A two-year court battle between tribal members for control of the council ended last week in an Allen Parish courtroom.
Chief Len Wiggins said problems began after the Four Winds Tribe Louisiana Cherokee Corporation, located in Oakdale, held its election two years ago. At that time, Wiggins and Jerry Miller, were elected as chief and vice chief.
According to documents from the trial, after the December 15, 2018, election, Barbara Doyle Sherman and Glen Dyer, who were on the council, were not happy with the results. They resigned in February 2019. Sherman then contacted a non-affiliated Oklahoma Cherokee Tribe for assistance and determined a new election was held July 13, 2019. In the second election, Sherman and Dyer were elected chief and vice chief. Evidence in the trial did not show Wiggins or Miller were placed on the second ballot.
Wiggins explained Sherman and Dyer moved the tribal group to DeRidder and claimed the tribe’s name. Sherman’s group also gained access to the tribe’s bank account and moved its money. Then they filed a law suit against Wiggins and the Oakdale group.
Chief Wiggins told the paper this week that the tribe contacted the FBI, and the funds in the case were frozen. He said the Oakdale group also visited Louisiana State Police because of the actions taken by Sherman and Dyer. He said he spoke to some detectives. He was told once the courts decided on who had access to the tribal’s name, then they should return to them with the paperwork.
On May 22, District Judge E. David Deshotels heard the testimony in the case. His decision had various answers in the case.
The opinion stated that once Sherman and Dyer officially resigned from the board, “they no longer had legal authority to act on behalf of the tribe as a corporation or do the corporation/tribe’s business, including calling for a new election.” Judge Deshotel therefore ruled the second election was unauthorized and improper and the results were not legal and null and void. He ruled in favor of the defendants, which included Wiggins.
Deshotel’s opinion included the tribes’ articles of incorporation and by-laws provided how officers and council members should be removed from the tribe. In the opinion, the judge noted no one presented factual information to disqualify Wiggins or Miller from their positions during the trial.
The judge also pointed out there was a conflict of interest because the persons in charge of the investigation against Wiggins and Miller were also seeking the offices on the ballot.
Wiggins said they did offer the DeRidder group an opportunity to join the tribal organization as a band of the tribe in an attempt to come to an agreement before the case went before the courts. He said at that time, the band could have elected a council, but the group refused his “olive branch.”
He said some nasty things have been said about him including calling him a fake chief. He said it’s not suppose to be like this. He was relieved a decision had been reached. He said they would move forward.
Chief Wiggins said the future means the pow-wows which had to be canceled and other operations will resume. He said the tribe plans on a pow-wow for October 22, to October 24, jointly with the Talimali Band of the Apalachee Tribe. The tribe’s operating days for the office are on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 am till 2 p.m. The rolls are closed for the present. The tribe is working on having a bill passed to define or outline a relationship with the state. He said there is presently no definition for the term (state recognized tribe), which is the classification of the Four Winds Tribe
