The Snoqualmie Tribe went to mediation in Seattle last week to resolve a dispute that caused a group of tribal elders to dissolve the council in August.
The mediation has been between two factions of tribal council members, some of whom are also among the elders who dissolved the council. A Seattle law firm, Alhadeff and Forbes, acted as the mediator.
After at least two days of mediation at the firm’s office, it is unclear if the dispute has been resolved.
On Sept. 11, Judith Joseph, superintendent for the Puget Sound offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said a legal tribal government was in place. However, she would not say who made up the government – all or some of the tribal council, or the group of elders. She referred this question to the tribe’s administrator, Matt Mattson.
Mattson said he was not a party to the mediation, and that he did not know the status of the Snoqualmies’ government. He said that the mediation was ongoing.
“It seems that it’s progressing well, and that there will be some sort of solution in the near future,” Mattson said.
The BIA recommended the neutral, third party mediation, he said.
The bureau has an official policy of not interfering in internal tribe conflicts, but had offered to help mediate the current conflict, which has frozen the tribe’s government since spring.
“There’s no one watching the store.” – Andy de los Angeles former council chairman
Without a functioning government, tribal members became increasingly concerned about the tribe’s ability to oversee its casino, federal programs and other services.
“There’s no one watching the store,” said Andy de los Angeles, a former council chairman.
Members of the tribal council welcomed the mediation offer, according to Mattson.
Invoking traditional authority, the elders dissolved the council on Aug. 27. It is not clear if their actions were legal under the tribe’s constitution, he said.
A simmering election dispute dating back to the tribe’s May 9 annual meeting of the general membership divided the council into two factions.
At the May 9 meeting, council chairman Joseph Mullen was voted out of office, and Shelley Burch was elected to take his position. Mullen’s supporters challenged the election, claiming it failed to follow tribal election law procedures, tribal members said.
Under Snoqualmie election law, a list of candidates must be distributed to the general membership prior to the annual elections. This year no list was circulated, which Mullen’s supporters claimed invalidated the results.
Their objection went to tribal court, following an election law provision allowing for election disputes to be settled in tribal court. The provision, which was written by Mattson and the tribe’s legal staff, came out of a 2007 elections dispute that led to the banishment of nine Snoqualmie tribe members and a federal court case.
Within a few days of the election, council member Ray Mullen, Joseph Mullen’s brother, sued tribal council members for holding improper elections, tribe member Carolyn Lubenau said. She was one of the nine members banished in 2007, but in April a federal judge ruled that the tribe had violated the members’ right to due process. The tribe’s membership will consider the banishment at a Sept. 26 general meeting.
The tribal court has been unable to resolve the current elections dispute, and it is unclear if it can even consider Mullen’s suit.
The court is uncertain whether council members can be personally sued for actions taken in an official capacity, according to Mattson.
“The members were frustrated with how long it’s taking,” he said, referring to the tribe’s general membership.
It was this frustration that led the group of tribal elders to dissolve the council on Aug. 27, and call for a new election.
Since the May elections, the fractured tribal council had become unable to even hold regular meetings and conduct the tribe’s business.
On one side were Joseph Mullen, Arlene Ventura, Kanim Ventura and Ray Mullen, who supported the claim that the election was invalid. On the other side were Mary Anne Hinzman, Robert Hinzman, Joanne Dominick and Frances de los Angeles, according to documents obtained by the SnoValley Star and corroborated by tribal members.
Mary Anne Hinzman and de los Angeles are also members of the elders group which dissolved the council. Other elders include Barbara Beauchamp, Judie Moses, Katherine Barker and Marvin Kempf, who signed the dissolution declaration as a representative of the Martin Family.
Elders and tribal council members could either not be reached or declined to comment.
The divided government put the tribal administrator and staff in an awkward position as the factions issued conflicting resolutions. The factions also attempted to gain control of the tribe’s finances, approaching the bank where its assets are held, Mattson said.
“The bank said ‘who do we deal with?’ It’s the same conundrum that the staff is presented with,” Mattson said.
The tribe’s bank is holding all the tribe’s assets until it is clear who is legally in charge. This has caused the tribe to have some problems making payments to vendors and creditors.
“The majority of vendors are cooperating and being patient until the dispute is mediated,” Mattson said.
He noted that the tribe’s health clinics and service agencies are continuing to operate.
Lubenau tried to join the mediation to resolve the banishment question, but was told by Joseph at the BIA, that it would focus only on the current dispute.
She has heard from tribe members who are upset with the infighting on the council and a feeling that the tribe’s government is unresponsive to its members.
The Snoqualmie’s do not live on a reservation, and communicating with members who are spread around the Puget Sound region and beyond is difficult, she said.
“The federal banishment case was not pretty. A lot of people are upset with the tribe’s government,” Lubenau said.
Filed Under Local News