P.S. Docket No. MD 22-341

INITIAL DECISION

Disputants Wilson Yargee and Samuel Marshall both seek receipt of mail addressed to the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town (“AQTT”) at P.O. Box 187, Wetumka, OK 74883. Mr. Marshall claims that Mr. Yargee was removed as the AQTT chief and that he is the current chief.

Since Mr. Marshall has failed to carry the burden of proving that Mr. Yargee was lawfully removed as the AQTT’s chief, I recommend that the Judicial Officer issue an order directing the Wetumka Postmaster to deliver the AQTT’s held mail and future mail to Mr. Yargee.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

After the Postal Service Law Department forwarded the dispute to the Judicial Officer, the Judicial Officer directed the Wetumka Postmaster to hold the AQTT’s mail pending resolution of this dispute. The Postal Service Law Department also forwarded to the Judicial Officer supporting documentation submitted by the disputants to the Wetumka Postmaster.

On September 22, 2022, I ordered the disputants to file documents and sworn statements of the facts supporting their claims to receipt of the disputed mail, as required by 39 C.F.R. § 965.5. The disputants were warned that failure to do so may result in a finding of default and an adverse Initial Decision. 39 C.F.R. § 965.7. However, in response, Mr. Yargee filed an unsworn statement of facts with supporting documents, and Mr. Marshall failed to file anything at all.

On October 13, 2022, I again ordered the disputants to file sworn statements of facts. The disputants were again warned that failure to do so may result in a finding of default and an adverse Initial Decision. Mr. Yargee filed a sworn statement with supporting documents, but Mr. Marshall only filed supporting documents. I closed the record on November 7, 2022. Mr. Yargee requested that I find Mr. Marshall in default for failing to file a sworn statement of facts. However, since my recommendation on the merits is to deliver the mail to Mr. Yargee, it is not necessary for me to reach that issue.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The AQTT is a federally recognized Indian tribe with 351 adult members (October 22, 2022 Sworn Statement of Facts of Wilson Yargee (Yargee Sworn Statement) ¶¶ 1-2; Yargee Exh. 4).
2. The officers of the AQTT are “the Chief, the Second Chief, the Secretary, the Floor Speaker, the Solicitor, the Chairman of the Governing Committee, and twelve members of the Governing Committee” (AQTT Constitution (Const.) Art. V).
3. The AQTT’s chief is responsible for the administration of tribal matters (Const. Art. V; AQTT Bylaws (Bylaws) Art. I).¹
4. Article VII of the AQTT Constitution states, “Officers may be removed by a majority vote of the members of the town” (Const. Art. VII).
5. Mr. Yargee was elected chief of the AQTT on May 25, 2021 (Yargee Sworn Statement ¶ 1).
6. At 7:10 p.m., the October 28, 2021 AQTT meeting was called to order (October 28, 2021 AQTT Meeting Minutes (October 28, 2021 Minutes) at 1).
7. Mr. Yargee did not arrive to the AQTT meeting until 8:12 p.m. (October 28, 2021 Minutes at 6).
8. At the end of the AQTT meeting, a member moved to remove Mr. Yargee as chief. Fifteen members voted in support of the motion, and five members voted against the motion. (October 28, 2021 Minutes at 18-19).
9. On December 13, 2021, Mr. Yargee cancelled the December 30, 2021 AQTT meeting (Yargee Sworn Statement ¶ 5; Yargee Exh. 7).
10. On December 30, 2021, thirty-three members of the AQTT met outside the locked AQTT facilities. The 33 members unanimously voted to approve a motion to “re-enforce” the removal of Mr. Yargee as chief. (Yargee Sworn Statement ¶ 5; December 30, 2021 AQTT Meeting Minutes at 4-5).

DECISION

When there is a conflicting order by two or more parties for delivery of the same mail, the dispute may be referred to the Judicial Officer Department for resolution. Postal Operations Manual (POM) § 616. Postal regulations, however, do not specifically address the delivery of mail to Indian tribes. Where such disputes have arisen, we have applied the postal regulations applicable to governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Darren Rose and Wendy Del Rosa, MD 14-391, 2015 WL 13647656 (I.D. March 11, 2015) (citing POM § 614.1); Ronald D. Twohatchet and Bruce Dean Poolaw, MD 11-264, 2011 WL 13238612 (I.D. December 5, 2011). As applied to tribes, those regulations require that we direct the mail to be delivered to a tribe’s president or equivalent position. Id. In this case, the AQTT’s chief is responsible for the administration of tribal matters (Finding 3) and is the equivalent of its president.

Mr. Yargee was elected chief of the AQTT on May 25, 2021 (Finding 5). As the disputant seeking to change the status quo, Mr. Marshall has the burden of proving that Mr. Yargee was lawfully removed as the AQTT’s chief. See Twohatchet and Poolaw, MD 11-264 (citing Sylvia T. Arzate and John Marcus, MD 04-181, 2005 WL 8152943 (I.D. February 28, 2005)). However, Mr. Marshall has not submitted any evidence rebutting Mr. Yargee’s sworn statement that the AQTT has 351 adult members (Finding 1). On October 28, 2021, only 15 members voted to remove Mr. Yargee as chief, and on December 30, 2021, only 33 members voted to “re-enforce” the removal of Mr. Yargee as chief (Findings 8, 10). Mr. Marshall did not submit any evidence that there was “a majority vote of the members of the town” to remove Mr. Yargee as chief at those meetings or at any other time, as required by Article VII of the AQTT Constitution.

Mr. Marshall has the burden to prove that Mr. Yargee was lawfully removed as the AQTT’s chief, but he has failed to do so. Accordingly, the AQTT’s mail should be delivered to Mr. Yargee. This decision deals only with mail delivery. It does not determine ownership of the contents of the mail and does not attempt to resolve underlying disputes between the parties. If a subsequent court order directs delivery of the mail, postal regulations provide that the mail will be delivered according to that order. POM § 616.3.

This Initial Decision therefore recommends that the Judicial Officer issue an order directing the Wetumka Postmaster to deliver the AQTT’s held mail and future mail addressed to it at P.O. Box 187, Wetumka, OK 74883 to Mr. Yargee.