OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bureau of Indian Affairs Sides with Chairperson Stone Leadership
BIG PINE, Calif. – On March 21, 2024, Bureau of Indian Affairs Superintendent Harley Long issued a decision that recognized the Tribal Council of the Big Pine Paiute Tribe of the Owens Valley headed by Chairperson Cheyenne Stone and Vice Chairperson Deanne Cheshire as the Tribe’s duly elected leadership after a faction led by Genevieve Jones claimed to be the Tribe’s leadership. Superintendent Long said that the Jones’ faction could not have been elected to the Tribe’s Tribal Council by virtue of a recall election because they failed to notify all eligible voters of a recall vote held at a Special General Council meeting on November 21, 2023. Consequently, he said, he could not recognize a valid recall election occurred because the defective notice violated the due process rights of eligible voters under the Indian Civil Rights Act.
Superintendent Long’s decision resolves a delay in federal funding after a contentious challenge to the Tribe’s leadership led first by Genevieve Jones and now by Cheryl Levine, and resulted in a violent attempt to take possession of the Tribe’s administrative building on January 7, 2024.
Superintendent Long’s decision noted that some tribal members requested that their names be removed from recall petitions because they did not understand what they were signing. He further noted that some eligible voters appealed the results of the November 21, 2023, Special General Council meeting because they were not notified of the meeting. Their appeals were never heard by the General Council, as required by the Tribe’s Constitution.
“We are confident that BIA’s approval of our federal contract for operating funds is correct,” said Chairperson Stone. “Our Tribal Council planned for funding to serve the many needs of our people and community, and this decision prevents further delays.”
Cheyenne M. Stone, Big Pine Paiute Tribe Chairperson
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Deanne Cheshire, Big Pine Paiute Tribe Vice Chairperson
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Ashlee Dondero, Big Pine Paiute Tribe Treasurer
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Tawny Williams, Big Pine Paiute Tribe Member-at-Large
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Alan Bacock, Big Pine Paiute Tribe Secretary
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Good riddance to the shadow council!
We hear you! Thank God.