Tribal politics took a turn for the defamatory Friday when somebody doctored-up a false "tribal editorial" using the name of Lahontan Valley News reporter Josh Johnson and inserted copies of it into newspapers on the Paiute-Shoshone reservation east of Fallon.
"You have to have thick skin to be a reporter," Johnson said. "The real victim is the tribe's reputation."
The "editorial" falsely claims to have been written with facts gathered by the LVN in the course of Johnson's coverage of the tribe. In it, various charges of impropriety and immorality are levelled against four candidates vying for tribal council seats in Saturday's election. Each of the candidates mentioned are challengers.
"I hate to see those kinds of things happen, but unfortunately they often do around election time," said Fallon Business Council Secretary Susan Willie, who is up for reelection against challenger Laura Nihoa.
"We don't condone these things," she said, " and I'm sure (council chairman) Alvin (Moyle) and (council member) Dan (Allen) feel the same way."
Those blasted in the document include tribal chair candidates Jack Allen and Catherine Williams-Tuni, Nihoa and council member candidate Rulan Stands.
When reached for comment, Stands, Nihoa and Williams-Tuni expressed more sadness than anger over the latest incarnation of what tribal members commonly call "smut letters," because they usually center on personal issues, such as a tribal member's sex-life.
"Normally people mail them but they don't sign them and that bothers me," said tribal administrator Rochanne Downs. "We value opinions but at least have the courage to put your own name on them."
Stands called the episode a "step backward" for the tribe and the other challengers concurred.
"This affects how the county community views the Indian community. This is what we're trying to repair," said challenger Laura Nihoa.
"I'm not taking it personally, " she said, "even though it is personal."
Jack Allen was at work and could not be reached for comment Friday.
After an official with the tribe's housing services office found a copy of the document tucked inside a newspaper she had bought from the tribe's senior center early Friday morning, she contacted Downs, who faxed a copy to the newspaper.
LVN Publisher Rick Swart filed a criminal complaint with tribal police, who confiscated newspapers from a rack or racks on the reservation and began trying to determine who penned the fake editorial.
Tribal police would not confirm how many of the letter-sized documents were stuffed into newspapers or whether the senior center's papers were the only ones tampered with.
Acting Tribal Police Chief Karl Fredericks said the investigation is ongoing and its details cannot yet be released. He said it's still too early to tell whether federal or state authorities might get involved in the investigation.
Churchill County District Attorney Arthur Mallory said if any of the paper stuffing happened off the reservation, the perpetrator would likely face charges for theft of service, because the LVN charges for inserting publications into the paper.
The newspaper itself and Johnson would also likely have cases for civil charges against whoever is responsible, he said.
Most tribal members reached for comment Friday said they don't expect the document to affect today's election. Each of them expressed hope that the impersonator will be caught and criminally charged.
"I know some people got this and I know some are going to believe it," said Nihoa.
Saturday's election is the second in five months for the tribe. The first was declared invalid because absentee ballots were mailed from an election consultant's office rather than from tribal administration offices.
- Cory McConnell can be contacted at cmcconnell@lahontanvalleynews.com