Tempers flared in Cherokee Tribal Council this month as some councilmembers alleged that a subset of their colleagues had gone rogue, holding backroom meetings in which they decided to subpoena tribal departments for sensitive information as part of investigations launched without the knowledge of the full council.

Tension has been high in Cherokee tribal government lately, and when rumors emerged last week that some members of Tribal Council were planning to get Principal Chief Patrick Lambert impeached, it didn’t take long for the gossip to get a public airing.

A pair of Mercedes-Benz vans that The Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation once bestowed upon the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will remain with the tribe, Tribal Council decided earlier this month — almost exactly one year after it originally voted to cut ties with the organization and send the vans back from whence they came. 

A lawsuit seeking to declare illegal a controversial Tribal Council decision to issue its members pay raises has been dismissed in Tribal Court, according to a Sept. 1 decision from Temporary Associate Judge Sharon Barrett.

When the Cherokee Tribal Council voted last month to investigate hiring and firing practices in tribal government, Principal Chief Patrick Lambert made clear that he intended to veto the legislation. But now, Tribal Council is saying that the vote fell outside the scope of Lambert’s veto power and refuses to submit a written document for him to veto. 

A second decision made during last week’s Cherokee Tribal Council meeting could affect how council’s decision to order a third-party investigation into Principal Chief Patrick Lambert’s administration fares on veto. 

Tribal Council narrowly passed a resolution last month that would shorten the term of embattled Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise board member Angela Kephart, but when council reconvenes on Aug. 4, Kephart will be asking its members to reconsider. 

Cherokee Tribal Council is closer to finalizing a decision to revoke part of a former vice chief’s will, following its July meeting last week.

When teen members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians come of age, they find themselves in sudden possession of a six-figure bank account. But the overnight windfall comes with risk, many tribal leaders believe, and Tribal Council took a monumental vote to change the way money is paid out to their young people — in installments rather than as a one-time payment. 

A request to change the way tribal members in the westernmost reaches of the Qualla Boundary are represented on Tribal Council led to a heated discussion in Cherokee this month. The legislation was ultimately tabled, but the issue could well return to the floor.