Little Traverse Bay Bands swear in interim leader after recall


Unofficial results from the November 17 recall election. Image from Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians

Voters of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians in Michigan recalled their two top leaders this week.

Voters put Chairman Fred Kiogima and Vice Chair Deb De Leon out of office on Monday. Tribal members were upset with their style of governing, The Petoskey News-Review reported.

"I had voted for Fred and Deb because I thought they would do a good job," Rose Smalley, who was part of the recall effort, told the paper. "They are two well-educated people. But they did not come in with my expectations of what they were going to do."

Regina Gasco-Bentley was sworn in as interim chair, the first woman to lead the tribe. She

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Tribal leaders recalled, interim chairwoman sworn in (The Petoskey News-Review 11/20)

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