In the Matter of a Mail ) March 19, 1993 Dispute Between: ) ) NEDDEEN NAYLOR ) and ) SANDRA J. YONGE ) and ) LINDA WENZEL ) P. S. Docket No. MD-170
This mail dispute has been docketed pursuant to Domestic Mail Manual § 153.72, which requires Regional Counsel to forward certain unresolved mail disputes to this Department for decision. The mail in dispute is addressed to Lone Pine Paiute Shoshone Reservation, at 1101 South Main Street, Lone Pine, CA 93545-3011, and at P. O. Box 747, Lone Pine, CA 93545-0747. Disputants Neddeen Naylor ("Naylor"), Sandra J. Yonge ("Yonge"), and Linda Wenzel ("Wenzel") have all filed submittals, as required by 39 C.F.R. § 965.5. No party has filed comments, as permitted by C.F.R. § 965.6. The Findings of Fact and Conclusions set out below are based on the submittals, the attachments thereto, and the documents forwarded by the San Bruno Field Office.
1. From 1990 to August 23, 1991, Disputant Yonge was the Chairperson of the Lone Pine Paiute Shoshone Reservation ("the Reservation").
2. On August 23, 1991, an election of tribal officers was held at which Disputant Naylor received the most votes for the office of Chairperson. Some individuals filed an appeal with the Area Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs ("BIA"), U.S. Department of the Interior ("Area Director") challenging the validity of the election results.
3. While the appeal to the Area Director was pending, a meeting of the General Council of the Reservation was called. At that meeting, which was held on January 19, 1992, the forty-four tribal members in attendance voted to remove Naylor and the other newly-elected officials from office. They also appointed a committee called the Business Committee or Oversight Committee, to manage tribal business. Disputant Yonge was apparently requested to serve as Chairperson Pro Tem of the Committee.
4. On March 12, 1992, the Area Director ruled that the August 23, 1991, election was invalid. The Area Director's decision was upheld on appeal to the Interior Board of Indian Appeals, Office of Hearings and Appeals, U.S. Department of the Interior, in an opinion by Administrative Judge Anita Vogt ("Opinion"). This Opinion, which bears the concurrence of the Chief Administrative Judge, appears to be a final order.
5. A new election was held on October 17, 1992, and apparently Disputant Wenzel received the most votes for the office of Chairperson. The results of this election were also challenged. On January 20, 1993, a Superintendent of the BIA decided that the October 17th election was invalid. The Superintendent's decision states that it is appealable to the Area Director within thirty (30) days of its receipt ("Decision"). None of the submittals indicate whether this Decision has been appealed.
6. During the entire time that the tribal elections have been contested, Disputant Yonge has paid the box rent for the Reservation's Post Office Box. She is also the last undisputed box holder for the Reservation.
7. Disputant Naylor argues that the Reservation is without a tribal government and that no one person or tribal faction should receive the mail addressed to the Reservation until a tribal government is properly elected and recognized by the BIA.
8. Disputant Wenzel and Disputant Yonge both claim that Wenzel is the current tribal Chairperson. They both also oppose Naylor as a possible recipient of the disputed mail on the grounds, inter alia, that her August 23, 1991, election as Chairperson was overturned by the BIA. Both Wenzel and Yonge agree that Yonge is an appropriate person to receive the disputed mail addressed to the Reservation.
The submittals and attachments filed by the disputants show that Disputant Yonge was the Chairperson of the Reservation prior to August 23, 1991. Both the election of tribal officers on that date and a subsequent election, have been held to be invalid by the BIA. Disputant Yonge is therefore the last Chairperson of the Reservation whose election has not been invalidated by a final or an appealable decision of the BIA. Moreover, apart from her history of having held the office of Chairperson, Yonge was apparently requested by the General Council of the Reservation to serve as Chairperson Pro Tem of a committee to manage tribal business, when a leadership vacuum was created by the challenge to the August 23, 1991, election results.
Disputant Yonge is willing to receive the mail that is being held for the Reservation. Disputant Wenzel--who both Yonge and Wenzel claim is the current Chairperson--agrees that Yonge should do so. In addition, Yonge has been paying the rent on the Reservation's Post Office Box during the ongoing dispute over tribal offices. Yonge is therefore an appropriate party to receive the disputed mail.
Accordingly, all mail that is being held by the Lone Pine Post Office that is addressed to the Lone Pine Paiute Shoshone Reservation at 1101 South Main Street, Lone Pine, CA 93545-3011 or at P.O. Box 747, Lone Pine, CA 93545-0747 should be delivered as directed by Disputant Yonge.
This decision only determines the right to delivery of the mail in dispute, and not its ownership. In the event that any party receives mail clearly intended for another, that party is responsible for forwarding such mail to the intended party.
The attached mail delivery instruction to the Postmaster should be issued.
Judith A. Dowd Administrative Law Judge