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Little Shell Election 2004 News
December 28, 2004 Return to Main Election 2004 page
December 18, 2004
By the LittleShellTribe.com Webmaster: Little Shell Election Committee Investigates Disenfranchisement Claims and Election Contest
The Chairman of the Little Shell Tribe Election Committee of 2004 has investigated, just before Christmas, 41 Claims of Disenfranchisement, his report will be posted to this website in the coming days. But basically the report shows that some Enrolled members were disenfranchised but no action will be taken by the Election Committee for any recommendation or relief to the Tribal Members. The Election Committee considers all claims of Disenfranchisement to be closed.
Also, just before Christmas, Darryl Olsen, Candidate for the position of 2nd Vice President, had filed a complaint with the Election Committee claiming fraud, disenfranchisement of tribal members, and a badly handled election. He requested relief in the form of either a revote or a complete new election. His complaint was denied by the Election Committee with no further action to be taken. His complaint along with the report from the Chairman of the Election Committee will also be posted in it's entirety here on this website in the coming days.
More Details to come...
December 17, 2004
By the Little Shell Tribe Election Committee: Little Shell Election Committee announces winners of 2004 election
Posted Saturday, December 18, 2004 @ 02:48 PM
*PRESIDENT:
John Sinclair
*VICE PRESIDENT:
James Parker Shield
*2nd VICE PRESIDENT:
Ed Lavenger
*Secretary/Treasure:
Jessie Fuzesy
*COUNCILPERSON:
Alvina Allen
Kenneth Erickson
(vaccant) Rule 10 of the election rules will apply here to fill this seat.
*Ballot Measure Number #1
PASSED
Secretary and Treasure will be two positions
Dec 4, 2004
By the LittleShellTribe.com Webmaster: Little Shell Tribal Members upset by Election irregularities, Several Members request intervention by US Federal Goverment Agencies to ensure fair and accurate results.
No election is perfect, but the 2004 Elections for the Little Shell Tribal Council has pushed the limits of credibility. With Election Rules being changed without notice to all the members, to Polling Places not opening disenfranchising members, and Absentee Ballots being withheld by the Election committee for no apparent reason, Tribal members are understandably upset. Some have sent letters to the United States Civil Rights Commission to investigate and other letters are being drafted to be sent to the Department of the Interior, the Federal Election Commission, and to the United States Department of Justice. These letters are asking for an intervention and investigation to see if Tribal Members Constitutional rights and Civil rights have been violated and to insure the Election has been conducted in accordance with the Tribal Constitution and the the Laws of the United States.
Nov 30, 2004
By the LittleShellTribe.com Webmaster: Absentee Ballots Sent out by Election Committee December 2, 2004
The Little Shell 2004 Election Committee has finally sent out the Absentee Ballots. Postmark on the Ballot indicate that the Election Committee Delayed until December 2, 2004 before sending out the ballots. Although the Rules posted publically by the Election Committee specifically note that the ballots are to be sent no later then November 20, 2004. the Election Committee decided to delay based on 2 reasons, the 1st being that a member of the Election Committe was sick, the 2nd being that there was a "Delay" in sending out a newsletter, the election committee decided to extend the request for Absentee ballots from September 4, 2004 to November 30, 2004, the Election Committee decided for unknown and unexplained reasons to NOT send out Ballots requested earlier (that were requested within the Original Posted Deadlines) till December 2, 2004. The Election Committee has said that they have extended the receipt of the completed ballots from December 4, 2004 to December 8, 2004. Since the US Postal Service has a minimum of 5 days to deliver mail, the Election Committee have, by delaying the mailing of the Ballots, effectivly disenfranchised ALL Little Shell Tribal Members who have requested an Absentee ballot as none can be returned by the December 8, 2004 deadline.
The Election Committee needs to explain it's actions publically to all members of the Tribe and they need to explain why they have Disenfranchised Members who requested Absentee Ballots.
The Election Committee needs to also COUNT ALL Absentee Ballots, even if received AFTER their December 8, 2004 deadline but POSTMARKED before the December 11th Election.
Our Little Shell Tribal Constitution
To find more information and/or Register a Complaint, Contact the following:
You can contact the Election Committee at:
Elections Committee Members:
Mark A. Landrie
Chairman (Billings, MT)Carol (Suzi) Hofeldt
Secretary (Chinook, MT)Pearl Chilton
Member (Chinook, MT)Jose Landrie
Member (Tacoma, WA)Moon Charette
Member (Billings, MT)Melvin Swan
Member (Butte, MT)Donovan J. Emerson
Member (Kalispell, MT)Elections Committee
PO Box 849,
CHINOOK, MT 59523
Little Shell Main Office:
Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana
Box 1384
1807 3rd St NW
Great Falls, MT 59404
Phone: (406) 452-2892
Fax: (406) 452-2982
E-Mail: lstgtfalls@bresnan.net
DOI Mailing Address:
Department of the Interior
ATTN:Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington DC 20240
Phone: 202-208-3100
E-Mail: webteam@ios.doi.gov
Nov 22, 2004
- By the LittleShellTribe.com Webmaster:
Absentee Ballots may not be sent out in time to be counted in Little Shell Elections:
Members Fear DisenfranchismentSeveral inquiries have been made to the Little Shell Election Committee Chairman requesting Information on whether or not the Requested Absentee Ballots for the Little Shell Tribal Elections have been sent out. According to the Rules set by the Election Committee, Absentee Ballots were to be sent out no later then 20 November 2004. An e-mail sent to Election Committee Chairman Mark Landrie on November 23, 2004 received this Reply: "They are being sent tomorrow. Carol got sick and did not get a chance to send them out. MARK". After no receipt of the Absentee Ballot by this member, a 2nd e-mail was sent on November 29, 2004 that again requested a time on when the Absentee Ballots will be sent out. This is the reply received: "ALL, Absentee ballots will be sent out this week. Since we extended the availability to request an absentee ballot until tomorrow it only made sense to wait and send all of the ballots out at the same time. ELECTIONS COMMITTEE"
It currently takes an average of 5 days for the United States Postal Service to deliver an envelope. If the Absentee Ballots were sent out today (Nov 30) it would not arrive till December 5 2004 (one day after the postmark deadline) and if you return it the next day (December 6th) it will arrive at the Election Committee mailbox on December 11th, 2004. According to the Deadline posted in the Election Rules by the Election Committee, All Absentee Ballots MUST BE POSTMARKED by December 4 2004 in order to be counted. (Rule 4 of the Election Rules: 4. Absentee ballots with your vote must be received by the Elections Committee no later then 4 Dec 2004. For absentee ballots to be considered valid they must have been post marked on or before 4 Dec 2004. Absentee ballots that do not meet the requirements above will be considered invalid and not counted.)
This Delay in sending out the ballots (over 10 days after the rules state they should have been mailed) may disenfranchise members and their votes will not count in this year's Election. An e-mail has been sent to the Current Tribal Council and to the Election Committee Chairman with these concerns. When a reply is received I will post it. If you have any concerns or questions about whether or not your vote will count, contact the main Little Shell Tribal Office at:
Contact Information:
Address:
Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana
Box 1384
1807 3rd St NW
Great Falls, MT 59404
Phone: (406) 452-2892
Fax: (406) 452-2982
E-Mail: lstgtfalls@bresnan.net
Update: Reply from Mark Landrie, Election Committee Chairman: November 30, 2004
"YES, but they must be received by the Elections Committee no later then 8 December. Originally we had 4 December so we could insure we had all ballots back but since the newsletter was delayed we moved it to the best we could do. If you think your ballot will not get back in time you may fax it to me direct @ (406) 248-2042 attn: Mark Landrie. Since this is a military fax number nobody there is going to care what your vote is or isn't. We have to put a time limit on everything and some times it doesn't meet with everyone's expectations but we are trying to do the best thing. ELECTIONS COMMITTEE"
Sept 27, 2004
- Little Shell to elect officers next month
The Little Shell Tribe will elect its officers Dec. 11, with balloting taking place in six cities.
Councilman Robert Van Gunten is challenging John Sinclair for the chairman's post, according to Carol Hofeldt, a member of the election committee.
James Parker Shield and Darryl Olson are vying for first vice chair, while councilman Edward Lavenger is unopposed for second vice chair.
Jessie Fuzesy is challenging incumbent Caroline Fleury for secretary/treasurer, and Alvina Allen and incumbent Kenneth Erickson are running for council. Three council seats are open.
Balloting will take place at the following locations from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 11:
- Conference room at the Westgate Mall, 1807 3rd St. N.W. in Great Falls.
- HRDC Building, 2229 5th Ave. in Havre.
- Naval Reserve Center, 717 N. 22nd St. in Billings.
- North American Indian Alliance, 100 E. Galena in Butte.
- Sons of Norway Hall, 347 1st Ave. E in Kalispell.
- 721 N. Cincinnati in Spokane, Wash.
Absentee ballots are available from the tribal office, 1807 3rd St. N.W., and must be mailed in by Nov. 30.
The ballots will be counted Dec. 12, Hofeldt said, and the new council will be sworn in Jan. 15.
Mark A. Landrie, Little Shell Tribe Election Committee Chairman has announced the following Dates for our elections. Little Shell Election Committee has announced final dates for the Election
December 11, 2004 is the date of the Election
. Nominations for office will be accepted between 9 Oct 2004 and 22 Oct 2004.
Requests for an absentee ballot will be accepted between 4 Sep 2004 and 12 Nov 2004 and must have been post marked on or between those dates.
Absentee ballots with the nominee’s will be mailed or emailed depending on your request on or before 20 Nov 2004.
Absentee ballots with your vote must be received by the Elections Committee no later then 4 Dec 2004. For absentee ballots to be considered valid they must have been post marked on or before 4 Dec 2004. Absentee ballots that do not meet the requirements above will be considered invalid and not counted.
Polling station elections will be held on 11 Dec 2004 at the designated polling stations. The time at each station will be 8:00 am to 6:00 pm.
Ballots will be counted on 12 Dec 2004 and election results will be posted as soon as possible on the Little Shell web site and available from either your local area rep or the tribal office.
New Councilpersons will be sworn in to office on 15 Jan 2005 at the Little Shell Tribal office.
Webmaster Note: I will post the full Rules of the Election and Notices within the next couple days.
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NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION:
The Little Shell Tribe Newsletter is FREE to all Enrolled Tribal Members. It is published 12 months a year and is supported by particle funding by the Little Shell Tobacco Abuse Prevention Program. To place your name on the list for the newsletter, Click Here to get the Address/phone number to request your name and address be placed on the newsletter subscription list. The Contact is Toni Jo Atchison, Tobacco Abuse Prevention Specialist
By the LittleShellTribe.com Webmaster: Toni Jo Atchison, Little Shell Tobacco Abuse Prevention Specialist Announces Tribal Newsletter is FREE to Tribal Members
Toni Jo Atchison, Little Shell Tribal Tobacco Abuse Prevention Specialist has announced that the Tribal newsletter is FREE to all Enrolled Tribal Members. Previously, a subscription of $10 was required for the newsletter and was published quartely. The subscription cost covered monies that funded the creation, mailing of the newsletter, along with helping with office expenses. Now, with funding provided in part under a contract with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program, and the Little Shell Tobacco Abuse Prevention Program, the Newsletter will be published 12 months a year. To place your name on the List for the newsletter (if you do not currently receive it), contact Toni Jo at the main office or write a letter requesting your name to be placed on it. Tribal and Non-Tribal members are still welcome and are encourgaged to send donations to the Office to help with tribal expenses.
To view the Little Shell Tribal Tobacco Prevention Program, Click Here
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REQUEST FOR DONATIONS FOR OPERATION FUNDS TO
KEEP OUR OFFICES OPEN
In order for the tribal government to operate and represent the members of the Little Shell Tribe through the Federal Recoginition process and enrollment, there is an immediate need for operating funds for office rent, clerical supplies, mailing, telephone services, and copier payments. Any size donation will help our tribe keep the doors open. Many thanks to the people who have contributed to the LST
Webmaster Note: This website and domain is not paid for by any funds sent to the LST. I pay for this out of my own pocket and have donated it's pages to the cause of the Little Shell Tribal members.
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This Website and Domain is owned and operated by Little Shell Tribal members, It is not operated or controlled by the Government of the Little Shell Tribe. All Rights Reserved. This website is updated and operated by me, Robert Dean Rudeseal. I am an enrolled member of the Little Shell Tribe of Montana and a direct descendant of Pierre Berger and Judith Wilkie who brought the Little Shell Tribe permanently to Montana.
All items on this website are posted in accordance to the Fair Use Laws of the United States of America. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works
