PRESQUE ISLE – A struggle over the rightful chief of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs is causing chaos in the tribal community after the elected chief’s suspension in late June, his reinstatement three weeks later, and his dismissal and replacement Sunday.

Those on both sides of the issue said opponents took illegal action in moving their agendas forward. The band is awaiting a decision from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, expected next week, on whether it will recognize William Phillips, elected last spring, or the newly appointed interim tribal chief, Katie Espling.

“Normally, these are internal tribal matters,” Franklin Keel, eastern regional director, said Friday from Nashville. “The reason we have to make a determination is because we are the stewards of federal funds and we want to make sure they are sent out to the correct parties.”

The conflict stems from a petition calling for Phillips’ removal, submitted during a June 27 special tribal council meeting. In a 4-2 vote with two abstentions, councilors directed the chief to be at work from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every weekday. They also established an investigation committee to research allegations listed in the petition and scheduled a community meeting for July 30 to discuss the findings.

When Phillips failed to show up for work on June 28, the council placed him on immediate suspension without pay until July 30. Vice Chief Steven Phillips then placed himself on suspension until July 30.

During a special tribal council meeting June 29, councilors appointed Espling as interim chief and Donald Silliboy to assist her.

At a regular tribal council meeting July 19, Steven Phillips reinstated himself as a council member and the council voted 5-4 to reinstate William Phillips as chief with retroactive pay.

On July 24, five tribal councilors attended a special meeting to determine whether actions taken at the July 19 meeting were legal. They decided that the vice chief’s reinstatement of himself was not valid, so neither was the chief’s reinstatement. They also agreed that since the suspensions were still in effect, that left only nine active councilors, and they reduced the number of officials required to make a quorum from six to five.

On July 28, a local television station received and ran a report that the BIA had issued a letter supporting elected tribal leaders. The report indicated that the July 30 community meeting was canceled. The news official said that the station pulled the report because it was unconfirmed. Keel said that he issued the letter on July 31. Phillips said this week that he received the letter on July 31.

Keel’s letter stated that until the BIA “is informed of a change in leadership through a new election or action taken by a duly constituted quorum of the tribal council,” the BIA will recognize Phillips as the chief.

On July 30, five tribal councilors went forward with the community meeting, which 89 community members attended. The investigation committee reported that it had learned through its fact-finding that the chief:

. Was “nonexistent” in the tribal office, often having staff fill out his time sheets and go to his home to conduct business.

. Was aware of but did not address the tribe’s financial difficulties, which has led to an expected shutdown of many tribal services.

. Purchased several cell phones and a sport utility vehicle without following the tribe’s procurement, fiscal and administration policies.

. Did not inform the community of all tribal business ventures, including a gaming venture in the area.

. Misused the tribal credit card.

After the report, 76 community members and tribal councilors voted to remove the chief, vice chief and Councilors Blanche Jewell, Victoria Higgins, Mary Sanipass and Donald Silliboy. They also voted to appoint Espling as tribal chief until the next election in May 2007.

“We really feel we’ve been victimized as a community,” Espling said Friday. “We’re making a statement that we will no longer be victimized by the people we trusted in leadership positions. We intend on making sure this never happens again.”

Phillips did not answer several calls made to two of his cell phones Friday to respond to the committee’s findings, but said earlier this week that action taken at the July 30 meeting was illegal.

“We’re going to have to sit down and talk to try to work these issues out. That’d be the first step,” Phillips said. “But right now, in the eyes of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Katie Espling is not the tribal chief of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs.”

Espling said she sent a letter on Aug. 2 to inform Keel of the change of leadership and included a copy of the investigation report.

“We’re going to review these materials and, actually, the basis for that review will be to see whether they followed their own procedures so we’ll know with whom we are properly dealing. Until that point, we’ll still recognize Chief Phillips,” Keel said.

In the meantime, both Phillips and Espling have agreed not to have a presence as chief at the tribal office. Officials said that client services will continue to be rendered and that the tribal council will remain the band’s governing body.