Editor’s Note: The following story is a correction and clarification of the submission “Thlopthlocco Tribal Town Elections Scheduled for Nov. 9” that ran in the Oct. 1 edition of the Mvskoke Newspaper due to information that was misleading and harmful.
MVSKOKE RESERVATION – Mvskoke Media previously published a submission in the Oct. 1 edition of the newspaper by Thlopthlocco Tribal Town (TTT) citizen Nathan Anderson. Although the article was an outside submission provided by a citizen, Anderson was credited as a “Thlopthlocco Spokesperson”. According to current TTT Mekko Ryan Morrow, Anderson presently does not represent the tribe in an official or unofficial capacity, nor does he hold a position within the tribal government. The article Anderson submitted claimed TTT is holding an election on Nov. 9. Mekko Morrow refuted this claim in a statement.
“There are NO elections scheduled for November, nor will they be held at the MCN Capitol Complex,” Mekko Morrow said. “Elections are set only by the Thlopthlocco Business Committee. The Business Committee has prepared an Election Ordinance to govern the election process, but has delayed setting an election because of ongoing litigation.”
That litigation refers to a lawsuit, Thlopthlocco Tribal Town v. Wiley, et al., Appellants. This case regards whether TTT, a federally recognized tribe, has the ability to retract a waiver of sovereign immunity in Muscogee (Creek) Nation court proceedings.
According to Mekko Morrow, Anderson was removed as Mekko by an internal TTT Tribal Constitutional Grievance Procedure and was expelled from office.
“Mr. Anderson was elected Mekko in January 2007, but attempted a takeover of the entire Business Committee in June, about four months into his term. After he personally had reported the Election results to the BIA, he then claimed there were flaws in the election and he could unilaterally remove all Business Committee members except himself. He then made replacements with his family and friends.” Mekko Morrow said. “The Business Committee authorized litigation against Mr. Anderson and his fake business committee in the MCN Tribal District Court. In the meantime, Mr. Anderson was removed as Mekko by an internal Tribal Constitutional Grievance Procedure and was expelled from office. The litigation continued until, and Thlopthlocco was in litigation with him until February 28, 2022 when the MCN Supreme Court finally ruled that he was no longer in office.”
Mekko Morrow went on further to discuss what exactly the Tenth Circuit’s decision determined in terms of TTT’s status as an independent sovereign nation and its relationship to MCN.
“On September 3, 2014, the federal Tenth Circuit in Denver ruled that Thlopthlocco is not a member of the MCN and therefore is a sovereign nonmember for purposes of tribal court jurisdiction,” Mekko Murrow said. “In that decision, the Tenth Circuit determined to preserve the status quo of the litigation and directed that no election take place until the litigation concluded in the federal courts. The Tenth Circuit then remanded the case back to the Federal District Court and then to the MCN Tribal courts. On December 20, 2023, the Federal District Court ruled that Thlopthlocco was entitled to sovereign immunity in a court. The Federal Court also ruled that Thlopthlocco may waive that immunity and consent to jurisdiction in a court. The Federal Court also held that consistent with Federal law, as a sovereign, Thlopthlocco is entitled to withdraw a consent to jurisdiction under certain circumstances. This decision has been appealed by the MCN to the Tenth Circuit and thus Thlopthlocco Tribal Elections continue to be delayed.”
When asked if Anderson’s unofficial election was related to the case, Mekko Morrow stated that it is not a question TTT can officially comment on at this time.
According to Chapter 8 of the TTT Election Ordinance and Election Committee Rules & Procedures titled “CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS”,
“8 – 101. Location and Time of Election Meeting A. The Election Committee shall select a location and time for the Election Meeting at least ten (10) weeks or more prior to the date of this election. B. After the close of the Filing Period and upon the conclusion of all or any challenges to the tribal member applicants who qualify as candidates, the date, location, time, and names of the qualified candidates who have filed for office shall be publicized by the Election Committee in the Tribal Town Newsletter; By posting on the homepage of the Tribal Town Website; By the placement of printed posters at the Tribal Complex; and through official social media sites under the control of the Election Committee.”
Mvskoke Media is not the TTT’s newsletter nor does it operate any of the social media sites under the control of the TTT Election Committee. Currently the TTT website and Facebook page do not contain any election notices coming up in November.
In Anderson’s submission he claimed that he has permission to use the “Claude Cox auditorium” from Muscogee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief David Hill, National Council Speaker Randall Hicks and MCN Attorney General Geri Wisner. Mvskoke Media reached out to all of the aforementioned parties but did not receive any statements at the time of publishing this correction.
Currently oral arguments for an appeal in the case Thlopthlocco Tribal Town v. Wiley, et al., Appellants are set to be held in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on Nov. 20.
Mvskoke Media will continue to provide updates for this story as they become available.
Nathan is lying again!
Lying seems to be a common trait among some TTT members, Vernon.