EL RENO, Okla. — A decision by the Interior Board of Indian Appeals to allow access to  self-governance contract funds awarded to an embattled Oklahoma tribe is now under appeal.

Issued Sept. 6, the opinion allowed for Janice Prairie-Chief Boswell’s administration to complete draw downs on 11 contracts and one grant authorized to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. It also agreed with the findings of the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Great Plains regional office that there was not any proof that the tribes have failed to meet the contracts’ terms.

On Monday, Jeremy Oliver, attorney for Leslie Wandrie-Harjo confirmed that his client has filed an appeal on the IBIA’s decision. Wandrie-Harjo, who was initially sworn in as Boswell’s lieutenant governor in 2010, also claims to be the tribes’ legitimate governor.

While the appeal is pending, a stay on the decision is in effect, which means neither side can complete draw downs on the contracts or the grant. A timetable on the appeal has not been released.

The Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes have been embroiled in a leadership dispute for more than 18 months, prompting the First Bank and Trust in Clinton, Okla., to freeze one of the tribe’s accounts earlier this year.  The tribes’ holdings with First Bank and Trust are now under the supervision of a Custer County, Okla., district court judge.