BIA Says It Recognizes New Seneca-Cayuga Chief

The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs says it recognizes the new chief of an Oklahoma-based tribe that has been embroiled in an intertribal dispute.

Sunday, August 3rd 2008, 12:36 pm

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs says it recognizes the new chief of an Oklahoma-based tribe that has been embroiled in an intertribal dispute.

Jennette Hatta, the director of BIA's regional office in Muskogee, says in a letter to Seneca-Cayuga tribal chief LeRoy Howard that the agency has upheld Howard's election as interim chief.

The letter also says the BIA would recognize Howard while a dispute involving his election is resolved.

The dispute came to a head after a tribal court ordered that a June meeting of the Miami-based tribe's General Council, which is mandated by the tribe's constitution, be delayed because of a lawsuit filed by former chief Paul Spicer against several council members.

On June 7th, 60 council members ignored that order and met. At the meeting, resolutions passed that abolished the tribal court system, accepted Spicer's resignation and elected Howard as chief.