Ousted Tribal Judge Continues To Report To Work Former Official Claims Firing By Nez Perce Improper

Eishe Kayar-MacGregor shows up at her offices where she has served as chief Nez Perce tribal judge, even though they are boarded up and she could be arrested for trespassing.

In the latest twist in a three-month battle, the tribe’s governing committee has boarded up the office entrance and changed the locks.

MacGregor, chief judge since January 1994, said she was warned if she continues to come to work she will be arrested.

“I took an oath of office and swore I would uphold the duly enacted laws of the Nez Perce Tribe and I intend to do it.”

MacGregor maintains the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee violated its own policy when it terminated her five-year contract in August.

She said it also is disregarding an appellate judge’s ruling that she was fired improperly. The tribe argued it has sovereign immunity and cannot be brought to court to enforce its own contracts, she added.

Newly appointed tribal Judge Eva White on Sunday issued a restraining order banning her from reporting to work.

MacGregor - who is non-Indian - recently sued the tribe. She said Senior Judge John Roe of the Northwest Inter-Tribal Court of Appeals ruled she was still in office.

MacGregor said the tribal committee accused her of improperly hiring a consultant to develop a divorce kit for people wanting to take advantage of the revised code authorizing the tribal court to dissolve marriages.

Tribal attorney Douglas Nash said Roe ruled the grounds for MacGregor’s dismissal, if true, are adequate.