Breaking news: Chippewa Cree council removes St. Marks

Breaking news: Chippewa Cree council removes Marks

The Chippewa Cree Tribal Council has removed Chairman Kenneth Blatt St. Marks from office.

The council voted unanimously to oust St. Marks at a meeting Monday morning.

In a press release, the tribe said St. Marks was given the pink slip because of several charges, including "employee harassment including sexual harassment, financial misconduct, unauthorized expenditures and illegal employment practices."

The press release said St. Marks was at tribal headquarters Monday morning, but turned down council members three times when they asked him to enter council chambers to answer the charges.

The meeting itself was closed to the public, the press release said, "to protect the privacy interests of Blatt St. Marks and the individual tribal employees who provided evidence supporting the charges."

Before the meeting, St. Marks told the Havre Daily News he wouldn't attend the session because he had been given no information about what the charges were about or who would testify against him.

"I'm not done fighting this yet," he said.

"I'm still the chairman," he said, alleging that the charges against him were voted in a closed-door meeting.

He denied harassing any employees, and said he believes the charge stems from a discussion he had with the director of the health clinic, whose department, he said, is $5 million in the whole.

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