By Troy Littledeer | @kituwahpunk
Nutgraph: A protective order filed after a July 13 confrontation between UKB Chief Jeff Wacoche and Councilman Donald Adair remains unaddressed by Tribal Council, even as a separate impeachment case against Treasurer Sonja Gourd moved forward this week with the filing of formal Articles of Impeachment.
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — Tribal Councilor Tishaleta Smith-Guevara of the Delaware District filed formal Articles of Impeachment against Sonja Gourd, Treasurer of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma, on Wednesday, even as a separate case remains open involving a confrontation between the tribe’s chief and a sitting councilman that has drawn no Council response.
The filing follows a July 15 vote in which the UKB Tribal Council suspended Gourd without pay from all accounting records and bank access pending the outcome of impeachment proceedings.
Two days before that vote, on July 13, Councilman Donald Adair filed a sworn Petition for Protective Order against UKB Chief Jeff Wacoche in Cherokee County District Court, Case No. PO-2026-119. The petition followed a confrontation at a meeting called to address the layoffs of employees whose positions had run on American Rescue Plan Act funding.
Thirty-two employees had been listed under that funding, Human Resources Director Michelle Downing later told Council. Six remained without a position as of that report.
At the July 13 meeting, Adair told the assembled employees, “I’m sorry. The council failed you.”
According to two witnesses who spoke on condition of anonymity, Wacoche then challenged Adair over the remark, asking how he would know because Adair had been asleep during the meeting. The exchange escalated into profanity and a challenge to step outside, the witnesses said, before UKB Lighthorse officers escorted Wacoche from the room.
“Right then, then started cussing me out, called me a m—–f—–, said he was going to beat the s— out of me, told me to come outside, and kept going,” Adair said.
“It was sad,” one witness said. “We were basically getting laid off, and I didn’t get any answers.”
Adair’s petition sought immediate emergency relief. The court declined to grant it and instead scheduled a hearing for 9 a.m. July 23 at the Cherokee County Courthouse in Tahlequah.
The petition identifies the parties as colleagues rather than family or household members, a category under Oklahoma’s protective-order statute that does not require a police report to file.
No Council action or discussion has been taken regarding the July 13 confrontation as of this writing.
Adair, who said he enlisted in the Army at 18 while still in high school and served from 1973 to 1975, said he remains committed to the tribe despite the incident.
“I just want to see our tribe moving forward. Right now, it’s not prospering,” Adair said. “Right now we have [leadership] that wants the glory instead of wanting the glory for the people.”
A request for comment was sent to Wacoche at 2:22 p.m. July 13, with a response deadline of 5 p.m. the following day. No response has been received as of this writing.
Judge Jerry S. Moore is scheduled to hear Adair’s petition July 23.
