New Eastern Cherokee leader calls for unity after impeachment of chief

Wednesday, June 7, 2017  

The new leader of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is quickly settling into the job on the North Carolina reservation.

Chief Richard G. Sneed was elevated to the tribe's highest post following the historic impeachment of Patrick Lambert. He's already assembled a new team and is calling for unity and healing, The Cherokee One Feather reported.

“It’s time for us to come together. It’s time for us to be a tribe again,” Sneed said at an event for tribal employees on Tuesday, the paper reported. He previously served as vice chief, a position he won in the same October 2015 election that saw Lambert rise to power.

Less than two years later, Lambert was ousted by the tribal council late last month. But it looks like some of those leaders might be out of jobs too -- several incumbents fared poorly in a primary on June 1, just days after the impeachment vote, The Smoky Mountain News reported.

“It all comes down to the Lambert Effect,” Sage Dunston, who was the former leader's chief of staff, told the paper.

Full results from the primary are included in a video posted by the tribe's communication team. A recount has apparently been requested in the Wolftown district, where incumbent Bill Taylor barely made the cut by two votes. Taylor, who serves as chairman of the council, voted for Lambert's impeachment.

The general election for the council takes place September 7, the paper said.

Read More on the Story:
Chief Sneed lays out vision to tribal employees (The Cherokee One Feather 6/6)
Incumbents suffer in Tribal Council elections (The Smoky Mountain News 6/7)
Eastern Band looks to heal after impeachment (The Asheville Citizen-Times 5/27)
New Cherokee chief calls for healing after impeachment of Patrick Lambert (WLOS 5/27)

Eastern Cherokee council ousts chief for only 2nd time in history (May 26, 2017)