A year of upheaval: The Northern Cheyenne constitutional crisis

Women of Purpose sets up a protest camp outside the Chief Little Wolf Capital Building in Lame Deer, Montana, seeking accountability from the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council amid widespread allegations of corruption. After safety becomes an issue, the traditional chiefs and societies offer protection to the women in the protest camp.

Traditional Chiefs issue a declaration to remove elected representatives of the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council, including Melissa Fisher, Howard Ontiveros, Stephen Raining Bird, Melissa Lone Bear, Donavin Limberhand Jr., Nizhoni Friesz, Eva Foote and Gwen Spotted Horse. Removing officers or council members is an act governed by Article VII of the Northern Cheyenne Constitution, but the chiefs say they have an inherent right to do so.

At a hearing, Northern Cheyenne Councilman Howard Ontiveros votes with seven other Northern Cheyenne council members to remove Gene Small as president. Before the hearing, Ontiveros was appointed temporary president of the tribal council. Article VII, Section 2, of the Constitution requires a vote of 2/3 of the members of the council to remove an officer, after affording the officer a fair opportunity to be heard in his own defense.

Bureau of Indian Affairs Northern Cheyenne Superintendent Andrew Werk notifies President Small and the council in a letter that although the BIA respects the tribe's cultural traditions and ways, it recognizes the tribal officials duly elected under the tribe’s constitution and bylaws.

Northern Cheyenne Superintendent Andrew Werk sends a letter to the tribe reversing earlier support of the constitutionally elected council “based on the BIA's policy of noninterference in intra-tribal governance,” noting, “The authority and makeup of the Tribal Council are currently the subject of an intra-tribal dispute.” It is the tribe’s responsibility as a sovereign to resolve such disputes.

Bureau of Indian Affairs police officers arrest former council representatives — Melissa Lonebear, Melissa Fisher, Howard Ontiveros and Gwen Spotted Horse — and former employees who entered the Little Wolf Capitol Building to conduct business as usual. They are charged with "governmental interference.”

Bureau of Indian Affairs Lt. Cordell Anthony swears in a complaint that Melissa Fisher, former council member, violated the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Code, Section 7.9.3, by entering the Little Wolf Capitol Building and disrupting building operations and staff functions.

GableGotwals, a law firm in Tulsa, Oklahoma, emails the Northern Cheyenne Tribe laying out the terms under which the firm will serve as special prosecutor for the tribe, including investigating and prosecuting allegations of criminal conduct. The letter lists R. Trent Shores as the contact, and the email is addressed to President Small. Legal services require a $350,000 flat fee, which will be renegotiated if billing hours exceed 700.

A special election is held on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation to replace the eight councilmen who were ousted as a result of the Chief’s Declaration of September 10, 2025.

Steven Small, chief appellate judge of the Northern Cheyenne Constitutional Court and a relative of President Gene Small, signs an order with two other judges, ruling that the September 11 council hearing to remove the president was unconstitutional, invalidating the resolution that replaced Small as president.

Ousted Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council emails Jodi Camrud, deputy regional director, Trust Services, Rocky Mountain Region, Bureau of Indian Affairs: “The Bureau's refusal to meet and its continued invocation of ‘restraint’ and ‘non-interference’ cannot be reconciled with the record now before the Agency.” The council also writes that BIA law enforcement and the bureau’s “continued refusal to issue a recognition decision is neither neutrality nor restraint; it is abdication under the guise of restraint.”

In a letter to the Interior Department’s William Kirkland, assistant secretary - Indian Affairs, the ousted council requests a formal investigation through the Office of Justice Services, the Office of Inspector General and any other proper oversight channel. The letter also sought answers to questions, including whether Bureau of Indian Affiars/OJS law enforcement acted in a manner that improperly favored or assisted a rival faction during an intra-tribal governance dispute.

Former Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council sends a letter to Bureau of Indian Affairs disputing claims in emails from Jennifer Weddle, Greenberg Traurig attorney, that "all Northern Cheyenne Tribe processes are complete," that governance has returned to "normal" and that the Oct. 30 election resolves all issues. Ousted council states Weddle’s “legal conclusions advanced by counsel for one faction” and didn’t resolve core constitutional questions the council had repeatedly presented to Indian Affairs.

GableGotwals law firm, consisting of special prosecutors hired by the Small administration, asks the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Court to prevent former council members from referencing their prior removal from the Tribal Council during court hearings.

The Traditional Chiefs Council, asserting authority under “traditional law,” issues formal removal letters to additional Tribal Council members, including newly elected members from the Oct. 30 election. The letters state there will be "no hearing" and that "the decision of the chiefs will be final."

In a hand-delivered letter to Superintendent Andrew Werk at the Northern Cheyenne Bureau of Indian Affairs, the ousted council writes that in accordance with Goodface v. Grassrope (1983) and subsequent Interior Board of Indian Appeals decisions, the department has an obligation to identify a governing body for federal purposes when internal disputes prevent orderly governance.

Cordell Little Coyote files an affidavit in his role as a seated hereditary chief. It states that the Sept. 10, 2025 Chief’s Declaration was flawed as the Northern Cheyenne Tribe traditionally recognizes a body of 22 Chiefs: “The number of individuals participating in or supporting the Declaration was insufficient to constitute a valid traditional decision. Furthermore, a Chiefs meeting would have to be properly called in a sacred circle with one of our coveted Gifts present; this has not occurred here.”

In a motion to dismiss a criminal complaint, four ousted council members and employees contend President Gene Small lacked authority to enter into a contract with GableGotwals, because no valid council resolution had authorized the engagement. The Bureau of Indian Affairs never approved the contract or the resolution because it’s not signing off on resolutions during the current tribal council upheaval.

A complaint is filed in Northern Cheyenne Court by former representatives, appointees and an employee seeking to be reinstated after “an unlawful attempt to remove duly elected tribal officials and replace them through a declaration.” The complainants include Nizhoni Friesz, Melissa Fisher, Donavin Limberhand, Jr., Gwen Spotted Horse, Melissa Lone Bear, Stefan Raining Bird and Howard Ontiveros.

The Northern Cheyenne Court issues a temporary restraining order, freezing certain tribal government operations while the court decides on the legitimacy of the former council complaint. Three Traditional Chiefs are ordered to stop “relying upon the September 10, 2025, Declaration of the Chiefs of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, and from taking any action to remove, exclude, or interfere with Petitioners in the performance of their official duties.

Northern Cheyenne Court lifts the temporary restraining order, noting the need to resume tribal government operations for the general safety and welfare of the people.

The Northern Cheyenne Court rules it has jurisdiction over tribal customs and traditions based on Section 2.2.4(E) of the Northern Cheyenne Law and Order Code, which provides for jurisdiction over "tribal customs and traditions, provided that the content of relevant customs and traditions must be proven and may be rebutted by testimony from qualified persons or the submission of authoritative written materials."

The Northern Cheyenne Tribal Court issues an order removing the traditional chiefs as court respondents but also states the Chiefs Declaration was beyond its lawful authority.

The Northern Cheyenne Trial Court rules that the Oct. 30, 2025, special election is null and void because no lawful vacancy of tribal council seats existed pursuant to Article VII of the 1996 Amended Constitution and Bylaws of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. The Trial Court further orders that the interim council, defendants-respondents, vacate the Little Wolf Capitol Building and all other tribal properties if acting as council members.

The Northern Cheyenne Tribal Court sets July 27 as the jury trial date for ousted council members Melissa Rae Fisher, Melissa Lone Bear, Howard Onteveros, Gwen Spotted Horse and Ryhal Nicole Rowland, who were charged with governmental interference after they entered the tribal building on Oct. 8, 2025. The council members argued they were legitimate employees doing their jobs.

The Northern Cheyenne Appellate Court issues an opinion affirming the May 8 trial court ruling that the court has jurisdiction over tribal customs. The court also reverses the May 12 Trial Court ruling and reinstates the defendant chiefs as parties in the matter. The court also reverses the May 26 order, recuses Judge Curtiss Elkshoulder and assigns the matter to a different judge.

Among its findings, the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Court issues an order, signed by Judge Frans Andersson, stating that the court assumes jurisdiction of plaintiff's May 13, 2026, Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, or sets a trial in this case. The order also restores Traditional Chiefs Larry Medicine Bull, Wesley Spotted Elk and Roger Killsknight as defendants in this case.

Five hundred Northern Cheyenne citizens are notified of jury duty in the criminal trial for government interference against ousted council members Melissa Rae Fisher, Melissa Lone Bear, Howard Onteveros, Gwen Spotted Horse and employee Ryhal Nicole Rowland. Six jurors are selected. The court dismisses the case for lack of witnesses.

After nearly a year of court wrangling, the Northern Cheyenne Appellate Court orders council members of the Small administration to “immediately peaceably surrender and deliver to Plaintiffs control and access to… the public office of Tribal Council, including, but not limited to access to the Little Wolf Capitol Building and other tribal properties.”