TAMA - After a decade of struggle a Rosebud Sioux man is getting a hearing to determine whether he'll be allowed to stay at home with his Meskwaki wife and three daughters.

An order from the Meskwaki Tribal Council banning James Iron Shell, 49, from the Meskwaki Settlement has been temporarily set aside. The document, called an order for exclusion, would have forced Iron Shell from his wife's house Wednesday.

"I'm glad that they're doing it in this manner and not enforcing that law enforcement option at this time," Iron Shell said.

Iron Shell isn't allowed to live in tribal housing under Meskwaki laws because he's from a different tribe. The laws and tribal constitution don't allow men from a different race or tribe to live with Meskwaki women in tribal housing. Women who marry men from another race or tribe must live elsewhere.

Darrell Meyer, Iron Shell's attorney, said the council's concession on the hearing was less than what they wanted - to have the order set aside while Iron Shell exhausted his options in tribal court - but it was a start.

"We'll take what we can get right now," Meyer said.

Elouise Iron Shell moved into her house in 1997, before she married James, a former police officer. But even before then, the couple say they had difficulty getting the home because she was pregnant with their first daughter, who wasn't full-blood Meskwaki. Prior to that, she lived in a different house on the same property, James said.

The Iron Shells believe the ordinance amounts to racial discrimination.

"What they're doing is wrong and I'm not going to succumb to that type of treatment being okay," James Iron Shell said.

The couple say there are several other women who live with non-Meskwaki men on the settlement, but none of them have been targeted for eviction. Many are afraid to stand up to the council for fear of being targeted also, the Iron Shells say.

Authorities have attempted to remove Iron Shell from the settlement before, including having him arrested with criminal trespass. He's been ticketed several times and been asked to leave tribal events and the Meskwaki Bingo-Casino-Hotel, he said.

The Tama County Attorney's Office refused to prosecute the trespassing charges.

The couple filed for divorce in 2000 to stop the tribe from evicting both James and Elouise. Last week, tribal police threatened to arrest Iron Shell if he refused to leave and charge him with criminal trespass.

Tribal officials directed all calls to Larry Lasley, the tribe's executive director. Lasley said he could not comment on the case or any tribal council deliberations.

"It was discussed but I cannot comment on what was discussed last night," he said.

Letters sent previously to tribal members say the rule is based on the tribe's paternal customs. Fathers determine tribal membership, and the rules don't waiver from that history. The housing ordinance was drafted while Lasley was the tribal housing director.

Iron Shell and Meyer say they believe the regulations need to be changed.

"We think that their constitution as it stands now is in violation of the U.S. Constitution as it's interpreted now," Meyer said, adding that there are several state and federal civil rights laws it may violate also.

In exchange for the hearing, Meyer said a motion filed in Tama County District Court asking for an injunction against the council's order will be withdrawn. No date has been set yet by the council for the hearing, Meyer said. Both Meyer and Iron Shell don't think the problems will end with the hearing.

"Realistically, I think this is all for show," Iron Shell said.

If the council decides against Iron Shell, Meyer said they will likely file injunctions simultaneously in Meskwaki tribal court and federal district court.

Iron Shell, who is now a full-time student at Marshalltown Community College, said he and his wife haven't thought about moving to the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, in part because it's located in one of the poorest counties in the country. They have also rejected offers from the tribe to move to housing off the settlement. He said they didn't want to give in to the tribe's demands.

The worst part of this, he said, is the fact that the tribe is trying to break up his family.

"I got little children that love me, they rely on me, they depend on me," he said. "Their actions will deny my little daughters the security of their father."

Contact Josh Nelson at (319) 291-1565 or josh.nelson@wcfcourier.com.