Security Footage Brings Differing Opinions from FDL Chairwoman and Band Member
By:
Photojournalist:
CARLTON - Security camera footage of Black Bear Casino on Feb. 16 was said not to be strong enough to hold a restraining order against Chairwoman Karen Diver and her mother, Faye Diver.
But Fond du Lac member John Henry McMillen said what can be seen after a tribal meeting is anything but normal behavior.
The footage was released after McMillen dismissed his request for a restraining order against both Divers.
He said he chose to dismiss due to advice by an attorney.
Karen Diver said it is because the footage and evidence would prove her side of the story.
McMillen explained the verbal altercation caught on tape as the Divers' response to his claim that Karen Diver's dad may be a different person that was not a tribe of the tribe.
He claimed his request was not out of the ordinary.
"She's done it to other people to find out if who her parents were, so why should it be changed because she is Chairman?" McMillen said.
Karen Diver said the claims were "ridiculous" and "have no basis or facts."
She said the footage shows her trying to "keep the peace" because her mother was upset, but not adding why.
McMillen said the harsh words could not be heard on tape and despite, he said, it is still not the way a Chairman should act.
"Right now, we would have been fired if we would have done that, so what gives her the right to do that?" McMillen said.
Diver said the fact that McMillen chose to drop the harassment case himself shows the details of the day are on her side.
McMillen, no longer running against Diver, said he still wants the blood quantum test because it is a request from others.
"It's a fact, we want to find out," McMillen said. "The people want to find out who her father really is."
McMillen said a request for the test to the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe did not go through, possibly because Diver is the vice president of the group, and now he plans to take the next step.
"We want to get a federal attorney to go to federal court," McMillen said.
McMillen said his actions could get him in trouble with the band, but that he will continue beacause several people are not happy with her leadership.
Diver said she wants to put the case behind her and get back to governing.
The chairwoman is up for re-election against one other candidate on June 12.
