The council removed Illinois Rep. Janelle Adair and Sequoyah Rep. Donald Adair. The latter submitted articles of impeachment against Chief Jeff Wacoche late last week, accusing Wacoche of elder abuse, malfeasance, nonfeasance and moral turpitude.
Wacoche and Attorney General Klint Cowan argued that both representatives, who were first elected in 2024, did not live within their respective districts, which are defined as the "nine districts of the Old Cherokee Nation."
Cowan said they can neither run in the upcoming tribal elections, nor finish out their two-year term, citing an opinion he authored earlier this month that was requested by Delaware Rep. Tishaleta Guevara.
"(The representatives) did nothing wrong. You guys relied on enrollment," Cowan said. "You relied on the election board. You relied on what you knew as to where you live."
After Donald Adair's removal, the council dropped the impeachment charges against the chief, arguing that Adair is not an elected official and therefore can not impeach.
Wacoche called the meeting Thursday night after the tribe's election board posted a list of candidates running for the Nov. 2 council elections. According to the tribal constitution, the chief can call a special meeting with the approval of seven council members.
"We've just proven that he's not an elected official. He was never eligible to be an elected official for the last two years and that's what this is about right here," Wacoche said. "If anybody wants to give me a call, has any questions, whatever, feel free. I'm an open book."
Wacoche did not respond to two requests for comment, referring KOSU to a media representative.
A video of the special meeting is no longer available on the tribe's Facebook as of Monday.
The council also authorized Cowan to take legal action against the election board.
The impeachment articles
In July, Donald Adair alleged Wacoche threatened to fight him during a meeting about workplace furloughs.
Adair said he told employees the council had failed them and apologized. Adair said Wacoche yelled at him and threatened to fight him, then was escorted away by UKB Lighthorse Police.
Shortly after the meeting, Adair filed a protective order against the chief in the Cherokee County Court but the case didn't go anywhere.
Wacoche did not publicly address the allegations at the time.
On Friday, Wacoche turned the allegations on Adair, accusing him of issuing the threats. He said he called out Adair for sleeping during the July meeting.
According to the chief, Adair walked toward him before Wacoche said: "Don't come at me," and cursed at him. Wacoche said the two entered the hallway while Adair repeatedly told him to "take it outside."
"I wanted to be as transparent as possible. I've been blasted everywhere all over and I've taken it. I put up with it," Wacoche said during the Friday meeting.
Adair denies that happened and called his removal a "loophole."
"I didn't go after him. He went after me," Adair said. "He turns everything around on people. He's never done anything wrong in his eyes. Everything he said was a lie.
"That guy is a loose cannon … They're siding with the chief. The chief gets what he wants."
During the meeting, Wacoche said he'd release the video of the altercation if necessary. It has not yet been released publicly.
Adair said he will try to prove his innocence.
"This ain't the end of it. It's just the beginning," Adair said. "I can't show my hands until time comes."
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
