MARTY (AP) -- The vice chairman of the Yankton Sioux Tribe said politics was behind a vote to oust him and the tribal chairman and he doesn't think the decision will stick.

''I have nothing to hide,'' said Vice Chairman Robert Cournoyer. ''I have always acted in the best interest of the tribe.''

The General Council suspended Cournoyer and his brother, Chairman Steve Cournoyer, on Saturday over an alleged abuse of their powers. It also named Ellsworth Chytka as pro-tem chairman and Lois ''Pokey'' Weddell as pro-tem secretary.

Steve Cournoyer was not available for comment.

Robert Cournoyer said the suspension vote should not be recognized because the council did not post the agenda for 30 days as required by the tribal constitution.

He said the Business and Claims committee, the nine-member panel that conducts the business of the tribe, met Monday and agreed not to recognize the pro-tem leaders.

''At this time, what had transpired at that (general council) meeting is not being honored ... because it was not in the order as prescribed,'' Cournoyer said.

Chytka said the tribe's General Council was the ''supreme law of this reservation'' and whatever it decides should stand.

The tribal leadership committed several offenses, including raising salaries without proper notice, and threatening tribal members, he said. The men also are accused of conducting business that involved deals of more than $20,000, which is against tribal regulation, said Chytka.

Sixty-four people attended Saturday's meeting of the General Council -- which is made up of the entire tribal membership of about 7,200. According to a tribal news release, the council voted 46-0 to suspend the men until an investigation into any wrongdoing can be conducted. Only 25 tribal members need attend a meeting to constitute a quorum.

Cournoyer said the Business and Claims Committee had been working to get the tribe's finances in order and once that job was completed, it would present a report to the tribe.

''There's no sense in trying to put something on the table that's not true and correct,'' he said.

He also said a future meeting of the General Council will be held in the next couple of months to address issues of concern, many of which have to do with the tribe's finances.

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12 February 2000, lrb