On Tuesday, Nov. 14, members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) elected six new members and six incumbents to the Board of Trustees and General Council to lead the tribe for the next two years.
The CTUIR’s governing body, the Board of Trustees will have four new members.
Gary I. Burke replaces Kat Brigham as BOT chair, while Aaron Ashley retained his seat as BOT vice chair.
Raymond Huesties will replace Sandra Sampson as BOT treasurer, while Roberta J. Wilson will replace Sally Kosey as BOT secretary. Three incumbent board members at large retained their seats: Toby Patrick, Corinne Sams and Lisa Ganuelas. Steven Hart was elected as the fourth board member at large.
Alan Crawford was elected the new General Council chair, defeating write-in candidate Boots Pond. Michael Ray Johnson retained his seat as General Council vice chair, and Martina Gordon won the General Council secretary seat as a write-in candidate. As for General Council interpreter, incumbent Thomas Morning Owl defeated Fred Hill Sr. Both were write-in candidates.
Pond, who is a BOT member at large, ran a write-in campaign for General Council chair after failing to properly file election paperwork for his at large seat. Also, current General Council Chair Lindsay Watchman did not seek re-election.
The elected officials take office Nov. 29 in a 9 a.m. ceremony at the Nixyáawii Governance Center. The public is invited to attend.
