Chukchansi Indian Tribe's Dispute Heats Up in California COARSEGOLD, Calif. - For two months, following a disputed election, the fight for control of the Chukchansi Indian tribe was a standoff: two groups from the tribe each claimed the be the rightful tribal council, each holding separate meetings and appealing to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for recognition as the legitimate tribal government. But the bureau said it was an internal tribal matter, and the two sides had to work it out on their own. Here is what working it out on their own looked like: supporters of Morris Reid, who claimed he was elected the new tribal council chairman in December, cut locks and smashed a window to gain access to one of the tribal government offices early Monday morning. Then late that night, across the street from the glittering Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino, supporters of Reggie Lewis, the council chairman before the election, tried to smoke Mr. Reid out. Power to the building was cut. A window was broken. Bear spray was discharged into the building. A smoldering log was thrown inside. More windows were broken. The sheriff kept watch, but no arrests were made, because on Indian land he said he had no jurisdiction to deal with property damage. And still, Mr. Reid and his supporters stayed inside. The Bureau of Indian Affairs says this in an internal tribal matter and we must resolve it through tribal processes, so that is what we are doing. Mr. Reid said. We are in possession of the tribal government offices, and we are going to stay here until the results of our election are recognized. The fight for control of the Chukchansi tribe is only the latest in a long string of power struggles in tribes across the country. Whereas courts swiftly step in to decide disputed elections in most of the country, federal courts have no jurisdiction over Indian tribal lands, which are considered sovereign nations, while the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the agency responsible for maintaining the relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes, is hesitant to intervene in tribal squabbles. With no external government agency to enforce the law, tribal government elections frequently resemble elections in developing countries - sitting chiefs refuse to give up power, struggles for control of the tribe sometimes turn violent and possession is at least nine-tenths of the law. "Power struggles seem to be more common than not in Indian country," said David Wilkins, a Lumbee Indian and professor of American Indian studies at the University of Minnesota. Most tribal nations are still not politically mature when they operate under written Constitutions. The dispute between the two factions of the Chukchansi tribe revolves around disenrollments, and the question of who is rightfully a Chukchansi member. Mr. Lewis and his allies on the tribal council had expelled dozens of people from the Chukchansi tribe, ruling that they had never been Chukchansi. Mr. Reid and his supporters oppose the disenrollments, some charging that the old leaders were trying to cut down on tribal membership so they would not have to share the casino profits with so many others. In the Dec. 3 election, the sitting tribal council chairman, Mr. Lewis, was voted out of tribal government, as was another member of council who had voted in favor of disenrollments. But Mr. Lewis contested the results, claiming that one of the candidates who beat him should not have been eligible to run for office. The tribe's election committee - a panel appointed by the tribal council members themselves - sided with Mr. Lewis. The two sides dispute just about every detail of what happened next, but this much is certain: the Dec. 26 tribal council meeting erupted into chaos, as supporters of Mr. Reid demanded that all the winning candidates be seated on the council. Mr. Lewis announced that no one would be seated, and he would remain chairman until a new election was held to fill the disputed seat. Mr. Reid claims that amid the shouting, an election official did seat all the newly elected candidates, making him the new chairman. Mr. Lewis, however, disagreed. After the meeting, he had the locks to the tribal government buildings changed, and maintained control of the tribe's assets until this week. He and his allies suspended about 30 members of the tribe - including Mr. Reid and his political allies - from tribal land for five years, allegedly for violence at the tribal council meeting. Mr. Lewis said that in all this, he was following the tribe's own Constitution, standing up to what he called an unlawful takeover. "They put me in this position, and I don't appreciate it," he said. I can't relinquish my seat.