Former CEO enters race early for MHA tribal chairman election

Scott Satermo announced his candidacy for the tribal chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation in North Dakota on June 14. The candidate’s top priority is to listen to the needs of tribal citizens.

The MHA Nation’s Tribal Business Council is headquartered on the Fort Berthold Reservation in New Town, N.D. The council consists of seven elected positions with representatives from six segments, and an at-large position for the chairmanship.

The tribe’s election board opened the registration in June for citizens to file an application for available positions for the 2022 election term. Citizens of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the MHA Nation will vote for chairman and representatives from three segments, or political districts, including Twin Buttes, Four Bears and Parshall-Lucky Mound. The primary election will be held Sept. 6. Candidates have until July 27 to register.

Satermo is one of the first people to make his bid for chairman during this campaign season. “We’re about a month early, or maybe even a little bit more, but that’s OK,” he told Buffalo’s Fire. “We need to push hard to be able to take on an incumbent.”

The current incumbent, Chairman Mark Fox, has served two, four-year terms. His second term has been marked by a federal grand jury investigation of the tribe followed by three federal indictments, including two former Three Affiliated Tribes councilmen and one employee. Here is former MHA councilman Frank Grady’s guilty plea as outlined in a March district court record. Grady pleaded guilty to bribery and kickbacks.

Satermo’s professional background is in civil engineering. He earned his bachelor’s degree from North Dakota State University in 1996. He started his own business, Rising Sun Construction, which expanded to locations in Fargo, Omaha and Manitoba. He has been involved with the business and construction industry for more than 25 years. He has since retired from his business and decided to pursue a different career path.

Satermo belongs to the Dripping Dirt Clan. His traditional name is Maaishu Ee Ugsheish, or Holding Eagle. His parents were the late Neva (Dancing Bull) and Dwight Satermo. Holding Eagle has been consistently involved with the culture, language and traditions of the MHA Nation since he was a child. He’s always enjoyed singing at powwows.

In 2018, Satermo ran for the Three Affiliated Tribes office of tribal chairman. He did not win, but said community members encouraged him to gain experience working for the tribe, which is what he did.

“Four years ago I made a decision to concentrate on being a part of the tribal government,” Satermo said in his video campaign on Facebook. “I felt my business experience and engineering background could be an asset to the tribe.” He has served as both transportation director and CEO of the MHA Nation.

Satermo believes his community has been underrepresented when it comes to decision making at the tribal business council level. If elected, he wants to include as much input from tribal citizens as possible.

Renowned Indigenous scholar Vine Deloria Jr. has acknowledged the three pillars of tribal sovereignty as self-determination, protecting sacred places and acting in accordance to the will of the people. Satermo plans to uphold all three foundations of tribal sovereignty.

“The big focus for our campaign will be to push forward ideas and direction that the tribal membership wants to go in,” he said. “I don’t think they’ve been listened to and they’re frustrated. And that’s the main thing they said to me.

“They want a strong voice and a shared vision for the direction of the tribe.”

Sourcing & Methodology Statement:

The Three Affiliated Tribes election board oversees all elections for all six segments, or political districts, on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. This story was developed to provide a service to readers to help provide information about all tribal candidates campaigning for a seat on the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation's Tribal Business Council.

References:

US District Court of North Dakota, USA v Frank Charles Grady, March 31, 2022. Document Cloud, https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22073813-frank-grady-plea-agreement-03312021

"Three Tribal Officials Charged in Bribery Scheme," July 20, 2020. Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/three-tribal-officials-charged-bribery-scheme

MHA Nation website, June 2022. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a5fab0832601e33d9f68fde/t/62b07511baaae500e2d5f225/1655731473701/TAT+Amended+Election+Notice+%282%29.pdf

Dateline:

GREAT FALLS, Mont.