Big Pine tribe in ‘state of emergency’

Conflict involves recall petitions

The Big Pine Paiute Tribe has declared a state of emergency in the aftermath of a conflict between former and current members of the Tribal Council and an ongoing effort to recall the current tribal council members.

The tribal administration issued the state of emergency shortly after what it described as “a mob” entered the Tribal offices on Jan. 7.

In a press release posted on the tribe’s official webpage, the tribal administration said former members of the tribal council, members of the tribe and non-tribal members illegally entered the building, damaged property and physically attacked tribal staff.

However, tribal member Alan Bacock, in a letter to The Inyo Register, said tribal staff damaged tribal property and used bear spray to clear the building. Bacock was not named by the tribal administration as a member of the group that occupied the tribal offices.

The tribal administration said it would be pursuing criminal charges against those it said illegally entered the building.

The conflict on the Big Pine reservation burst into the open, Bacock noted, when tribal members presented petitions on Dec. 19, 2023, to recall four current members of the tribal council.

The petitions contained signatures of 51% of tribal members, which should begin the process laid out in the tribal constitution for removal of tribal council members.

The Central California office of the federal

Bureau of Indian Affairs received the notice of the petitions on Dec. 26, according to the tribal administration. The director of the agency said it was “honoring” the tribal council’s request to see all “communication” regarding the recall petitions from tribal member Genevieve Jones, “who claimed to be the newly elected chairperson,” according to a press release from the tribal administration.

Bacock said the current tribal council was mandated by the tribe’s constitution to hold a General Council Meeting 10 days after receiving the petitions.

Instead, the current tribal council has called for two General Council meetings in the coming days that do not address the petitions or other issues, he wrote.

That “is one of many issues that has led to a lack of trust in the current Big Pine Tribal

Government by its members,” he wrote.

The tribal press release said former tribal council members who lost their seats in the June, 2023 tribal General Election and their supporters have been disrupting the current tribal council and staff since the election.