Women will be majority of Northern Cheyenne council following election

Once the winning candidates are sworn in to the 10-person council representing five districts within the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, a record high of seven of its members will be women.

“I was pretty surprised by that, seeing the people acknowledging us,” said Gwen Talawyma, who will be the sole representative for Birney District.

The Northern Cheyenne election judges tallied about 1,370 ballots Tuesday night, the same night as the general election for rest of the United States. Enrolled members submitted ballots at drop boxes within each district, while those living off the reservation or unable to vote in person mailed in absentee ballots. Each elected tribal council member, along with the president and vice president will serve four-year terms.

Donna Marie Fisher, a former tribal council member, defeated Gene Small 825 votes to 542. Fisher previously ran against Lawrence "Jace" Killsback in January 2018 after the council voted to oust Killsback. Fisher lost the special election by only two votes, and Killsback would go on to resign from the presidency before pleading guilty to charges of fraud.

On his Facebook page, Small thanked all of those on his campaign crew, and called for support of Fisher in her role as president.

Outgoing President Rynalea Whiteman Peña will go on to serve District 41 in the Montana House of Representatives as a Democrat after winning an uncontested race Tuesday.

Serena Wetherelt won the vice presidency with 819 votes against Sheldon King, who earned 548.

Melissa Rae Fisher defeated Joseph Littlecoyote Jr. 804-546 to become the second representative for Ashland District. Norma Gourneau will serve the Busby District after beating Eloise Snow.

J. David Roundstone, the trial judge for the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Court won reelection with 928 votes. A document showing the complete results for the election had Roundstone running against several write-in candidates.

Talawyma defeated former tribal president Llevando “Cowboy” Fisher in one of the tighter tribal council races. She garnered 689 votes to Fisher’s 572. Talawyma, who has helped deliver food and school supplies since the COVID-19 pandemic reached the reservation, said her focus will be on helping instill pride in culture among the younger members of the tribe.

“I’d like to see the kids more involved in activities that create positive things for them, especially in Birney where we're one of the smaller communities,” she said.

Talawyma and the others joining the Northern Cheyenne tribal government do so at a time when the rest of the state is contending with the highest number of active COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic. Although active cases among the Northern Cheyenne have dropped to less than 20 as of Thursday, over 700 have contracted the virus and 33 of those cases have been fatal.

Talawyma’s mother, who encouraged her to announce her candidacy in September, was one of those 33. The 32-year-old, who has a son along with helping to raise a little brother, two nieces and two nephews, will be sworn in with the rest of the incoming Northern Cheyenne leadership Nov. 17.

“I’m really hoping to help our community in a positive way, and working alongside all of the other women,” she said.