BROWNING - Amid a swirl of controversy, rumor and accusation, the longtime spiritual and political leader of the Blackfeet Indian Nation believes it may be time for some change.

For most of the last half-century, Earl Old Person has led his people, relying on a tribal constitution drafted in the 1930s. Unlike the U.S. Constitution, the tribal document does not provide for a separation of powers; rather, the tribal council is granted sweeping powers over offices as far-flung as natural resources and the courts.

Lately, some people have begun to question the council's role in overseeing some of those offices, especially police and courtroom functions.

"The constitution can be amended at any time," 74-year-old Old Person said, adding that he would entertain the idea of separating the courts from council control.

"I think it has to be worked out so there is no interference," he said, adding that the tribe's "court systems must be dependable."

That dependability came under scrutiny back in February, when the Bureau of Indian Affairs took over police powers on the reservation.

For years, the BIA and the tribe have traded law enforcement duties back and forth. The last switch was in 1995, when the tribe took over from the BIA amid charges the BIA was not doing an adequate job.

The feds, however, continued to pump about $1.5 million per year into the tribal police department. That money bought the agency an oversight role, and agents were not always thrilled with what they were overseeing.

Two years ago, the BIA released a draft investigative report of the tribal police department that detailed 58 serious allegations. Many of those could be traced back to a single root problem, the report said - tribal politicians were meddling in police affairs.

Exploring the recent BIA takeover is not unlike peeling an onion, as layer gives way to layer. At the core, many argue, is the constitution and the power it gives the council.

"In modern society, there are checks and balances," said former tribal chairman Bill Old Chief. "But not here. Not in Indian Country. In mainstream politics, there are boundaries you can't cross between executive and judicial branches. In tribal politics, those boundaries get blurred."

Peel back the skin of the BIA takeover and you find accusations of police corruption. Peel back those charges and you find allegations of council interference. Peel back those allegations and you find the constitution, which some say allows - even encourages - such interference.

"Times have changed," Old Chief said. "The constitution hasn't. We need a separation of powers if we're ever going to get away from corrupt influence, or at least the appearance of corrupt influence."

Over the years, Old Person said, a constitutional change to separate political powers has been proposed many times, but no one has made it stick. He agrees with Old Chief that "we need something to separate the council from the courts. Our law and order is very important to our reservation."

Law and order are especially important to Allie Edwards, a tribal prosecutor who welcomes the BIA's arrival.

She said she has seen council members putting political fingers where they did not belong, applying subtle pressure to help friends and relatives who ran afoul of the law.

But in this community of complex family and political relationships, where rumors run faster than fact, it's tough to pin down specific instances of influence and intimidation, tough to separate fact from fiction.

Many here, for instance, firmly believe Old Person auctioned off some tribal artifacts to pad his personal bank account.

Those artifacts, however, are safe and sound in the vault at the tribal Heritage Center, which is exactly where they should be.

Don't tell that to Old Person's detractors, however. They still refuse to believe it, even if they see it.

Council member Allen Talks About calls himself a man who believes only what he sees, and he seems to see corruption everywhere. He hasn't provided much documentation, however, and some say he shouldn't have to look too far from home to find examples enough.

Talks About, a recent addition to the council, was made chairman last summer, and since then has been on a crusade to rid Blackfeet politics of what he calls "corruption, power and influence."

One of his most controversial moves was to quietly pack up a stack of tribal financial documents and shuffle them off to federal agents.

He says the documents prove corruption.

The tribal treasurer disagrees.

The feds have so far remained silent.

Talks About and others have pointed fingers at many longtime leaders, Old Person among them. They have charged that nearly every tribal department has fallen victim to mismanagement and corruption.

People in favor get jobs and housing, Talks About has charged, and those on the outside suffer.

But even as Talks About makes those charges, Old Person's own daughter lives in a rented house with six children, and his 30-year-old son remains unemployed.

If corruption's so rampant, Old Person wonders, then how is it that the most powerful man in town has not been able to swing a house and jobs for his own kids?

In addition, Old Person notes that he voted against taking police control from the BIA back in 1995. If he's so interested in power and influence, then why would he vote against taking police power under his wing?

"Everybody's got a relative somewhere," Old Chief said. "Everybody's got a conflict of interest. You have to be careful not to let that influence politics."

"I think there were times when there was tribal interference," Old Person said, "but it wasn't something that happened all the time."

As for the financials, Old Person has extended an open invitation to anyone who wishes to check the books (which are monitored annually and kept with double-entry bookkeeping methods).

"There's always two sides to anything," Old Person said, "but there can only be one true thing."

Old Person blames much of the current tribal conflict on a simple "power struggle," and says he hopes Talks About's ouster proves that no one person is all-powerful, not even the chairman.

"I have a spiritual center up here that I believe in," Old Person said. "I believe in my God, and I give him the credit. He's the one who knows what's really going on, and one of these days there's going to be a showdown."

Before that ultimate showdown, however, Old Person hopes some fences can be mended. After all, Old Person has seen enough of politics in his lifetime to know that "you can't hold grudges and expect to have a good administration."

But grudges are exactly what his critics say dominate tribal politics.

Old Chief, who bucked the status quo in the short time he served as chairman, says those grudges manifest themselves in a dozen different ways every day.

By example, he tells the story of being picked up by a tribal cop a couple of years after he lost his political seat to Old Person. The cop tried to take him in on an old warrant, saying Old Chief had not paid a traffic fine.

But Old Chief had paid the fine, and following an afternoon of irritation and hassle, of cops and judges, he walked away.

"That cop wanted Bill Old Chief in jail," Old Chief said. "That's all he could see. He's laughing, saying 'I get to take you in.'

"Well, who was the chief of police at that time? Carl Old Person. And who is his uncle? Earl Old Person.

"Now I'm sure Earl Old Person did not tell that cop to hassle me - I'm sure he never even knew about it. But it was all about politics and, in Browning, politics is all about intimidation. People live their lives thinking that if they make waves, there will be repercussions."

Whether that perception is true, and whether his run-in with the cops was politically motivated, hardly matters, he said. The fact is, it appears to be so, he said, and as long as there is the appearance of political influence, then people will not trust their government.

The way to resolve that problem, Old Chief says, is to separate political and police powers and lift the courts beyond the reach of the council.

Likewise, he said, the way to dispel rumors of corruption is to go ahead with a federal audit.

"The numbers won't lie," he said, "and money leaves a trail. If there's been wrongdoing, it will come to light. If not, we can begin to re-establish some trust."

Old Person, for one, said he will not stand in the way of an audit.

"Whatever," he said. "Whatever it's going to take" to quiet the rumors.