In Wisconsin, Ho-Chunk Nation President Marlon WhiteEagle recently was served with a “Notice of Intent to Remove from Office,” accusing him of several procedural violations to the tribal constitution. A vote was scheduled for the annual general council meeting on September 18 but may be moved to December, said Kenneth Luchterhand, spokesman for the president’s office. “Historically, they’ve tried to remove just about every president. This is nothing new,” Luchterhand said.
The nation’s legislative branch and WhiteEagle have been battling for more than a year, primarily over WhiteEagle’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, WhiteEagle sued the nation’s legislative branch in tribal court to ban members from making budget decision; earlier, the legislature had passed a budget that included spending cuts at the president’s office. WhiteEagle argued that violated the tribe’s separation of powers clause. The tribal court ruled in favor of WhiteEagle and against Vice President Karena Thundercloud and the legislative branch.
The new document states WhiteEagle kept an appointee who was not approved by the legislature; made negative comments about blood quantum; laid off nearly 2,000 employees via YouTube and failed to create a recall program for those employees. WhiteEagle has not yet responded to the allegations.
Luchterhand said about 3,000 tribal members typically attend the annual general council meeting. A majority of a quorum of 1,200 tribal members is required for votes on issues raised at the meeting.
