"...they can't recall me!"

  The first of the following documents was mentioned in a previous posting and addresses the subject of an early gaming investigation.  The original Gaming Commissioners did not follow up on the results of their investigation due to threatened political retaliation, but this document reveals the source of financial information now being further reviewed by other investigators.
  The second document is self explanatory and was approved by seven Kiowa Busness Committee members who have since been recalled from office, myself included, by corrupt actions of the Kiowa Election and Hearing Boards.  Though we are removed from official status within Kiowa tribal government, we remain as members of the Kiowa Indian Council and will continue to work for the welfare and betterment of our tribe.  When notified of recall charges being filed against us one of the federal investigators remarked, "They may be able to recall you guys but they can't recall me!"  lol.
  Click on document images once or twice for enlargement and easier viewing.



 

 
 

Accomplishments of KBC Since 2009

  The following document, composed by Committeeman Ernest Redbird, lists some of the notable accomplishments of the KBC members who are subjects of the upcoming recall election.
  Discussion in a special KBC meeting today centered on the major disruption of services and potential bankruptcy of the Kiowa Tribe if the majority, or quorum, of the KBC is recalled.  PL 93-638 funding could not be drawn down, which represents the bulk of federal programs services the Tribe administers, and pending major lawsuits against the Tribe in the state of New York could not be responded to resulting in judgements against the Tribe and many millions of dollars lost to the plaintiffs.
  As stated and illustrated in the previous posting, the recall charges filed by Tomascina Tsoodle Leader are extremely frivolous, without merit, and potentially very harmful to the Kiowa Tribe.  It's a very sad state of affairs when one individual can create such havoc on 13,000 other tribal members.  I urge all to seriously consider a revision of our constitution which will strengthen the powers of the Kiowa Indian Council and enable us to determine our own future as a unified body.  Our ancestors did not achieve a strong presence on the Plains by allowing one disturbed and dissatisfied woman to determine our fate.
  The six of us subject to recall were elected to office by approximately 2,500 of your votes and we hope that all or most of you will vote NO for our recalls.  This instability of tribal governance needs to end.  Ah ho!
  Click on document images once or twice to enlarge for easier reading.

Vote NO for Recalls

The above document was composed and edited by Dr. Ted Lonewolf, with input from the subject recallees, and presents a clear and concise response to

the ridiculous  charges filed by Tomacina Tsoodle Leader.

  I will not add any commentary to the above presentation but will encourage all Kiowa voters to read the entire document and please vote NO for the recalls. 
  Click on the document images once or twice for enlargement and easier reading, and, ah ho gaw say lah.

Corrective Action

  The above resolution was presented and passed at a scheduled KBC meeting held yesterday(Friday), October 8. 

  This out-of-control entity is finally getting their long deserved day in court, which might afford a bit of stability and progress for the Kiowas.  Cross your fingers.

  Click on the document image once or twice to enlarge for easier reading.

 

Vote NO On Recalls

An Election Notice from the Kiowa Election Board was released yesterday announcing a special election scheduled for Saturday, October 16.  Issues to be decided by Kiowa voters are: the 2011 Budget, 1 Committeeman position, and the recall of 6 Committeemen.  Those being recalled are Dr. Ted Lonewolf, Sharon Pena, Tommie Doyebi, Dave Geimausaddle, Ernest Redbird, and myself.

Recall charges were filed on us by Tomacina Tsoodle Leader and they have been advanced thru the Kiowa Hearing Board and the Kiowa Election Board without due process and without affording us the Constitutionally required hearings to answer the charges.  As another Committeeman stated, we (the Kiowa Tribe) are once again the laughing stock of Indian Country due to the continued recalls and the instability that results from that flawed process.

There is much to address on the current and sad state of affairs within our tribal government and I will cover some of that soon in follow-up postings.  There were a great many votes cast to bring us six committeemen into office and I hope  that all of your votes will keep us there.  So please, vote NO on the recalls.

More to come soon on this situation and please forward this on to other Khoy Goo.  Ah ho!

  The above document with numerous supporting attachments was hand delivered by Mr. Tofpi to Mr. Deerinwater, Director of the Southern Plains Regional Office, on Monday, August 30th.
  Mr. Tofpi is entitled to appeal the decision released by the Superintendent of the Anadarko Area Office, Robin Phillips, wherein she issued a directive of recognition of certain members of the the Kiowa Business Committee following the controversial recall election of Mr. Tofpi, and the controversial annual elections for new officers of the Business Committee.
  The filing of Tofpi's appeal will most likely proceed to the Interior Board of Indian Appeals which is located in Arlington, VA.  The IBIA is an appellate review body and it's administrative judges decide appeals from a wide array of decisions rendered by the BIA including tribal government disputes.  IBIA decisions are final for the Department but even their decisions can be further appealed to U.S. district courts.
  Mr. Tofpi expressed his determination to advance his appeal as far as necessary to seek redress for the numerous violations perpetrated against him by the Kiowa Hearing Board and the Kiowa Election Board in his recalll, and also for the highly questionable decisions rendered in the matter by the BIA. 
  The appeal process dictates that the controverted elections are not a done deal and that Tofpi could be reinstated as Kiowa Tribal Chairman sometime in the near future.
  Click on the above document images for easier viewing and, stay tuned.
    
 
 

KBC Recalls

  The above document was composed and presented to me by an individual whom I trust to be knowledgeable of governmental processes, and especially those of Kiowa tribal government. The document clearly states the recall procedure as directed by our Kiowa Constitution & By-laws, and the Kiowa Hearing Board Ordinance. 
  This step procedure was blatantly disregarded by appointed Kiowa Hearing Board members in the recent recall filing against Donald Tofpi, and in the recall filings against seven(7) members of the Business Committee (myself included). 
  The real culprit behind our inability to effectively govern ourselves is our outdated Constitution which allows for the continued violations and resultant instability. The recall process, as presently structured by our Constitution, allows for one individual to jeopardize all federal program funding and economic development activity for the rest of our 12,000 + population.  I personally am not against a recall option when needed, but there should be certain Constitutional constraints which assure uninterrupted governmental services and economic development.
  The recent decision issued by Anadarko Agency Superintendent Robin Phillips in the Donald Tofpi CFR Court case dismissal is in the appeal process and more evidence will be presented and questions raised regarding violations of our Constitution at the Tribal and BIA levels.  I will provide info here on the appeal as it progresses, and on the current recall situation, so, stay tuned.
  Click on document image (once or twice) for easier reading.
   

Stay Tuned, Some More...

  The above financial summary was previously posted here but with individual names blocked.  This information was illegally obtained by a tribal member who reproduced and distributed it at an annual KIC meeting a couple of years ago, so it isn't newly released here.  A record of that individual's actions regarding this matter will be posted on the Kiowa Tribes website, http://kiowatribe.net/, and also on this site in the near future, so, stay tuned.
p.s.:  click on the summary for enlargement and easier reading. 

Time Out...

    

"Those We Left Behind"    30"h x 40"w      Acrylic on Canvas

  Ancient accounts of the Kiowa Tribe tell of a large fearsome creature which occupies the deep mountain lakes and waterways within the Kiowa's old northern habitat which is now the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, Canada.  The Kiowas call this creature Zone Ait Ghahnay, which describes a terrible being having large teeth.  This creature is said to attack and devour unwary travelers of those waterways, both animal and human.

  Zone Ait Ghahnay appears in the Kiowa stories of Spider Woman and Zy Day Tahli, the "Split Boys", and it also appears in several 18th Century paintings by Kiowa artists Zone Tahm, Silverhorn, and others.  Ancient representations of this Water Monster appear on stone features throughout the northern Rocky Mountain region, and numerous accounts of encounters with the creature are told by the tribes which remain in the north.  The cover of a famous Kiowa tipi also displays two large paintings of the Water Monster.

  When the Kiowas moved onto the northern plains in the early 1600's, an argument between two chiefs caused one of the bands to return to the northwest and the old mountain habitat of the Kiowas.  Those people are known as Azan Tanhop, "Those Who Went Away Dissatisfied."

  The above painting is the first i've been able to (nearly) finish in two years, and is included in the newly published 2011 Native American Art Calendar.  I have other art and art related projects in progress but moving in slow motion due to my involvement in tribal governmental business.  I will include future postings here of some of my 'other' activities when tribal business allows some deviation.

  My wife, Allie, is selling the calendars for $15 which include 13 other well known and established artists and their works.

  I sorely needed this break, wheeeeew!

p.s.:  Click on image to enlarge for easier viewing.

 

Stay Tuned.........

The above check copies are included as EXHIBIT A with the previous posted CFR Court Case No. CIV-10-A44.  Due to space limitations only a few of the check copies are shown, but payout totals for the defendents shown are:
Helen Poolaw  -  $1,600.00
Dwayne Davis -  $3,951.26
John Bear       -  $24,829.00
The payments came from a Kiowa Casino Operations Authority account.

All documents shown are Court Records and are available for public access.

Stay Tuned.........

  Exhibit A, showing $$$ payouts and names, will be posted seperately and soon. 
  If you have trouble viewing the document(s), click on the text image for enlargement.

Stay Tuned........

  The above is from a spreadsheet provided to us (KBC) by an attorney for a Limited Liability Corporation(LLC) that is currently contesting Kiowa Court jurisdiction in Federal Court.  Columns for several months have been deleted due to space limitation but the item totals appear in the far right TOTAL column, and totals represent claimed expenses for the months July, '07 through September, '08.
  Tribal individuals named and the initials of one individual have been blocked pending review by federal invesigators. 
  The entity which was the primary party on the Kiowa side was the Kiowa Economic Development Board, as listed above.  The total KEDB advances of $166,990.00 were never deposited with nor reported to the Kiowa Finance Office and an accounting of those monies was never provided to the Tribal Treasurer. Though the KEDB claimed autonomy from Kiowa governance, they "passed the buck" to the Kiowa Tribe when it came time to pay the bill. 
  The total expenses being claimed by the LLC, $1,337,899.73, is just a small portion of development costs which was written into a development/management loan agreement signed by the then Chairman of the KEDB, the then Chairman of the KBC, and the President of the LLC. The LLC projection of total development costs was over $80,000,000.00 and the agreement granted the LLC total control of all Kiowa gaming until the loan was repayed.  The LLC is working feverishly to move their claim to a court of arbitration where the development/management agreement will be enforced in their favor, or the Kiowa Tribe will be liable for repayment of the $1M+ bill submitted to the KBC, plus attorney fees. 
  There are many questions of fraud, embezzlement, and other extremely negative factors appearing in the history of this situation and the present KBC has their work cut out in trying to resolve the case in favor of the Kiowa Tribe. The history of the KEDB's involvement in this mess and their mishandling of large sums of money is complicated and will require diligent effort to uncover the full story of how we were sucked into this quagmire.
  Again, click on the spreadsheet image for enlargement and easier reading and, stay tuned..........
   
 

Stay Tuned.......

  View previous posting of June 3.  The above financials represent only a small portion of tribal monies and missing property currently being reviewed by Federal investigators.  Individual names are currently blocked but some belong to previous Kiowa Business Committee, Kiowa Hearing Board, and Kiowa Election Board members, some are currently serving in various tribal appointments and capacities, and some are even running for office in the upcoming June 19 election.

  Our greatest losses are in the gaming area and questioned totals are in the millions of dollars. Federal auditors first alerted the KBC to numerous "red flags" showing up in gaming audits of 2008, then a series of meetings began a more thorough look at the mismanagement and outright embezzlement of tribal gaming monies.

  The investigation phase will continue for an indeterminate amount of time and more information will be released to the kiowa Indian Council as soon as allowable, and in a forum which will not impede the investigations.

  Click on the text image for enlargement and easier reading.

      

Stay Tuned.......

Stay Tuned......

Use Screen Enlarger or click on text image to enlarge for easier reading.  Note the term completion date.

Stay Tuned.....

Stay Tuned....

Click on photo and text image(s) to enlarge for easier viewing and reading.

Stay Tuned...

Stay Tuned

The above is from the annual Kiowa Indian Council Issues Election of June 1, 1991.  More to follow on this.

Kiowa Drama, Then & Now

  I created the above digital image on my computer which illustrates the old Kiowa story of Tso Ah, now commonly known as 'Devil's Tower, in the state of Wyoming. The image portrays the moment when a group of seven Kiowa sisters, being pursued by a bear, climbed upon a tree stump and were thrown up into the nighttime sky to become the seven stars of the Big Dipper constellation.
  The Tso Ah account occured several hundred years ago after the Kiowas left the Yellowstone area and just before they occupied the Black Hills in South Dakota. That was then.
  This is now.  Recall charges were filed today against Dwayne Davis, Chairman of the Kiowa Election Board, for a number of violations of the Kiowa Constitution & By-laws and the Ordinance of the Kiowa Election Board. The recall question and list of charges, with other documentation, can be viewed on the official website of the Kiowa Tribe at: kiowatribe.net.
  One of the charges against Davis is his scheduling of a recall election against the Chairman of the Kiowa Busness Committee, Donald Tofpi, which is scheduled to occur this coming Saturday, May 29 despite a Temporary Restraining Order issued by the CFR Court against the Election Board and the Kiowa Hearing Board.  A letter dated May 13, 2010 from Anadarko Agency Superintendent Robin Phillips to Dwayne Davis states that the Kiowa Election Board is denied use of the Agency as a polling place for the recall election due to Temporary Restraining Order litigation in the CFR Court and Appellate Court.
  Also, in a meeting today of the Kiowa Business Committee, the KBC approved and issued a resolution declaring the recall election invalid due to the many violations and descrepancies perpetrated by the KEB and KHB in their conduct of the recall process.  The KBC vote was unanimous in support of the resolution.
  To be continued.....
 

"Oh, Spit"

The above email message was forwarded to me a couple of days ago and, as you will read in the content, it presents a clear picture of the current state of our Kiowa Election Board and some of the players who continue in their attempts to influence and access Kiowa government thru the back door.

The email was composed by Anita Onco Johnson who is a candidate for KBC Treasurer in the upcoming election and she granted me permission to forward it on in hopes that others would contact her for discussion of the content.

Click on the text image for enlargeing and easier reading.

MUCH MORE TO COME

Click on letter image to enlarge for reading.

As illustrated in the above letter and previous post, one dissatisfied tribal member is able to easily threaten disruption of tribal governance for all Kiowa membership due to the weakness of our current tribal constitution. In accordance with an approved ballot vote of the Kiowa Indian Council, a well-planned and well-designed approach by numerous Kiowa members to amend/change/revise/rewrite the constitution has been in progress for several years but roadblocks to that effort continue to be thrown up by the few who wish to retain their ability to disrupt progress for the Kiowa Tribe. I am not a proponent of immediate, radical change but this is one area of tribal government that needs serious study and input from all constituents of Kiowa tribal government.

Current recall procedures against Kiowa Business Committee Chairman Don Tofpi are another illustration of Constitutional weakness which allows for misinterpretation and abuse of powers. Recall petitioner Charles 'Buddy' Toyebo personally advanced his appeal to the Kiowa Hearing Board without a public hearing and determination issued by the KBC in violation of step 1 of the process. The KHB accepted his appeal and scheduled a hearing without serving notice to Chairman Tofpi, a violation of step 2 of the process. The KHB, without affording due process to the recallee, advanced the recall charges to the Kiowa Election Board for a ballot vote election, a violation of step 3 of the process. The KEB continued the Constitutional violations by issueing absentee ballots for the recall election without using tribal funding. Would the U.S. Government allow outside funding of any U.S. federal elections, say from North Korea, Iraq, the Taliban, Mexican drug cartels? I think not, and I feel this may be bordering on a criminal violation against Kiowa tribal government. Those entities and individuals party to this mockery of tribal government seem determined to play this out to the end and I encourage those voting to cast a no vote for recall unless you support and condone these numerous violations. The BIA recognizes that this is not a valid election and will not allow KEB use of the Agency as a polling place as in previous legitimate elections.

In addition to the above violations, the appointed term of the previous Kiowa Hearing Board Chair, Helen Poolaw, expired on December 31, 2009 and she has attempted to continue in that position by self-appointment. The Kiowa Constitution clearly states that only the KBC has the authority for appointments to the KHB. The KBC appointed two other tribal members to replace her and another position on the KHB, however, the Kiowa Election Board has refused to administer the oath of office to those appointees in hopes that Poolaw might somehow regain appointment. Conspiracy, collusion? The KBC issued a memo to Mrs. Poolaw reminding her of her term expiration yet she continues in attempts to retain her previously held position on the KHB. The memo also declared to the rest of the KHB that all activities of the KHB since January 1, 2010 wherein Mrs. Poolaw was a participant are null and void, thus also voiding their actions on the Charles Toyebo recall against Chairman Tofpi.

Stay tuned, there'll be much more to come.

THE BEAT GOES ON

Took the above photo recently of the sign which marks the location of our new casino, described in a previous posting, one mile west of Verden and six miles east of Anadarko on Highway 9.

We will order the modular building within the next few days and the manufacturer quoted that fabrication and delivery of the building will occur in 2-3 weeks. The building is modest in size, by design, and will house approximately 150 Class II slot machines. Though our marketing study projected a slightly larger facility, we opted for the more cost effective design with expansion to occur as revenue allows.

Contrary to negative rumors spewing forth from a few disgruntled tribal members, the project is being approached in a business-like manner by the Kiowa Business Committee utilizing our own internal technicians and professionals in all planning and development phases. We project total start-up costs at approximately 1M dollars as opposed to tens of millions projected by an outside developer.

Funding for start-up of the facility will be from a bank loan utilizing one of our CD's as collateral, and repayment of the loan will take first priority from casino revenue. Following loan repayment, all revenue will come directly to the tribe and be deposited in accounts established in accordance with our Revenue Allocation Plan as mandated by National Indian Gaming Commission regulations.

And speaking of disgruntled tribal members, our tribal government is experienceing another episode of disruption, false accusations, and mean heartedness from a handful of tribal members who are famous for their never-ending opposition toward any Kiowa Business Committee elected by the Kiowa Indian Council. This smalll group of underachievers label themselves as 'THE KIC' and profess to speak for the entirety of the Kiowa Indian Council.

A prime example of their negative activity is the recent filing of very weak recall charges against KBC Chairman Donald Tofpi. In subsequent postings in the near future, I will address more of their activity and provide information on the positive happenings within tribal government in the recent months. Meanwhile, you can read Chairman Tofpi's response to the recall charges posted on our tribal website at: http://kiowatribe.net/.