Gene Small tapes over surveillance cameras at Northern Cheyenne headquarters

At 1:17 p.m. a second surveillance camera in the Little Wolf Capitol Building in Lame Deer, Montana, shows a man in a white shirt moving boxes out of an office before Small places another piece of tape over the lens. The two laugh and then discuss personal matters.

Small was removed as Northern Cheyenne’s president on Sept. 30 but claims he’s still the rightful leader. After his removal, he closed the Capitol building to the public at the council’s request. The building remains closed due to safety concerns.

The surveillance footage is the first opportunity for community members to see what he has been doing inside the closed building.

“We were informed by the IT guys that Gene was spray-painting and duct-taping the cameras on Monday,” Ryhal Rowland, a spokesperson for the tribal council, told Buffalo’s Fire. She said the council is concerned that he and others are “trying to block out what they are taking out of the offices.”

Rowland said police were called and no criminal charges have been filed.

Small has yet to respond to multiple requests for comment about the footage.

Last year, Small had eight members of the council removed from their seats, and on Oct. 8, 2025, four of those people were arrested for “government interference." That spun out into a yearlong battle over who was in charge of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe’s government. Small lost authority after a tribal appellate judge ruled that the tribe’s constitution did not support his actions, and that the council was removed without proper due process.

Rowland watched the surveillance footage with other members of the council on Monday. She said they reported Small’s activities to the Northern Cheyenne Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and showed a police officer the footage. Rowland said the officer would not file any criminal charges or remove Small from the building.

“They're saying they can't interfere with our inner government issues,” Rowland said. “As far as the property damages, those are tribal cameras they are damaging.”

The BIA has not responded to multiple requests for confirmation that an officer responded to the council’s concerns about surveillance camera interference. The BIA also has yet to confirm to Buffalo’s Fire that it was notified about Small’s removal. Small argues that the BIA needs to notify him if he has been removed from office. Rowland said that the BIA was made aware of Small’s removal on Sept. 30.

“I'm still president as far as I'm concerned and really until BIA probably says I ain't,” he told Buffalo’s Fire on Oct. 2.

A video of an interview Small gave to podcaster Jonathon Maza Kuté was posted Wednesday night. In it, Small calls for the Northern Cheyenne Tribe to reform its constitution and encourages people to visit him at the Capitol building.

“There needs to be some checks and balances because [the constitution] benefits that council,” he said during the interview. “And when you've got a rogue council, there ain't nothing you can do about it."