A Mebane activist has prevailed in a nearly yearlong court dispute against the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, a Native American tribe based primarily in the Pleasant Grove community in eastern Alamance County but whose members also include residents of other nearby counties.
The plaintiff, Crystal Cavalier of Mebane, had filed suit in February 2025 against the tribe, which she has been an enrolled member of since 2008, for allegedly violating its own constitution by voting in 2024 to expand the criteria for membership.
The Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation (OBSN) had countered that the tribe would’ve likely “self-terminated” under the previous restrictive requirements for membership.
The previous criteria required prospective members to have a grandparent living in the traditional Occaneechi community of Orange, Alamance, and Caswell counties, the defendants’ attorney said at a hearing in Alamance County superior court this past fall.
The parties agreed to settle the dispute in mediation last month, according to a consent order that was signed by Alamance County senior resident superior court judge Andrew (“Andy”) Hanford and filed in Alamance County superior court last Friday, January 2.
The consent order means that the OBSN will effectively revert to most of the constitutional provisions and bylaws that had been in place for a quarter-century.
The OBSN became the eighth officially-recognized tribe in North Carolina in 2002, according to the state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and has an office at 4902 Dailey Store Road in rural Burlington.
In her suit against the tribe and its chairman, Cavalier contended that 2024 amendment to the constitution was legally invalid because members hadn’t been notified by mail, and the subsequent votes ratifying the amendment had been cast via email.
Prior to ratifying the amendment, 91 eligible voting members of the OBSN were verified and all 91 eligible members were sent ballots during the month of February 2024, according to earlier court filings by the defendants.
Out of the 91 eligible members, 72 voted on amending the tribal constitution in 2024: 41 voted in favor; 29 against; and several abstained, according to the court file.
Under the terms of the consent order filed last Friday, any members who were admitted to the tribe following the constitutional amendment in 2024 will remain in good standing. “Membership shall be defined by criteria” outlined both in the original 2001 tribal constitution and bylaws and the amended constitution, the order states.
The consent order also required the OBSN to establish a membership/election committee, comprised of two people chosen by the plaintiff and two chosen by the defendants, by last Thursday, January 1.
The committee will be responsible for investigating, verifying, and updating the tribal membership list.
The committee is also charged with contacting all tribal members, determining eligibility to vote, and preparing and disseminating “secure ballots” and holding an election by April 20, 2026 to fill six vacant seats on the nine-member tribal council.
Three seats are currently occupied and will not be up for a vote in April; one council member, Vickie Jeffries, will step down in April but will continue serving as the tribal administrator through the remainder of this year.
Once all vacancies are filled, the newly-constituted council will establish “at the very least” a finance committee to oversee the budgeting process for the OBSN, according to the consent order.
The consent order also requires the OBSN to: fill vacancies on the council as they arise; establish committees to discuss and oversee issues affecting the tribe; develop an annual budget; and hire an independent certified accountant to conduct an annual audit of its finances.
The tribe will also hold a Constitutional Conference in September 2026 to discuss and debate various constitutional proposals, among other provisions of the consent order that the plaintiff and defendants entered in order to settle the dispute.
The tribe will hold a vote in September 2027 to amend its constitution, which will require a simple majority vote to ratify. Any subsequent amendments will require a two-thirds majority vote to ratify, according to the consent order.
Each September, the OBSN will hold an annual meeting, “which will include elections for tribal positions,” the consent order states. No tribal officers or council members will be compensated until a properly-constituted tribal council votes to amend the bylaws.
Cavalier was represented for her suit by Durham attorney C. Scott Holmes.
The defendants were represented by Hillsborough attorney John D. Loftin.
Neither party admitted any wrongdoing by agreeing to settle the claims, the consent order notes.
