Tribe cancels Secretarial Election

ROSEBUD – The Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council reconsidered and rescinded Resolution 2022-298 to cancel an election to remove the Secretary of the Interior from the RST Constitution.

A memorandum from the RST Legislative Affairs was issued on August 28, 2024 and shared on social media following the tribal council action. The memo read in part: “the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council passed a resolution to cancel the Secretarial Election. This is due to the inadequate voter registration deadline and limited time for educating the public about the proposed constitutional amendment.”

Resolution 2022-298 likely originated through a petition resolution, which was then “reaffirmed by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Council in session on March 6, 2024 by a vote of fourteen (14) in favor, three (3) opposed and one (1) not voting.” The amendment, if passed by a majority of tribal voters, would have changed Article XI of the RST Constitution by removing all of Section 2 and replacing Section 1 as follows:

Section 1. This Constitution may be amended by a majority vote of the people of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe voting at an election called by the President of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. The President of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe shall call an election upon proposed amendment or amendments at the request by resolution passed by three fourths (3/4) of the members of the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council or upon petition of thirty (30) percent of the qualified voters of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in an election conducted by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Election Board in accordance with Rosebud Sioux Tribal law. Any amendment approved in such elections shall become effective upon cortication by the RST Election Board without requiring the approval or participation of the Secretary of the Interior.

The tribe’s Legislative Affairs staff presented community and online educational sessions on what would be on the ballot. Billboards were posted around the reservation and tribal citizens with a post office box received a mailer with information about the Secretarial Election.

The mailer encouraged tribal citizens to vote in the upcoming election to change the RST Constitution & By-Laws, Article IX by removing the required approval of the Secretary of the Interior and Secretarial Election to amend the RST Constitution. A vote “yes” would allow a “proposed changed to the constitution will be put on the ballot during Tribal elections.” A vote “no” would leave the process as is and “amendments will be sent to the Secretary of the Interior for approval. The BIA will conduct a special federal election for Tribal members to vote on proposed changes to the constitution.”

In the past, Secretarial Elections have been conducted through the mail. Since these elections are conducted by mail, off reservation tribal citizens are included in the registration and voting process. There was no indication that tribal citizens living off-reservation would continue to have an opportunity to participate by mail in any future referendum elections if the Secretary of Interior approval requirement was removed from the RST Constitution.

While many tribal citizens residing both on and off the Rosebud reservation reported receiving forms to register for the Secretarial Election, others reported they did not receive a registration form. Secretarial Elections are not funded with tribal dollars, they are paid for by the Secretary of the Interior or Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The Secretarial Election scheduled for September 20, 2024 is now cancelled. For more information, please call the Rosebud Sioux Tribe at 605-747-2381.