CARNEGIE, Okla. – Since the extended limbo following a February decision that the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma needs an election to escape a continued absence of recognized leadership, tribal citizens are being called upon to meet and plan a way forward.
Margie Large, one of the meeting coordinators, said a Kiowa Indian Council meeting will be at 10 a.m. April 16 at Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center, 1415 7th in Fort Cobb. Doors open at 9 a.m. Tribal issues will be discussed, as well as the ballot for the November election.
“All Kiowas, please attend,” Large said.
Among the issues is the decision by the Board of Indian Appeals (IBIA) regarding the results of the December 2013 Kiowa Business Committee election. Large said Bryan Newland of the Michigan-based Fletcher Law Firm will be present for the meeting. He is representing Matt Komalty, William Tartsah, Sonny Tartsah, Gene Quoetone, Robert Hatfield, Margie Large and Lewis Paukei, who contend they were elected to the Kiowa Business Committee in the questioned election. According to the IBIA decision, the election results are valid under tribal law. It’s now up to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to decide whether or not to recognize the results.
The IBIA decision stems from an appeal filed in February 2014. That was followed by a “stay order” put in place that March. The opposition administration, headed by Amber Toppah, had submitted a resolution to the agency in December 2013 stating that it didn’t have enough business committee members to conduct tribal business.
After the BIA called for an election in 2015, Toppah and her administration filed an appeal that halted the process. The IBIA decision, in effect, rejected the BIA Regional Office’s recognition of Toppah and her administration.
The BIA said in an earlier statement that the leadership quandary that is affecting the Kiowa Tribe has begun to affect the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, Fort Sill Apache Tribe and Comanche Nation regarding the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Intertribal Land Use Committee’s ability to conduct business. A quorum featuring at least two sitting business committee members from each tribe must be present for a quorum to be reached to conduct business.
An election is hoped to bring some order to about six years of chaos, Newland said in a prior interview with The Constitution.
Komalty has also called for a forensic audit of the tribe’s financial condition.
Contact Scott Rains
Timeline:
› November 2009: Chairman Don Tofpi is recalled; a later recall removes Ted Lonewolf, Sharon Pena, Sherman Chaddlesone, Ernest Redbird Jr., Tommie Doyebi and David Geimausaddle from the Kiowa Business Committee (KBC).
› November 2010: Business Committee members are elected — Ron Twohatchet, chairman; Amber Toppah, vice chair; Charlotte Bointy, secretary; June Artichoker, treasurer; and Herschel Sahmaunt, Alva Tsoodle, Stephen Smith and Ricky Horse, committee members. The Bureau of Indian Affairs considers it the last legitimate election.
› February 2011: All Business Committee members were recalled except Artichoker, but the BIA continues to recognize the committee as elected.
› July 2011: Twohatchet resigns his position and Toppah becomes acting chair.
› November 2011: Sahmaunt resigns.
› According to the BIA, Artichoker effectively resigns, in early 2012, leaving Toppah, Bointy, Tsoodle, Smith and Horse left on the committee.
› A December 2012 election conducted by Dwayne Davis and Karen Purley was considered “seemingly illegal,” according to the BIA, and its results were not recognized.
› December 2013: Davis conducts another election the BIA deemed illegal.“ The BIA claimed results were never turned over to the agency, except for notification, that Matt Komalty had been elected chairman. Komalty, William Tartsah, Sonny Tartsah, Gene Quoetone, Robert Hatfield, Margie Large and Lewis Paukei have attempted to stake their claim to leadership. They filed an appeal in March 2014 with the Internal Board of Indian Appeals (IBIA).
› December 2013: Horse tenders his resignation from the Business Committee and the last BIA-recognized committee did not have a quorum of five members to conduct tribal business.
› December 2013: A Business Committee resolution following Horse’s resignation requests action by the commissioner of Indian affairs. The tribe has had no ability to conduct business in an official manner, according to the tribe’s by-laws.
Because the supreme governing body of the tribe is the Kiowa Indian Council, the lack of an authorized KBC means no one is able to appoint members to the election or hearing boards, causing the council to be unable to take action on matters. Both the election and hearing boards are not filled or functioning.
› Jan. 26, 2015: Bureau of Indian Affairs Southern Plains Regional Director Dan Deerinwater issues a letter invoking the agency’s authority to call an emergency election for the tribe.
› May 7-8, 2015: The Kiowa Constitutional Revision Committee submits a petition with 546 signatures of eligible Kiowa voters to the BIA requesting a secretarial election on May 7. The request was denied the next day.
› May 20, 2015: The BIA Southern Plains Regional Office issues a letter in which it made corrections to the chronology but did not alter the Jan. 26 decision calling for a special election once the Department of the Interior decision is made.
› Feb. 17, 2016: The IBIA rejected recognition of Toppah as leader of the Kiowa Tribe and said her continued use of tribal resources may violate some tribal and federal laws; dismissed an appeal filed by J.T. Goombi; recognized the December 2013 election results as valid under tribal law; and said the tribe is required to hold elections for the Kiowa Business Committee under the guidelines of the tribal constitution.
› April 16, 2016: Kiowa Indian Council meeting scheduled at 10 a.m. at Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center, 1415 7th in Fort Cobb. Doors open at 9 a.m. Tribal issues will be discussed with Bryan Newland, an attorney representing Komalty and company, as well as the ballot for the November election.