Rocky Boy council sworn in after half-year wait

The four members of the Chippewa Cree Business Committee who have been waiting to be sworn in while appeals have been going on were finally able to take their seats Thursday.

Beau Mitchell, Jody LaMere, Calvin Jilot and Harlan Gopher Baker filled empty seats on the tribal council after taking their oath.

"I think we can do some great things for the tribe if we just stick together," said Ted Whitford, a committee member who led the meeting Thursday.

Rick Morsette stepped out of his position as vice-chair and interim chair during contention with the voted-in chairman, Ken Blatt St. Marks.

The committee will have a meeting Tuesday at 9 a.m. in the tribal offices, to designate a new vice-chair, who will become interim chair, and then a vice-chair to replace that person.

A permanent chair can only be selected by tribal voters in a duly authorized election.

After the meeting Thursday, only one position is empty on the board.

St. Marks was taken out of office multiple times since winning the election for his position in 2012. He is accused by the former council of many nefarious actions, including sexual harassment, misappropriation of funds and 13 other charges. The charges are not formal yet, but the council does not need them to be to impeach a chairman.

St. Marks says he was removed from office for talking to federal investigators looking into corruption on the reservation. The federal Interior Department has ordered the tribe to pay him back and front pay and to pay his legal bills.

After the swearing in Thursday, each of the committee members spoke to the full house in the tribal office chamber.

"Some days we disagree, some days we bump heads, but we shake hands and get back to work," said Baker, who was voted in to serve his third term. " ... Sometimes I lose sleep, but I will do my best."

Morsette's daughter rose from the audience to speak on her father's behalf. She said that Morsette has lost sleep and gained white hairs from his position as interim chairman and did all he could to serve the community.

Morsette's term ended in 2014, but the constitution of the tribe states that the vice-chair is obligated to serve as chairman in the event that there is not one until one is found.

"I'll do my best here to work diligently with these gentleman," LaMere said.

Dustin Whitford, a council member serving his four-year term since 2012, spoke on behalf of the two members of the committee who were leaving, Morsette and Gerald Small.

"They were really good examples on how to treat people," Dustin Whitford said. " ... Welcome to our new members; it's about time."

Dustin Whitford spoke about initiatives of his aimed to impose harsher consequences to drug dealers on the reservation and his hope that the tribal government could help him achieve those.

Mitchell, who is an administrator for Plain Green LLC, a lending company on the reservation, told those gathered that it is time to make action now that the committee is legitimately seated.

"Talk to us, not about us - we'll listen," Mitchell told the crowd.

The members were voted in around six months ago, but state Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, who ran in the election, filed an objection to the results of the election on the basis of an honorary tribal member was allowed to vote. Only full members may vote.

The honorary tribal member, The Rev. Pete Guthneck, was given an honorary membership for his work with the tribe. He used that membership to vote, which he said he was unaware he was barred from doing in tribal court.

The board now consists of Jilot, Mitchell, LaMere, Baker, Ted Russette III, Ted Whitford, Dustin Whitford and Ted Demontiney. Currently, the only seat empty is the chair, but after the meeting Tuesday, the empty spot will be in the rest of the board. There will be an election in 2016 that will fill the board.