Sioux Valley Dakota Nation – Chief & Council Election 2025
Joint Media Release
Released on behalf of:
Vincent Tacan, Jon Bell, Anthony Tacan, Carol Johnson, Burke Ratte, Jennifer Bone,
Randell Wasicuna, Melissa Hotain, Bill McKay and Darryl Hapa
This media release is to advise of the settlement reached between the above-noted parties with respect to matters arising from the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation 2025 Election for Chief and Council that occurred on November 13, 2025.
On November 27, 2025, Vincent Tacan, Jon Bell, Anthony Tacan and Carol Johnson filed an Application with the Manitoba Court of Kings Bench challenging the validity of the 2025 Election. The application named Jennifer Bone, Randell Wasicuna, Melissa Hotain, Bill McKay and Darryl Hapa, as Respondents, as well as the Electoral Officer, Burke Ratte, who was later added.
The parties are pleased to advise that a mutually satisfactory settlement of the matter has been reached, and that as part of that settlement, Mr. Ratte, as duly appointed Electoral Officer, will conduct a count of the 2025 Election ballots currently preserved in Sioux Valley Dakota Nation. As a result of the litigation process, which clarified the reason for the break down in communication with Mr. Ratte on the day following the Election, the parties agree that Mr. Ratte did not abandon the Election.
The count will occur on Wednesday, January 14th at 10:00 a.m., at a secure, off-reserve location agreed upon between the parties, and the count will be livestreamed so that community members have the opportunity to observe. Each candidate is authorized to have one scrutineer or Candidate Representative attend the count in-person. No other members of the community are permitted to attend the count. A third-party security provider will be present during the count, and anyone found to be disorderly, disruptive, or not authorized to be there, will be removed.
This third-party security provider will additionally be responsible for the transfer of the 2025 Election ballots from Sioux Valley Dakota Nation to the agreed upon off-reserve location for the count. The location of the count will not be available to the public for safety reasons and in an effort to avoid a repeat of the events which led to this Application.
The results of the 2025 Election will be formally certified by Mr. Ratte following the count. Mr. Ratte has confirmed that he can identify his ballots. In the event that any tampering with the
ballots is found, Mr. Ratte has been given the authority to direct that a new election take place; however, that election, if required, will only be in relation to the Councillor positions and will be limited to those candidates who ran in the 2025 Election.
In the meantime, Chief Jennifer Bone, Councillor Jon Bell, Councillor Darryl Hapa, Councillor Melissa Hotain, Councillor Bill McKay, and Councillor Randell Wasicuna will continue to serve as Chief and Council of Sioux Valley Dakota Nation until the results of the count can be confirmed.
The parties wish to emphasize their mutual support for the settlement of this matter and maintain that Mr. Ratte’s count of the ballots to certify the 2025 election results in these circumstances is in the best interests of the community as a whole.
