Clifford Birdinground is an American politician and member of the Crow Tribe of Montana. Birdinground served as the Chairman of the Crow Tribe from 2000 to 2002.
Clifford Birdinground | |
|---|---|
| Chairman of the Crow Tribe | |
| In office 2000 – September 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Clara Nomee |
| Succeeded by | Vincent Goes Ahead Jr. |
Birdinground's predecessor, former Chairwoman Clara Nomee, was indicted in 1997 convicted of felony theft of tribal land in September 1998.[1] However, her conviction to did not prohibit her from holding tribal office.[1] She ran for re-election for a sixth term in 2000.[1] However, Birdinground won the May 2000 election, defeating Nomee with 67% of the vote.[1]
Birdinground took office in 2000. Upon taking office, Birdinground canceled all deals and transactions made by the Nomee administration following her 1997 indictment.[2] He also fired approximately 130 tribal government employees.[2]
Birdinground pleaded guilty to one count of bribery in U.S. federal court in 2002, and resigned from office in a letter of resignation dated September 5, 2002.[3][4] He was sentenced to 37 months in prison in September 2003 and, after a series of appeals, was ordered to begin serving his sentence January 4, 2007, at the Florence Federal Correctional Complex in Colorado.[1][5]
Birdinground was succeeded by interim Crow Vice Chairman Vincent Goes Ahead Jr. upon his resignation in September 2002.[3] Goes Ahead, who had been elected vice chairman in 2000, ran for the special election to complete the remainder of Birdinground's unexpired term in November 2002.[3] However, Goes Ahead was defeated in the election by Carl Venne.[3] Venne received 1,589 votes to win, while Goes Ahead received 1,481 votes.[3] Venne was sworn in as Birdinground's permanent successor on November 12, 2002.[3] Goes Ahead remained Vice Chairman until his term expired in 2004.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Olp, Susan (2012-02-01). "Former Crow leader Clara Nomee dead at 73". Billings Gazette. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
- ^ a b Volz, Matt (2012-02-09). "First Crow chairwoman dies at 73". Missoulian. Associated Press. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
- ^ a b c d e f g Hagengruber, James (2002-11-12). "New leader takes Crow Tribe reins". Billings Gazette. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
- ^ "Chairman of Crow tribe resigns". Associated Press Billings Gazette. 2002-09-08. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
- ^ Johnson, Clair (2006-12-12). "Ex-tribal chairman ordered to jail". Billings Gazette. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
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