LAME DEER, Mont. – A group of Northern Cheyenne records commonly identified as C-1 through C-4 helps establish the written framework surrounding the 2026 removal proceedings involving President Gene Small. The documents answer some questions, but they do not answer all of them.
The Constitution provides removal authority
The Northern Cheyenne Constitution provides a process for removing an officer or council member for specified failures or gross neglect, requires a two-thirds Council vote, and provides the affected official a fair opportunity to be heard. The constitutional framework also requires complaints to be written and sworn.
Written procedures were adopted
Resolution DOI-009, dated September 11, 2026, established written procedures for the removal hearing. Other records in the C-1 through C-4 set address scheduling, service, correspondence, and the movement of the proceeding to an alternate location.
Together, those documents establish that the Council asserted constitutional removal authority and adopted a written hearing process.
What remains unresolved in the available record
The documents reviewed by Truth in Focus do not yet provide a complete public record establishing every procedural step surrounding the final action.
Among the records still needed are the final signed removal resolution, a certified roll-call vote or official minutes, complete notice and service records concerning the location change, any vacancy or succession resolution, hearing-officer findings, witness and exhibit lists, and later correspondence with federal officials concerning the leadership transition.
That distinction matters. The existence of constitutional authority and written procedures does not, by itself, establish whether every required procedure was followed in a particular hearing.
What Truth in Focus is not concluding
Truth in Focus is not declaring the removal legally valid or legally invalid based solely on the records currently available. The narrower conclusion is that the public record reviewed so far establishes the governing framework while leaving material compliance questions unresolved.
Additional signed resolutions, certified minutes, service documents, court orders, or other official records may answer those questions. If they become available, this report will be updated.
By Steven Bullcoming Haworth