Tacan contests Sioux Valley election in court
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The former chief of Sioux Valley Dakota Nation has launched a legal bid to overturn the results of last month’s election for chief and council.
Vince Tacan filed a challenge in the Court of King’s Bench in Winnipeg on Nov. 27, asking the court to invalidate the election of Jennifer Bone as chief and five councillors.
The court action is scheduled to hear “civil contested motions” early in the new year.
In a screen shot from a livestream on the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation Youtube channel, appointed electoral officers and scrutineers oversee the counting of ballots from last month’s election. (The Brandon Sun files)
Winnipeg lawyer Jamie Kagan is representing Tacan in the case, along with three other plaintiffs.
“The short version is we are in court on Jan. 5, hopefully to declare the election null and void,” Kagan said in a brief phone interview Friday.
“We have made a proposal to have a new election and we’re hopeful that’s what the court will order.”
Tacan, Bone and the original election officer, Burke Ratte, have filed affidavits in the case, according to records in the Court of King’s Bench.
The court action follows a tumultuous election on Nov. 14 and 15 in which Bone was ultimately declared the winner by 371 votes to 212 for Tacan, the incumbent. The process spanned two days, saw an RCMP response and involved a switchover in election officers after the ballots had been collected.
Named as a defendant in the case, Bone told the Sun she believes the court case is part of a bigger story about the self-governing First Nation.
“At the Jan. 5 hearing, we are hoping the court will recognize and respect Sioux Valley Dakota Nation’s jurisdiction,” Bone said in a written statement on Friday.
“Our nation has its own laws, governance structures and election processes, and those processes were followed.”
A primary point of dispute for the parties is whether a group was authorized to fire Ratte and appoint someone else to count the ballots. The group of about three dozen community elders wrote Ratte relieving him of his duties on Nov. 15, and then appointed another election officer to open the sealed ballot boxes and count the votes.
Former Sioux Valley chief Vince Tacan is asking the Court of King’s Bench to invalidate last month’s election results. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun files)
After Bone was declared the winner, the First Nation posted an official statement on its website on Nov. 21 saying the replacement of the electoral officer was carried out properly under Sioux Valley’s consitution.
“In accordance with the authority granted in the Sioux Valley Dakota Oyate Constitution, the O Thánka & Tióspayé Representative Council terminated the contract,” the statement said.
The statement said Ratte had breached his contract and failed to fulfil his duties, leading to his termination.
The statement also said Tacan was ineligible to hold office under the Sioux Valley constitution due to pending criminal charges against him. Tacan, 65, had been charged days prior to the election with sexual assault stemming from an alleged incident in 1984 involving a teen under the age of 16, police said.
Ratte, speaking to the Sun after the election, said the group was unauthorized to replace him as electoral officer.
“We get an unsigned letter that’s not even dated, right? Allegedly, elders fired me, but under the the Sioux Valley election law, there’s no authority to do that,” Ratte said. “I’m appointed by a band and council resolution, I’m the authority, I’m the electoral officer.”
Ratte submitted a six-page report to Indigenous Services Canada asserting that the election is nullified, but the department has cited the self-governing status of Sioux Valley Dakota Nation and said the dispute must go through other channels, such as the courts, for third-party resolution.
“Indigenous Services Canada has no role in the election or leadership selection processes of Sioux Valley Dakota Nation,” spokesperson Eric Head said last month in an email. “The department does not have the authority to intervene in, interpret, or determine the validity of the community’s election process.”
Chief Jennifer Bone says Sioux Valley Dakota Nation “has its own laws, governance structures and election processes, and those processes were followed.” (The Brandon Sun files)
The plaintiffs in the active court case are Tacan, Jon Bell, Anthony Tacan and Carol Johnson.
The defendants in the case are Bone, Randall Wasicuna, Melissa Hotain, Bill McKay and Darryl Hapa.
Tacan and Ratte did not respond to requests for comment on the status of the court case Friday.
The new council under Bone is overseeing Sioux Valley governmental affairs as the court case proceeds.
» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com