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MOWAs continue fight for recognition According to reports from other area media outlets, the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians are continuing their fight for federal recognition despite a motion earlier this month by U.S. Attorneys asking a federal judge to throw out the case. The MOWAs filed their suit against the U.S. Government in July in U.S. District Court in Mobile. Representing the government, the attorneys filed the motion on the basis that the MOWAs are unable to trace their roots all the way back to the Choctaws of the 19th century. They also say they waited too long to file their petition, which should have been done six years after the alleged wrongdoing. The first denial of the MOWAs' request for recognition by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) occurred in 1997. The last was in 1999. An article appeared in the Dec. 23 issue of the Mobile Press Register, written by Cedric Sunray on behalf of the MOWAs. In it he says, "The tribal community deserves federal recognition status and we believe that we will get it in spite of the BIA's best efforts to thwart us. We believe the courts will see through this smoke screen and that the merits of the case will be heard. Chief Longhair laid off According to a report in another local newspaper, the MOWAChoctaw tribal council temporarily laid off Chief Wilford "Longhair" Taylor as executive director until a new grant arrives. In the report, a council member is quoted as saying that Taylor received extra paychecks and reimbursements, which have exhausted the tribe's current grant. No accusations of misuse of federal funds have been made, although the council member said the paperwork was not appropriately filed.
Taylor will remain laid off until after the first of the year when a new grant is expected to be received. As executive director of the MOWAs, he reportedly receives a check for approximately $561 each week.
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