The former chief of the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation has filed a legal bid to overturn the results of last month's chapter and council elections.
On November 27, Vince Thacan filed a lawsuit in the Winnipeg Court of Queen's Bench, seeking to invalidate the election of Jennifer Bone to the post of head and five council members.
“Civil Contested Petitions” are scheduled to be heard early in the new year.
In a screenshot from a livestream on the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation's Youtube channel, designated election officials and observers watch the counting of ballots in last month's election. (Brandon Sun Files)
Winnipeg lawyer Jamie Kagan is representing Takana in the case along with three other plaintiffs.
“The short version: We will go to court on January 5th in hopes of invalidating the election,” Kagan said in a brief telephone interview on Friday.
“We have made a proposal to hold new elections and hope that the court will accept this decision.”
According to Crown Court records, Takan, Bone and original selectman Burke Rutt filed affidavits in the case.
The legal action followed a heated election held on November 14 and 15, in which Bone was ultimately declared the winner with 371 votes to 212 for incumbent Takana. The process lasted two days, was followed by a response from the RCMP, and included changing election commissioners after ballots were collected.
Named as a defendant in the case, Bone told the Sun she believes the court case is part of a larger story about a self-governing First Nation.
“We hope that at the Jan. 5 hearing, the court will recognize and respect the jurisdiction of the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation,” Bone said in a written statement Friday.
“Our country has its own laws, governance structures and electoral processes, and those processes were followed.”
The main point of contention for the parties is whether the panel had the authority to fire Ratte and appoint someone else to count the ballots. A group of about three dozen community elders wrote a letter to relieve Ratta of his duties on Nov. 15 and then assigned another election official to open the sealed ballot boxes and count the votes.
Former Sioux Valley Chief Vince Thacan is asking the Court of Queen's Bench to invalidate last month's election results. (Matt Goertzen/Brandon Sun Files)
After Bone was declared the winner, the First Nation posted an official statement on its website on Nov. 21 saying the election officer replacement was properly done in accordance with the Sioux Valley constitution.
“Pursuant to the authority granted by the Sioux Valley Dakota Oyate County Constitution, the O Tanka and Tiospaye Representative Council has terminated the contract,” the statement said.
The statement said Ratte breached his contract and failed to fulfill his duties, leading to his termination.
The statement also said Takan is ineligible to hold office under the Sioux Valley constitution due to pending criminal charges against him. Thakan, 65, was charged days before the election with sexual assault stemming from an alleged incident in 1984 involving a teenager under the age of 16, police said.
Ratte, in an interview with the Sun after the election, said the group had no right to replace him as election officer.
“We received an unsigned letter that's not even dated, right? Supposedly the elders fired me, but according to Sioux Valley election law, I don't have the authority to do that,” Ratte said. “I am appointed by a resolution of the group and the council, I am a representative of the authorities, I am responsible for elections.”
Ratte submitted a six-page report to Indigenous Services Canada claiming the election was invalid, but the department cited the self-governing status of the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation and said the dispute should go through other channels, such as the courts, for third-party resolution.
“Indigenous Services Canada does not play any role in the elections or leadership selection processes of the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation,” spokesman Eric Head said in an email last month. “The department does not have the authority to interfere with, interpret, or determine the legality of a community’s election process.”
Chief Jennifer Bone says the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation “has its own laws, governance structures and election processes, and those processes have been followed.” (Brandon Sun Files)
The plaintiffs in the current lawsuit are Takan, John Bell, Anthony Takan and Carole Johnson.
The defendants in the case are Bone, Randall Wasikuna, Melissa Hotein, Bill McKay and Darryl Hapa.
Takan and Ratte did not respond to requests for comment on the status of the court case on Friday.
A new board under Bone oversees government affairs in the Sioux Valley while the lawsuit is pending.
