BREAKING NEWS | October 9, 2026 | Developing
By Steven Bullcoming Haworth | Truth in Focus
NORTHERN CHEYENNE RESERVATION, Montana — A four-page letter dated Friday, October 9, and bearing Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) letterhead states that the federal government is taking emergency action to reassume the Northern Cheyenne Tribe’s contracted Criminal Investigations Program, citing an immediate threat to public safety and concerns about qualified staffing, investigative evidence and continuity of criminal investigations.
The photographed notice says the BIA is rescinding Contract No. A25AV00211 and will assume control and operation of the program effective October 9, 2026, upon receipt of the letter.
Truth in Focus examined photographs of all four pages.
The specific letter has not yet been independently authenticated with the BIA. The newsroom has not confirmed when it was received or how the operational transition is being carried out.
What the federal notice says
On its first page, the document invokes 25 C.F.R. §§ 900.252 and 900.253 and describes the action as an emergency reassumption of a program previously operated under a tribal self-determination contract. The BIA says the Tribe has failed to meet program requirements and alleges that the absence of criminal investigators meeting applicable standards creates an imminent threat to residents’ safety.
The notice alleges that personnel changes beginning October 5 disrupted the Northern Cheyenne Investigative Services (NCIS) program.
It describes reported termination notices involving lead criminal investigator Kerilyn Brady and law-enforcement specialist Lorna Soldier Wolf.
The document also describes a letter attributed to Ernest Littlemouth Sr. identifying John Grinsell as acting director of NCIS. The BIA says officials were informed that Grinsell did not have an adjudicated background investigation.
According to the BIA’s account of October 7 events, an NCIS telecommunications operator told a BIA Office of Justice Services official that calls for investigative service were being referred to the FBI.
The letter also describes disputed access to evidence safes, case files and law-enforcement equipment.
The BIA warns that problems with evidence custody could jeopardize prosecutions.
The photographs do not establish that any particular criminal case has been dismissed or evidence lost.
The notice further describes an October 8 meeting between BIA Special Agent in Charge Kevin Proctor and Ernest Littlemouth Sr.
The BIA says it was informed that John and Robert Grinsell had been hired or rehired in investigative positions but lacked required law-enforcement commissions or completed background adjudications.
The document also describes the reported termination of investigator William Wright around October 7. The BIA concluded that the program lacked the qualified investigators required under its contract.
These are the BIA’s accounts and findings as described in the photographed notice. Truth in Focus has not independently established every underlying personnel allegation or received responses from the individuals named.
What emergency reassumption means — and does not mean
Federal regulation 25 C.F.R. § 900.247 allows emergency reassumption of a self-determination contract when a failure to meet contract requirements poses immediate danger to people or specified trust interests. Section 900.252 addresses rescission, federal operation and written notice of that action.
The letter addresses the contracted criminal investigations program. It does not say that the BIA is assuming control of the entire Northern Cheyenne government, replacing elected leaders, or taking over all Tribal law-enforcement functions. Nor does it determine which faction has legal authority in the Tribe’s wider government dispute.
Hearing rights, property and wind-down expenses
The letter says the Tribe may seek an administrative hearing under 25 C.F.R. §§ 900.170–171, normally within ten days of the notice unless a later date is agreed to. It says the Tribe may submit claims for actual, reasonable wind-down costs to the awarding official and requests the return of property covered by applicable regulations.
The document bears a digital signature attributed to Alicia Burns, BIA awarding official, and a concurrence attributed to Kevin Proctor, special agent in charge and approving official.
Gene Small calls for transparency and review
In a statement supplied to Truth in Focus and signed “Gene Small, President, Northern Cheyenne Tribe,” Small acknowledged the BIA’s October 9 notice and described its findings as serious. He called for transparency, professional investigations, protection of evidence and access to justice for victims.
Small said, “Public safety must come before political disagreements.” He also emphasized the Northern Cheyenne people’s right to govern themselves and supported a thorough review of the BIA’s findings, a clear plan to restore qualified tribal investigative services, and the Tribe’s right to a hearing.
His use of the presidential title comes amid an unresolved dispute over tribal leadership. A faction of the Tribal Council voted to remove Small and designated Ernest Littlemouth Sr. as interim president in late September; Small’s position and the legal effects of those actions have been contested. The BIA letter refers to Littlemouth as a purported interim president. The agency’s decision regarding an investigative-services contract does not, by itself, settle the leadership dispute.
Source context: The text of Small’s statement was provided to the newsroom, and reporting on the dispute has appeared in other news outlets. Truth in Focus has not independently authenticated the original social-media posting or obtained fresh comment from every official named in the BIA letter. The statement is Small’s response, not a separate BIA confirmation of when the federal reassumption was implemented.
Questions requiring urgent answers
Truth in Focus is seeking confirmation from BIA officials and Tribal representatives of the notice’s authenticity and receipt; the effective status of federal operation; who is handling emergency investigative calls and existing cases; the security and custody of evidence and records; whether a hearing has been requested; and what services residents should expect during the transition.
Because these questions involve public safety, official agencies and affected people should be given the opportunity to clarify the record. This developing report will be updated as authenticated documents and responses become available.
Source: Four-page BIA document photographed and provided to Truth in Focus, dated October 9, 2026, Contract No. A25AV00211. Legal reference: 25 C.F.R. Part 900, Subpart P. Photographs have not yet been attached to this WordPress draft.
Editorial note: The newsroom is reporting the contents of a purported federal notice and has verified the cited regulatory framework, but has not obtained independent agency confirmation of the particular letter or the completion of the announced reassumption. Allegations about individuals are attributed to the notice rather than presented as adjudicated findings.