Leander “Russ” McDonald said he will take over as chairman of the Spirit Lake Nation of North Dakota this week.

McDonald was elected chairman in July after tribal members removed Roger Yankton from office. But Yankton won a tribal court order that reinstated him to the post.

That order was lifted by the Northern Plains Intertribal Court of Appeals on Friday. Yankton's opponents hope the decision ends the dispute once and for all.

“This is it,” elder Erich Longie, who helped organize the ouster of Yankton, told The Grand Forks Herald. “It’s over, and we’re celebrating.”

Separately, Yankton filed a lawsuit in federal court but the tribe is seeking to have it dismissed.

Get the Story:
Former Spirit Lake chairman Yankton loses effort at reinstatement (The Grand Forks Herald 9/8)

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Spirit Lake leaders seek dismissal of ousted chairman's lawsuit (9/6)