August 6, 2006
Efforts are continuing to correct the problems that have resulted from the blatant attempt by a group of renegade individuals to take over governance of the Mackinac Band and to usurp the powers of the duly elected governing body by means that clearly are highly questionable. This report summarizes those efforts and provides some perspective on the motivations of those renegades who aspire to control of the Mackinac Bands and thereby to represent the will of the potential membership whose number approximates 16,000 Native Americans, many of whom are members of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.
As noted in an earlier report, the attempted take-over by the renegades began when the locked offices of the Mackinac Band in Cedarville, Michigan were forcefully entered on September, 26, 2005. The break-in resulted in the removal of Corporation and private property, the latter including items of great personal and sentimental value to Chairman John Causley. Included among those personal items were irreplaceable audio tapes of Causley family members, including Elders, made over a period of more than two decades. The tapes were made as a loving tribute to Causley family members and in an effort to preserve a long and important record of Native American history…and family memories. These priceless items remain in the hands of the renegades who seem not to be concerned about their rightful ownership. Three individuals, Thomas Bruning, Donald Adams and Mark Tebo participated in the break-in and removal of the items in question. Bruning and Adams are registered members of the Sault Tribe; both claim to be Elders. Interestingly enough, at a meeting held in St. Ignace in May, 2006, a member of the renegade group admitted publicly to the possession of Chairman John Causley’s personal property.
On September 25, 2005, one day prior to the invasion of the corporate offices, five of the dissidents, Donald Adams, Mark Tebo, Vada Wait, Christopher Bloswick and William Brown met in private, in violation of Corporation By-laws (note that Wait, Bloswick, and Brown are also registered Sault Tribe members). During this meeting, it was agreed to remove the Chairman, John Causley, and to replace him with one of their own. Donald Adams accepted the position as titular head of this illegitimate organization. Two of the dissidents, William Brown and Mark Tebo, had both resigned from the Mackinac Band Board of Directors in an open session meeting one-month prior to the private and illegal meeting held on September 25. Brown and Tebo had no standing with the Mackinac Band Board at that time and thus their votes were meaningless. Notwithstanding the unofficial nature of the meeting, with only three eligible members voting, no legally binding vote could have taken place, including a vote to remove the Chairman or to install another in his place. Any such vote must be considered inoperative and to be null and void. This Board, as they refer to themselves is, in reality, a nonentity.
There is and has been for some time…even before the coup…efforts on the part of a small number of disgruntled members or wannabee hangers-on to remove John Causley from the chairmanship of the Mackinac Band. The phrase, “I’m going to take him out” was heard often from some who thought either that they were better qualified to handle the difficult tasks of the Chairman or had a stronger “birth right” to the position. One such effort to “take him out” was to try and cast doubt on Chairman Causley’s credentials as a Mackinac Band descendent. Problem is…those who apparently try to create the doubt cannot seem to produce the documentation to substantiate their charges. Why no documentation? Arrogance by those who make the charges that all they have to do is make a pronouncement and that will be good enough; or just no documentation available? In either case, they do the membership a great injustice by making unsubstantiated charges that clearly are false.
On January 26, 2006, the Mackinac Band (the Corporation), through its attorney, sent letters to Donald Adams, Mark Tebo, Vada Wait, Christopher Bloswick and William Brown demanding the return of the corporate and personal property taken on September 26, 2005. To date, these individuals have refused to return the illegally taken property. It should be noted that Donald Adams, Vada Wait and Christopher Bloswick were removed from the Board of Directors of the Mackinac Band in November 2005 for their failure to attend three consecutive Board meetings and for flagrant disregard of the confidentiality pledges that they had signed in good faith but thereafter refused to honor.
In June 2006, a letter was sent to the Attorney General of the State of Michigan. The letter addressed the alleged illegal activities of the renegade group, activities which amounted to a breach of individual civil rights, at best, to a blatant disregard of law on the part of the renegades, at worst, and requested the intervention of that office. Our dialogue with the Charitable Trust Section of the Attorney General’s office is continuing and we hope soon to have a binding resolution to the problem.
The break-in of the Mackinac Band offices occurred about ten and one-half months ago. What has this renegade group accomplished in the way of Mackinac Band progress since then? Minutes from past meetings are telling. Those records show that they have had at least three Chairpersons during this brief period of time; first Don Adams, then Bill Brown and now Vada Wait. The changing chair exercise looks like a game of musical chairs…no pun intended. They proclaim openness and inclusion but secrecy is the norm and the meetings are essentially closed to anyone who does not conform to their rules and beliefs. They complained about Chairman Causley’s purported “dictatorial” manner yet only the renegade insiders get to play the game of musical chairs. In other words, the general membership does not participate in rule making or elections
http://www.saulttribetimes.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=211
Apparently the renegade group is in the process of adopting a constitution. The constitution that is being circulated is a document that was taken in it’s entirety from another Tribe with only the name changed. I’m not an expert on publishing law but that just may amount to plagiarism…a serious offense…if they have not acknowledged the work of the contributing Tribe. More importantly, however, the Mackinac Band membership was not allowed to participate in the formulation of the laws that will govern them; Adding insult to injury, this renegade group…according to minutes of a recent meeting…has given authority for the approval of this constitution to a non-Native attorney. The membership plays no role either in the development of the constitution or its approval. If that isn’t dictatorship, I don’t know what is!
The renegade group has claimed ownership of most if not all the territory that is now trust territory of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. This claim is particularly interesting since the leaders seem not able to even identify relevant Treaties that formed the basis of original land cessions. They state further that since certain Kewadin (Sault Tribe) casinos are sited on the land that they claim ownership of, they have indicated that they will also demand a portion of the profits deriving form those claims…retroactive to about seventeen (17) years in the past! They have also claimed that Sault Tribe members are pursuing hunting, fishing and gathering activities on territory for which they have none of those rights…on Mackinac Band territory. The resolution of this problem has not yet been resolved by them.
A complete rendition of the above story in the renegades own words can be read in the following four files that were provided by Mr. Tony Grondin:
Click on each of the files for viewing.
This forum is set up to provide information on our 1836 Treaty Rights. The Sault Tribe has sold out the Membership and stripped us of some of these rights forever! The Tribal Board would not let this go to the Membership for a vote. Other Tribes are fighting the State in Court over our rights in the 1836 Treaty. We must protect this Treaty at any cost!
