United States·United States
A disputed tribal government heads into Tuesday's Northern Cheyenne election with rival candidate lists, polling places and voting rules
LAME DEER, Mont. —
| Score | Meaning | Major U.S. outlets that covered it |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Fully overlooked ← this story | 0 of 13 outlets |
| 8 | Barely covered | 1 outlet |
| 6, 5 | Lightly covered | 2 outlets (6) · 3 outlets (5) |
| 4, 3 | Covered | 4 outlets (4) · 5 outlets (3) |
| 2, 1, 0 | Widely covered | 6–7 outlets (2) · 8–10 outlets (1) · 11–13 outlets (0) |
Provisional: Google News (5 term variants for AP, Reuters and The Washington Post; 3 for the others) and Bing News (5 variants, outlet domain only) were both used. AP, Reuters and CBS News block direct site search, and the other 10 outlets’ site search only loads in a live browser. A single search engine can miss articles, so this score may go down on recheck.
Depth
Dig five layers into this story — from what happened to the full picture.
L1What happened
Tribal leaders say contradictory social media claims about who is on the ballot, where to vote and who is eligible are sowing confusion. The council says the election Small describes is unlawful: "Tribal election officials, not the tribal president and not the tribal council, will administer the election on November 3, 2026" (council memo, via MTFP). Citing "concerns regarding election interference," the council moved the Lame Deer District polling place from the Capitol to the tribal wellness center (MTFP).
L2Who’s affected
Voters in the reservation's five districts elect five of the council's 10 seats in midterm years. Councilmember Melissa Fisher (Ashland District): "He has no business interfering. This is interference." Councilmember Melissa Lonebear (Lame Deer District), who is running for re-election: "This is affecting our kids and our grandkids." Absentee voting is permitted under the tribe's Election Ordinance. Small did not immediately respond to MTFP's request for comment.
L3Why it’s quiet
Analysis · OVERLOOKED Montana Free Press has covered the dispute closely. We did not find coverage of this election by any of the 13 major U.S. outlets.
L4Deeper impact
The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs declined invitations from both Small and the ousted council members to intervene, so no federal arbiter is helping resolve the standoff. A tribal judge ordered that the reinstated council members be allowed into the Tribal Council building, but they say they are still blocked (MTFP).
L5Full context
In spring 2025 Small, a Lame Deer rancher, started an audit of the council's use of federal COVID-19 relief funds, which the council ultimately approved. In fall 2025 the council voted to remove him, alleging constitutional violations unrelated to the audit; the Northern Cheyenne Constitutional Court later called that vote "unconstitutional and invalid." Traditional chiefs then named eight temporary council members, whose council held a special election that excluded women from the ballot. In August Tribal Judge Frans Andersson reinstated the eight ousted members and voided that election, and an appellate judge upheld him in late September. On Sept. 30 the reinstated council again voted to remove Small. "I'm still president, that's how I feel about it," Small said in an Oct. 16 video (MTFP).
You’ve reached the bottom. Read the original reporting below.
Original reporting
Status history (2 events, ET)
- O-Score check: 10 (Fully overlooked) · 0 of 13 outlets counted
- Published
Tribal governanceElectionsCourtsNative American affairs
This is an OVERLOOKED summary of the reporting above. Facts and figures come from the linked sources. Everything here is a fact unless it is labelled otherwise. Support this work.
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