Blackfeet Council removes chairman after family drug arrests

BROWNING, Mont. (AP) — The Blackfeet Tribal Council in Montana voted Thursday to remove its chairman from his leadership role after nine people were arrested on drug-related charges following a search at a residence the chairman owns.

Chairman Timothy Davis, who said his children were among those arrested, voted for his own removal.

"It's what the people wanted," Davis told the Great Falls Tribune. He apologized for the actions of his children.

About 50 people attended the tribal council meeting and many cheered the unanimous decision.

Davis will remain a member of the tribal council. His term runs until 2024.

The nine people who were arrested face misdemeanor charges in tribal court.

Four people are charged with criminal sale of dangerous drugs — two related to fentanyl and two related to methamphetamine, said Josh Lamson, special assistant U.S. attorney for the Blackfeet Nation.

Other charges included drug possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and child endangerment. All have entered not guilty pleas and tribal court trials are scheduled for June.

On March 21, the Blackfeet Reservation declared a state of emergency after reporting 17 fentanyl overdoses and four deaths on the reservation in the previous week.

At the time, Davis said it was important to address the opioid epidemic.

"One death is too many," he said, adding that the crisis "is not going away overnight."

The arrests were made 10 days later.

Fentanyl is a highly potent synthetic opioid that experts say has been a top driver of growing numbers of overdose deaths across the U.S. It can be up to 100 times more potent than morphine.

With Davis' removal, former Vice Chairman Illiff "Scott" Kipp Sr. is now acting chairman and former Secretary Lauren Monroe Jr. is acting vice chair. Five council seats are up for election in June. Council members serve four-year terms.