Turtle Talk

The Northern Cheyenne Tribal Court recently granted partial summary judgment in a case arising from a dispute between Northern Cheyenne Traditional Chiefs invoking asserted traditional authority and members of the Tribe’s elected Council.

Judge Frans Andersson held that the September 10, 2025 Chiefs’ Declaration, which purported to remove eight elected Council members, was void and had no legal effect. Because those officials had never lawfully been removed, the court also concluded that the subsequent special election could not create a lawful replacement Council. The defendants were ordered to “immediately peaceably surrender” control of the Council offices and government resources to the plaintiff Council members.

What’s especially interesting is the court’s treatment of custom and tradition. The opinion doesn’t treat them as irrelevant to Tribal governance. Rather, it recognizes their continuing cultural and political significance while distinguishing that influence from the exercise of governmental power under the Tribe’s Constitution.

Any exercise of the inherent power of custom and tradition must occur within the bounds of the law governing the Tribe.

In other words, custom and tradition can inform and legitimate Tribal governance, but under the Northern Cheyenne governmental structure addressed in this case, they cannot independently displace the Constitution’s procedures for removing elected officials. Traditional leaders remain free to pursue political change through mechanisms available under Tribal law, including the constitutional referendum process.