The Northern Arapaho Tribe’s executive branch refused to pass a resolution by the tribe’s legislative branch, prompting recent outcry by the tribe's people.
Several tribal members have cast the move as a betrayal and emphasize that the tribe’s primary and general elections are both approaching.
The Northern Arapaho Business Council, or six-person executive branch, conversely claims federal rules justify its decision last week.
The Northern Arapaho General Council (NAGC), which is the supreme governing body of the Northern Arapaho tribe and consists of at least 150 voting-age tribal members, held a legislative meeting Sept. 14 in Ethete, Wyoming.
Most of the tribal members there voted to fire the tribe’s in-house attorney, Clare Johnson, immediately. They also voted to fire Wind River Casino General Manager Patrick Leckrone, tribal member Nicole Wagon told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday. Wagon presented both resolutions at the meeting.
So far, the Business Council has done neither.
And on Sept. 27, the governors published a letter to the tribe’s social media page saying it will not enforce those resolutions.
“While we deeply respect the opinions of the General Council, we cannot follow its recent recommendations for personnel action,” says the letter. It cites federal secretarial procedures and says, “these decisions are not left to the General Council.”
“Equally important,” the letter continues, “the recommended personnel changes are neither wise nor warranted.”
Firing Johnson and Leckrone would risk jeopardizing the tribe’s gaming operations and standing in critical child-custody cases in which the court battles over native children’s custody disputes under the Indian Child Welfare Act, the letter says.
The General Council also enacted a change to its election codes. An earlier General Council resolution says that can’t go into effect until the next election, however.
‘They Think They Can Just Walk All Over Us’
The letter upset many tribal members, who have always considered the General Council to be higher than the Business Council. The General Council’s resolutions call it the “supreme governing body” of the tribe.
“They think they can just walk all over us,” Elizabeth Hodge told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday. “We’re a resolutional tribe. We want to uphold the resolutions.”
Nicole Wagon, who brought the two resolutions for consideration at the meeting, also voiced her frustrations. She and Hodge have planned a protest for Sunday afternoon in Riverton City Park.
Under Leckrone, some tribal members have complained about the human resources points system at the casino, calling it unfair.
Wagon said Leckrone also hasn’t had a tribal member job shadowing him as the General Council resolutions demand.
“They’re now getting out saying the job shadow is (tribal member) Jenni Wildcat,” said Hodge.
The Business Council told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday that Wildcat is Leckrone’s job shadow, but that she has been shadowing the manager for two years and that it’s not a recent claim.
Wagon said these issues weren’t her own personal issues, but that she’d heard enough tribal members concerned with both staffers that she decided to bring the proposed resolution on their behalf.
“I feel like we were taken advantage (of),” said Wagon. Johnson was “never brought forth from General Council. … Nobody even knew what she looked like.”
Though some tribal members may have wanted fire Johnson for the simple reason that they never chose her in the first place, they could not establish their required 150-person quorum for several to months during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Wind River Intertribal Government, which consists of both the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone business councils, passed the strictest and the longest COVID-19 gathering bans and other health orders in the state.
The votes last month on Johnson and Leckrone were done by secret ballot, Wagon said.
“(Tribal members) have the right to be protected, to have no retaliation,” she said. “That includes the casino workers.”
Wagon said 300 tribal members work for the casino, “And they’ve got a right to vote.”
Also, most businesses on the Wind River Indian Reservation are run by the tribal governments, rather than privately.
The tribe’s primary election is set for Oct. 17. It will narrow a field of 30 Business Council candidates down to 12. And on Nov. 21, the general council will narrow that slate of 12 to the six who will become Business Council members.
The NABC directed Cowboy State Daily back to its public letter, in response to a request for comment.
Johnson declined Tuesday to comment and Leckrone could not be reached for comment.
Supreme Governing Body
Like its people, the Business Council also has historically defined the General Council as the tribe’s supreme governing body.
The people’s assembly is the older system: The General Council created the Business Council on April 23, 1941, and vested the Business Council with authority over its day-to-day affairs, according to a 2019 legal document the Business Council filed on the tribe’s behalf.
Though best described as the tribe's executive branch, the Business Council also has some power to pass orders.
But, Gaming Codes
Though the General Council likely has the authority to fire Leckrone, it would have to amend one of its own codes first, and ultimately get permission from the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) to make that change.
The tribe’s gaming codes, passed by the General Council when the tribe was establishing the Wind River Casino, say the Business Council “alone” shall select or terminate its gaming manager and dictate his terms of employment.
The manager “alone” will choose or terminate staffers working under him, the code adds.
As for Johnson, it does not appear that section protects her. She consistently introduces herself at public meetings as “the tribe’s in-house counsel” — not as a casino employee or a gaming attorney.
She has argued for policies ranging from a state version of the Indian Child Welfare Act to Wyoming Business Council grants policies, well outside the spectrum of gaming.
“Basically the NABC, who are elected officials, are overstepping their authority and not honoring the General Council’s decisions – which are (by) the supreme governing body of the Northern Arapaho Tribe,” said Wagon. “This affects our tribal sovereignty.
“That’s how come everybody’s so upset.”
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
