CHEROKEE NATION TRIBAL ELDER CLAIMS LIFETIME BAN OVERTURNED

Members of the council of the Western Cherokee Nation of Arkansas and Missouri who recently were banned from the tribe say the action was taken illegally. An elder of the nation said Monday that the banning has been overturned.

John Duke, an elder of the nation, said he in consultation with two other elders rescinded the lifetime banning of the tribal members. "We overturned all the banishments because its not a proper form of punishment, by my reckoning," Duke said. "That's like saying your kids are no longer your children."

Mike Harmon, the principal chief who was banned, says he now is trying to broker a peace accord between the rival factions of the tribe. That accord will be made public and voted on at the council meeting Saturday in Paragould, Ark. If approved the accord would be put to a vote of the entire population.

It states that current principal chief Lola Scholl and former deputies Michael Harmon and Harold Turman no longer would be able to occupy a position with the WCN. Scholl would become an elder.

Harmon provided the Southeast Missourian with a copy of the accord signed by himself, deputy chief David Youngwolf, WCN attorney Mitch Stein and others.

Duke, who lives in New Mexico, said the object of the accord is peace.

"Our nation is in a total state of chaos," he said.

One object of the accord is to establish good accounting procedures and checks and balances within the nation's government, Duke said.

"It is my belief that several of the leaders of our nation are guilty of acting in their own self-interest."

If the accord isn't approve, Duke said the issue of control of the WCN assuredly will go to court.

Leadership questioned

The banishments raise the latest questions about how Scholl has run the WCN, members say.

"It was against the bylaws of the tribe," says Jack "Bear Claw" Shepherd, a banned former council member who lives near Carbondale, Ill.

"You have to notify people what the charges are and you have to allow them to present a defense."

Shepherd claimed these rules also apply because the nation exists as a non-profit corporation. The WCN is seeking federal recognition as a tribe.

Shepherd was one of six men banned, including Harmon. The WCN council banned the men after they moved the tribal headquarters from Paragould, Ark., to Mammoth Spring, Ark. Once the men were banned, former Chief Lola Scholl came out of retirement and moved the headquarters back to Paragould.

Resignations disputed

Last week, Deputy Chief David Youngwolf told the Southeast Missourian he was sorry to have papers served on other Cherokees. Scholl told the Southeast Missourian Youngwolf and Stein since have both resigned their positions with the nation. Duke said that isn't untrue.

Scholl said the two men resigned to save the tribe money. Youngwolf lives in North Carolina, Stein in New York City. She said the last trip the two men made to Arkansas cost the WCN $15,000.

"I feel like a local attorney can handle it," she said.

Shepherd claimed law enforcement now is involved in the dispute over control of the WCN. "The state police are investigating the direction the nation has been taking," he said. This claim could not be verified.

Harmon said one issue is whether the WCN participated in adoptions of Indian children and assigning foster children without having the right to do so.

When interviewed, Scholl made no mention of the banning being overturned. She says she wasn't present at the council meeting where the six men were banned and is not aware of the charges against them. She said she has been ill and has had a death in the family. "I really have not gotten a chance to read the records from that meeting," she said.

She said the men had 10 days to appeal the banning but did not. "They can still appeal it because of the fact they did not know that" (the charges), she said.

Scholl said two court orders have resulted from the dispute. The first moved the nation to Mammoth Spring, the second moved it back to Paragould.

"They're still doing all kinds of different things to keep the tribe torn apart," Scholl said Monday. "There are too many chiefs and not enough Indians."