By JONAH LOSSIAH
One Feather Reporter
During the early portion of Budget Council on Tuesday, Jan. 10, Wolftown Rep. Bo Crowe approached the podium to address the Tribal Council and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
“Good morning, everybody. I know this is going to be tough,” said Rep. Crowe before reading from a speech that he had prepared.
“Most of you know me, but for those of you that don’t – I’m Bo Crowe, Representative of the Wolftown and Big Y Community. Last Friday evening of January 6 I was involved in an incident at the Harrah’s Cherokee parking area. As a result of that incident, I have appeared before a Tribal judge in Cherokee Tribal Court on three separate charges. I have also notified the Ethics Committee of the same incident. I have obtained the service of an attorney. As an elected and a servant of the Wolftown and Big Y Community, I must place my faith in the tribal process. This includes having faith as a sovereign nation and the wisdom of the mercy of the Cherokee Tribal Court. I stand accountable for my actions, and I do so without regret. I will not be resigning my position as Wolftown/Big Y Tribal Council Representative, and under our laws I am innocent until proven guilty. Thank you for your time. I will not entertain any further questions from the media or the general public at this time, as we have Tribal legislative business to continue.”
Before stepping back up to seat around the horseshoe, Rep. Crowe did make one request.
“Chairman, I’d like to see if you would allow my niece to get up and speak,” Rep. Crowe asked on Tribal Council Chairperson Richard French.
Chairperson French accepted the request, and Rep. Crowe’s niece stepped up to the podium and begin with ‘MMIW, a harsh reality.’
As soon as she began, Chairperson French stopped her and called upon Snowbird/Cherokee Co. Rep. Adam Wachacha, who had raised his had to speak.
“I apologize but would this be the right forum to have a discussion on anything that’s pending in Court?” asked Rep. Wachacha.
“I know with anything else we bring before this body that we don’t refer to the incident because it could have some type of effect on the case. That’s the one thing I don’t want to have involved here, because I know it’s a case pending against a colleague of ours. And I know it has other enrolled members that were involved. Truth be known that this goes out to the world. Every session that we have. That would just be my request. I don’t know if that’s something that the Attorney General needs to comment on.”
Chairperson French then called upon EBCI Attorney General Michael McConnell to share his perspective.
“I recommend that Tribal Council limit its business to the Budget Council business that’s on the agenda,” said McConnell.
Rep. Crowe followed this statement with another request.
“Chairman I would like to go off air, so it won’t be going out to the public and let her read it to the ones that’s in attendance and audience.”
Big Cove Rep. Teresa McCoy supported this move, stating that she felt it would be important to allow Rep. Crowe’s niece to speak.
“Mr. Chairman, this young lady is a member of this Tribe and she’s got something that she wants to address Council with, I recommend we listen to her. If it requires us to go off the air to do it, so be it. It might even be more comfortable to her and those of us in the room. I do understand exactly what Mr. Wachacha is bringing to your attention. Anything that you say in here today becomes public record. Any attorney out there can pick that apart. I hope that you don’t mind. I would love to hear what you have to say, and I think the people here would to. So, at this time, Mr. Chairman, I request that we cut the cameras and listen to this young lady,” said Rep. McCoy.
The Tribal Council voted to turn off the cameras and to move into a closed session at 9:00 a.m. They returned to an open session at 9:44 a.m. and made no comment on the closed session. Budget Council business continued from there.
The scenes from Tuesday morning come after Rep. Crowe was arraigned in Cherokee Court on Monday, Jan. 9. He has been charged with assault inflicting serious bodily injury (In offense of Tribal Code 14-40.54), aggravated reckless endangerment (In offense of Tribal Code 14-40.64), and assault by strangulation (In offense of Tribal Code 14-40.49). The Court applied case numbers 23CR9019, 23CR9020, and 23CR9021 for these charges, respectively.
Rep. Crowe was arrested on Saturday, Jan. 7 after a warrant was filed and he was detained over the weekend. He was released on an unsecured bond following his arraignment. A report on the Jan. 9 court proceedings has already been published.
It should be noted the defendant has only been charged with the crimes listed and should be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The One Feather has reached out to Rep. Crowe for comment but has not received a response at this time.
