Chippewa Cree council chair removed from office

The Chippewa Cree Business Committee Monday unanimously voted to remove its chair from his position, with the chair himself refusing to attend the Monday meeting and vowing to continue to fight the action.

The tribal council voted to remove Ken Blatt St. Marks as the chair, saying in a press release it did so because of "neglect of duty and gross misconduct."

"It is unfortunate the Business Committee had to take this action, but it was necessary and appropriate given the actions by the chairman and his refusal to answer the charges," Vice Chairman Richard Morsette said in the release. "The chairman repeatedly disregarded the constitutional mandates and process. Now we must move forward working for the betterment of the tribe and its members."

Morsette and Business Committee members Ted Whitford, Ted Russette, Ted Demontiney, Harlan Baker, Gerald Small and John "Chance" Houle signed the press release before issuing it.

St. Marks says the council's actions are in retaliation for his investigating what he says is mismanagement and misuse of funds by the Chippewa Cree government, including his assisting investigators from federal agencies looking into the allegations.

"I'm not done fighting this yet," he said Monday night, adding, "I'm still the chairman."

St. Marks also has said he is protected under federal Whistleblower protections for people who bring forward evidence of misuse of federal funds.

The council suspended St. Marks — in a meeting he said violated the Chippewa Cree Tribe's constitution and laws because it was unannounced and secret — March 15 and banned him from the tribal offices pending its meeting Monday.

Tribal Judge Duane Gopher later that day issued a restraining order banning St. Marks from the council chambers, but after a hearing March 18 rescinded that order.

When St. Marks entered the building March 20, the council had him arrested for trespassing — he was released on $300 bail — for violating its own order made with the suspension.

St. Marks was outside of the tribal offices Monday during the council's meeting, but refused to go in to hear the charges against him.

The council's press release said it requested St. Marks to come in three times to hear the charges and he refused.

St. Marks told the Havre Daily News Monday night that he refused because he had never heard details of the charges before the meeting.

The council's press release said the meeting was closed to the public to protect the privacy interests of St. Marks and witnesses who testified against him. The charges included employee harassment including sexual harassment, financial misconduct, unauthorized expenditures and illegal employment practices, the release said.

St. Marks also is facing civil charges in the Chippewa Cree Courts, which he says are charges of threats and intimidations made against him by an employee of the tribal health department. He added last week after a hearing on those charges — which are closed in the Chippewa Cree Tribal Courts — that they likely stem from discussions of what he said is the department being $5 million in the hole in its project to build a new clinic at Rocky Boy.

Havre Daily News Editor John Kelleher contributed to this story.