year, Deerinwater’s office announced plans for a tribal election that would be conducted under special one-time rules promulgated by the BIA in compliance with the tribe’s current constitution.
The federal government has not recognized a Kiowa election since December 2010. Since then, three of the eight business committee members have either resigned or simply quit showing up to meetings. Citing a carryover clause, the five remaining members have claimed that they are a legitimate business committee.
Under the current Kiowa constitution, the tribe has a hearing board as its final arbiter, but it has not been fully staffed for an extended period, thus making it unable to intervene. The tribe’s election board does not have enough members to constitute a quorum and its office at the complex has been locked for several years, thus ruling out a legitimate election.
Two challenges to Deerinwater’s announcement were filed with the IBIA and no timeline has been announced for while a decision will be made.
The group seeking a constitutional election is not a party to either challenge.
