 Upon the retirement of Jerome J. Hastrich, then Bishop of Gallup on March 31, 1990, Pelotte became the Third Bishop of Gallup.From 1986 to 2008, Pelotte also served as the Episcopal moderator of the Tekakwitha Conference, an association of Native American and First Nation Catholics.Bishop Pelotte was seriously injured in his Gallup home on July 23, 2007.