Incumbents prevail in tribal election

The incumbents swept this year's elections for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

Kevin Dupuis Sr. will serve a second term as chairman of the Reservation Business Committee, defeating challenger Bryan (Bear) Bosto with 575 votes (69 percent) to Bosto's 255 (31 percent).

Wally Dupuis was re-elected as RBC District I Committeeperson, with 345 votes (60 percent) to Jeroam Defoe's 232 (40 percent).

RBC District III Representative Roger Smith Sr. was already sworn in for another term on July 8, after winning more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary election.

Absentee ballots were a major factor in this year's Fond du Lac elections, although more than half of the votes still came in person on Election Day Tuesday, Aug. 18.

In District I, Defoe actually took one more vote than Wally Dupuis at the polls - 150 to 149 - but Dupus had more than twice the absentee ballots, at 196 to 82 for Defoe, who is now finishing up a business degree at the College of St. Scholastica.

Kevin Dupuis Sr. took more votes at both the polls and via absentee ballots.

A total of 837 out of 3,440 eligible voters participated in the reservation election, or 24.33 percent.

The vote came as the reservation is dealing with its first reports of positive tests for Covid-19. As of Monday, nine cases had been found on tribal land.