Several members of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, headquartered in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, recently fell short of gathering the 32,000 signatures required on a petition to impeach Principal Chief George Tiger. The group had until Monday, May 18 to submit the petition. Shelly Brandy, who led the effort to remove Tiger, did not say specifically how many signatures were gathered, but she stated the number did not meet the amount required. “We’re saddened, but we see the light at the end of the tunnel. And that’s what we’re reaching for,” Brandy said.
Brandy claimed Tiger was working with a competing tribe and accused him of bribery and embezzlement. “We fell short a handful, but we had enough to turn an election,” she said. The group said they plan to keep working toward removing Tiger from office.
However, earlier this month, Tiger announced he will seek re-election. He said, despite the controversy, he feels he has enough support for a second term. “I would not run if there was any inklings of something that I’ve done against the constitution that I took an oath to uphold,” he said.
