Competing government rules create confusion ahead of MHA tribal elections

Hall said he believed he had weeks before his candidate packet was due to the Fort Berthold Tribal Business Council, but two supporters told him on July 31 that the Election Board’s deadline was that day. Hall, who was in Denver at the time, said he quickly called the Tribal Election Board back in New Town, North Dakota.

“Yes, it’s today,” Hall said he was told over the phone. And he was instructed that his packet must be hand-delivered.

Hall scrambled to send a local representative to turn in the packet for him. He said he was originally operating under the deadline indicated by the tribe’s constitution, which requires potential candidates to file their notice of candidacy 15 days before an election. For the Sept. 22 primaries, the 15-day deadline would be Sept. 7.

But that deadline conflicted with a June 15 notice from the tribe’s executive secretary stating candidates had until Aug. 13 to file their notice of candidacy. Both deadlines also conflicted with the July 31 cutoff the tribe ultimately enforced, citing an Election Ordinance adopted May 7.

“The constitution reigns supreme,” said Hall, who is fighting to appeal the tribe’s ruling on his ineligibility. “It’s the supreme law of the land.”

Three different dates

The issues rankling Hall in his bid to once again represent his tribe stem from long-simmering problems at the heart of many tribal governments. Seemingly competitive governing frameworks pit different interpretations of authority against each other. In this case, the tribe’s constitution as implemented under the Indian Reorganization Act appears at odds with the Election Ordinance recently adopted by the Tribal Business Council.

These contradictions are further compounded by a lack of transparency within the tribal government. Buffalo’s Fire reached out to the MHA Executive Secretary’s Office, the Tribal Election Board Chairperson, Fort Berthold District Court and the tribe’s legal department. None of these representatives agreed to discuss the elections. In previous requests for facts and interviews, Buffalo's Fire reporters have been told by Three Affiliated Tribes employees that Chairman Mark Fox must approve any communication with the press.

Hall said the Tribal Business Council and the Election Board, which the council appoints, failed to give voters adequate notice of the correct filing dates. The Election Ordinance being used to uphold the July 31 deadline dates back to Tribal Business Council discussions that started at the beginning of the year. But Hall said posting about the Election Ordinance's adoption on the MHA website wasn't sufficient notice for candidates. And it didn’t help, he added, that the June 15 executive secretary notice signaling a different deadline – Aug. 13 – was also subsequently posted to the website.

If he were elected, Hall said he wants to “give the power back to the people” through constitutional reform. He was critical of the current leadership for the way it has handled the run-up to the primary elections. In particular, Hall voiced concern that one of his would-be opponents, candidate for chairman and current Executive Secretary Fred Fox (one of eight candidates currently on the official ballot for the chairman race), has responsibility over the electoral process at the same time that Fox is also running for the chairman position.

“He’s feathering his own nest,” Hall said.

Time running out

Hall isn’t the only MHA member frustrated with how the current government has treated candidates interested in running in the primaries. Fredericks has been embroiled in an appeals process to get his name on the ballot after his eligibility was rejected in July.

According to the tribe’s constitution, Fredericks meets the basic requirements to be eligible to run. He fits the age, residency and blood quantum criteria. But he allegedly owes the tribe a business loan, and the Election Ordinance makes outstanding debt to the tribe a disqualification for candidacy.

Like Hall, Fredericks called the imposition of eligibility requirements from the Election Ordinance “unconstitutional.”

In a tense back-and-forth of written appeals between Fredericks and Cheryle Good Bird, chairperson of the Tribal Election Board, Fredericks contested the applicability of the Election Ordinance. He also criticized the board’s notice stating he was ineligible, which it sent on July 31 after Fredericks submitted his candidate packet on July 1.

Fredericks wanted the board to provide key details like the alleged balance of his debt, the date or terms of his alleged obligation and any records supporting the claim against him. On Aug. 25, MHA Internal Auditor Sarah Billings weighed in, citing a 2015 Small Business Development Program loan Fredericks failed to pay starting in 2018.

Both Hall and Fredericks have repeatedly appealed the tribe’s decisions to bar them from the ballot. Neither has been granted a hearing in the Fort Berthold District Court to discuss their cases.

Fredericks, in an Aug. 24 appeal, wrote he’s been placed in an “impossible position.”

Hall, likewise, isn’t certain whether his appeal to MHA Supreme Court will allow him to be listed as a chairman candidate on the Sept. 22 ballot.

“It’s my civil right,” he said. He expects a ruling in the next two weeks.