Fed officers remove 3 tribal councilors

BROWNING (AP) — Federal officers including from the Department of Homeland Security entered a northern Montana Indian tribe's headquarters to remove three councilors at the center of a factional impasse.

The Flathead Beacon (http://tinyurl.com/kqap8oj ) reported Saturday officers with military-style rifles acted on a tribal judge's order to remove Blackfeet councilors Bill Old Chief, Paul McEvers and Cheryl Little Dog.

Turbulence has plagued the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council since at least 2012 when Old Chief, McEvers and Little Dog were suspended.

Two weeks ago, these bitter divisions on the 1.5-million-acre Blackfeet Indian Reservation led to a temporary government shutdown.

Chairman Willie Sharp Jr., whose decision to reappoint the three councilors recently led to the court's decision to remove them, said the officers arrived "dressed like they were ready for battle prepared for a conflict."