Kickapoo tribal leaders seek legal retaliation against members after alleged attempted takeover

BROWN COUNTY (KSNT) – The leaders of a local Native American tribe are taking legal action against several individuals involved in an alleged attempt to oust elected tribal officials.

The Tribal Council of the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas issued a press release on Monday, June 12 stating “order has been restored” following a chaotic meeting on Saturday, June 10. Members of the Kickapoo Tribal Council were allegedly pitted against a “small but aggressive group of Tribal members” who allegedly attempted to replace the Tribal Council in violation of the Tribe’s Constitution.

Documents obtained by KSNT 27 News from Chief Judge Robert D. Gifford for the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas show that the Kickapoo Tribal Council filed a petition for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief in the district court for the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas on June 11. An injunction is a court order requiring a person to do or cease doing a specific action, according to Cornell Law School.

In the case of the petition, it seeks four points from the Tribal Court:

A declaration affirming the membership of the lawful Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas Tribal Council.

A declaration that those who disturbed the June 10 meeting are acting fraudulently and in direct violation of the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas Constitution and By-Laws and Title 12 of the Kansas Kickapoo Tribal Code.

An injunction enjoining and restraining defendants along with those working with the defendants from interfering with or obstructing the lawful Tribal Council.

A final point asking the Tribal Court to take any other actions deemed appropriate under present circumstances.

The petition named the seven members of the Tribal Council as plaintiffs while naming the members of “the fraudulent Tribal Council” as defendants. The petition also states that other defendants include those working in concert with the fraudulent Tribal Council.

The petition also gave a timeline of events that allegedly took place during the weekend meeting. It begins by stating that a General Council meeting was called to order on Saturday, June 10, 2023 after a quorum was present but was quickly derailed by members of the General Council. One tribal member made a motion to get rid of the Tribal Council completely and replace them with seven other tribal members in violation with the Tribe’s Constitution.

Chairman Lester Randall would not accept the motion and, as members of the General Council became unruly, the Tribal Council chose to leave the meeting, according to the petition. Several members of the General Council then entered the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas government center and held a swearing-in ceremony and tribal council meeting. They allegedly trespassed into several offices which contained “very privileged and confidential information” in the form of juvenile and legal documents.

The Tribal Council’s Vice-Chairperson, Johanna Thomas, then demanded the General Council members leave or risk trespassing charges, according to the petition. The General Council allegedly refused these demands but were eventually removed by the Kickapoo Police Chief Nathan Gray.

An emergency temporary order of injunction and declaratory relief was issued the same day the petition was filed. This document orders all tribal operations to continue functioning as they were prior to the June 10 meeting. It also states that any violations of the order can be considered direct contempt of court punishable by sanctions of incarceration or monetary fine.

KSNT 27 News traveled to Horton on Monday, June 12 to speak with some Kickapoo Tribe members who were gathered to protest the actions taken by the Tribal Council.

“One of the things I thought was really great was everybody was laughing and smiling,” Jessi Blacksmith, a protestor said. “I haven’t seen people on our reservation do that in a long time and there’s a lot of families that haven’t talked in a long time and they’re doing it now and they’re coming together.”

KSNT 27 News has reached out to the Tribal Council for comment on the situation.