Sicangu News

ROSEBUD, SD – Seventy (70) Rosebud Sioux Tribal members have filed affidavits seeking election to the governing body. Positions available include both the tribal president and vice-president jobs along with ten (10) tribal council representatives. All candidates must meet residency, blood quantum and age requirements before being placed on the ballot. Candidates must also pass a criminal background check.

 

Qualified voters have a right to challenge the eligibility of a candidate by filing a sworn written statement setting forth the grounds for ineligibility no later than Friday, June 8, 2012 at 1pm. A fee of $50 must be paid to the RST Treasurer’s office and the receipt should accompany any challenge documents.

 

All challenges will be reviewed by the RST Election Board. If the Board determines the candidate is not eligible for office, a hearing will be set and public notice given. The Board’s decision on the eligibility of a candidate is final. See RST Ordinance 86-10 which contains the Tribal Election Code.

 

Fourteen (14) tribal members filed affidavits for the top positions in tribal administration. They include Tribal President Candidates: Lenard “Shadow” Wright, Cyril Scott, Edward Edd Charging Elk, Reg “Reggie” Little Thunder, Rodney M. Bordeaux (incumbent), Kenneth Night Pipe, Valerie Crazy Bull, Lynda “Mona” Douville and Gabriel A. Medicine Eagle.

 

Also, Vice-president Candidates: William “Willie” Kindle (incumbent), Sherman D. Wright, Claudette C. Arcoren, Lois D. Antoine and Oliver J. Semans.

 

In addition, there were fifty-six (56) affidavits filed for ten (10) tribal council positions. The winning candidate will serve a three (3) year term. Tribal members who filed for the election are listed in the following paragraphs.

 

Antelope: Scott O. Herman (incumbent), Louis Moran III, Emil P. Wilson, Shannon M. Shaw-Brill, James R. Leader Charge, Glen Yellow Eagle, Shawn Bordeaux, Calvin “Hawkeye” Waln, Jr., Trent Poignee and Dolores R. Barron.

 

Ring Thunder: Patricia Douville (incumbent), Rose Stenstrom, Martha Blue Thunder, Raine K. Eagle Cloud and Alvin Bear Heels.

 

St. Francis: Bonnie J. Hairy Shirt, Dean Yellow Hawk, Anthony Bordeaux, Jr., Joe Ford, Michael Boltz, Sr., John Swift (incumbent), Darleen Black Spotted Horse, John C. Arcoren and Patsy Valandra.

 

Swift Bear: Delano Clairmont (incumbent), Robert Becker, Harold Medicine Bear and Alvin Bettelyoun, Sr.

 

Horse Creek: Fremont Fallis, Webster Two Hawk, Sr. (incumbent), Roger A. Moran, Christine M. Arrow and Craig Marshall.

 

He Dog: Royal Yellow Hawk (incumbent), Floyd Lafferty, Mary Waln, Salina Whipple and Janet Wilcox.

 

Rosebud: Floyd Reynolds, Troy Lynn Peneaux, Sarah Reynolds, Leana M. Long, Richard Lunderman, Kenneth LaDeaux, Ronald D. “Jock” Gassman, Steve Leader Charge, David C. Reddest, Stephanie C. Sully and Neal T. Kramer.

 

Upper Cut Meat: Fred Whirlwind, Philimon D. Two Eagle, Kathleen High Pipe (incumbent), and Calvin Two Eagle.

 

Corn Creek: Arlene (Old Lodge) Black Bear and Brian Hart.

 

Bull Creek: Todd Bear Shield.

 

A reservation wide primary election is scheduled for Thursday, July 26, 2012. The top two vote getters will advance to the General Election on Thursday, August 23, 2012. Qualified tribal members who have registered to vote will have the opportunity to cast their vote to select a president, vice president and all ten (10) tribal council representatives.

 

For more information please call the Election Board at (605) 856-2373. Their office is located on Main Street in Mission, just south of the City office in the building which formerly housed the Mission Medical Clinic.

Education is a key. I was taught to believe that when you work hard to finish school you are setting yourself up for success. Many families and teachers encourage students to stay in school to lay a foundation for a better future. In today’s modern society, education is very important. Jobs are very hard to find, especially on the reservation. But if you were to venture off the reservation to seek employment it would be very hard, if not impossible, to find work when you are uneducated. Most employers require the minimum of a high school education or equivalent at the very least.

 

But when you live on an Indian Reservation sometimes education doesn’t really count for much. We hear our elected tribal leaders encourage the young people to stay in school and make something of themselves. Oftentimes, this is actually lip service. Politicians always sound good when they are encouraging the young people to continue their education.

 

We are all role models whether we want to be or not. What kind of role model are you? Are you for real? In asking that question I simply want to know if you walk your talk. Many people in positions of power on our Indian Reservations are high school graduates and some are high school drop outs. Only a handful of our people who work for our tribe have earned a college degree and even less have an advanced degree. We need more educated people to step into elected positions and the positions of power in our tribes. Don’t we?

 

With a tribal college located on our reservation there is no excuse not to earn a college degree. But as we all know, there are many people nowadays already know everything. They don’t need to go to school to expand their minds. Furthermore, some of these people are in positions of great power. They can change your life or the situation on our rez simply by raising their hand in a vote.

 

I have learned it doesn’t matter if you have a college degree on the rez. You can apply and be hired for a tribal director job with only a high school education. Furthermore, you do not even need to have a high school diploma or equivalent to run for office as a member of the tribe. You simply must meet the age, residency, along with tribal blood quantum requirements and be able to pass a criminal background check. That’s it. You do not need to have a high school diploma to run for tribal president, vice president, secretary, treasurer or council representative.

 

And when you are elected to a tribal position of power you might find that your false sense of power takes you to places where you should not be. Tribal council representatives are supposed to be legislators. This means they are elected to make laws and/or approve policy for our tribe. Still, I have seen many times where my tribal governing body gets involved in affairs in which they already have departments set up to manage.

 

One area where I see the governing body regularly jump into without hesitation is personnel. I have seen tribal director jobs where qualified, educated tribal members have applied and gone through the selection process which often includes an interview. But when it comes down to hiring the best qualified, educated candidate it inevitably turns into a popularity contest where the names of candidates are written on a dry-erase board and each member votes by secret ballot to select whomever they want. Never mind education, never mind the best qualified, educated candidate – it all boils down to popularity. The applicant with the most votes wins. And it all depends on who you know on tribal council.

 

So if you have a college or advanced degree it doesn’t always mean you will be selected for a position; even if you are the most qualified for the job. And when you are selected you might find that you will have to watch your back because the members of the governing body who did not want you in that position in the first place will work very, very hard to get rid of you. Furthermore, if they have a family member, spouse or other relatives who do not like you they may also work to get you terminated from your job.

 

This is my observation of how my tribe operates. I know there are many other tribal members from other reservations who will agree with everything I have written here. Some have watched their tribal governments violate the civil rights of their own members when it comes to employment or other areas, such as tribal members duly elected to positions on local boards, committees or commissions. The system we all call tribal government does not work on behalf of all the people it is supposed to serve.

 

Also, if you are a tribal director and you exercise your right as the person in charge to terminate an employee under you, you may also find yourself terminated by the tribal council. I think it is wrong for a few members of my tribal council to make a motion to terminate someone just like that. But who am I to judge what they do, I am just a common tribal member.

 

So, it doesn’t matter if you have an education when it comes to working for most tribes in this country. If you cross the wrong family, especially those who may have relatives or in laws sitting on the tribal council, you risk losing your job. It’s as simple as that. Never mind that you were doing a fantastic job or that you were the most qualified and educated candidate initially hired. If they cannot pull you down the crabs in that proverbial bucket will start snapping their claws together to make a big ruckus, which will often influence your elected leaders into making decisions that aren’t completely thought out. Some votes are cast to simply stop the noise, in my opinion.

 

Maybe I should stop encouraging young people to get a college degree and come back to work for the tribe so they can help their people. I will instead encourage them to get a college education and apply that knowledge to a job they love, instead of a job where they risk being fired at the whim of the tribal council. Who needs that kind of stress?

 

A tribal council which flip-flops on decision making shows a real lack of leadership. But reconsideration and rescinding are a reality I’ve seen many times in the tribal council chamber. So if you don’t like a decision made at one meeting, chances are you will see it reversed at the very next meeting, which is a huge waste of everyone’s time.

 

Be sure to vote in the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Primary Election on July 26, 2012 and the General Election on August 23, 2012. I won’t say vote for change because the more things change, the more they stay the same.

 

The Chancey Eagle Horn Legion Post #125 activites on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota

MISSION, SD – The Indian Law and Order Commission (ILOC) conducted a field hearing last week on the Rosebud Reservation. Topics addressed included: High Priority Performance Goals (HPPG) in Indian Country, Juvenile Justice, Implementation of the TLOA, Jurisdiction, and Enhanced Sentencing under TLOA, also Domestic Abuse, Sexual Assault and Stalking.

 

“Communities cannot arrest their way out of problems that threaten safety. Putting people behind bars does not strengthen communities, it takes away from them,” stated Rosebud Sioux Tribal President Rodney Bordeaux. “Yet, people must be held accountable for their actions and deterred from hurting others and this cannot be done without police presence. We are proud of the developments we have made to strengthen justice for our people but we still have a lot of work to do in making sure victims feel safe enough to report crimes. Our people need to believe police will respond when their lives or others’ lives are in danger.”

 

“People were able to feel safe,” said James Cerney, a Tribal Public Defender for who spoke about the effects of HPPG on the Standing Rock Reservation. The project “diminished levels that crime would reach, officers were able to arrive before fights escalated from simple assaults to aggravated assaults.”

 

“80% of Rosebud’s young people have attempted suicide, many have multiple attempts. 100% of the juveniles on our reservation have a friend or relative who has completed suicide,” said Miskoo Petite. He serves as the Facility Administrator for the Wanbli Wiconi Tipi (Juvenile Detention Center).

 

“Some young people complete treatment and come out with a positive sense but go back into the same environment,” Petite continued. “We usually see a spike in grades when the young people we serve have their basic needs met.”

 

“Rather than focus on incarceration we focused on education and included the day school,” said Children’s Court Judge Janel Sully. “When the youth come in they are sullen, angry and upset. They spend some time in the Green Entry program and in a matter of days they are smiling, happy and energetic.”

 

“There is a perception in Indian Country that the federal courts don’t prosecute as many cases as they could,” stated US Attorney Brendan Johnson. “But the number of federal cases prosecuted on Rosebud has grown over the last four years.” In 2008 there were 73 federal cases. 2009 saw 85 court cases prosecuted at the federal level. In 2010 there were 102 cases. There were 130 federal cases in 2011. These numbers indicate a 78% increase in federal prosecution.

 

“We have a human right to be safe in our communities,” stated JR LaPlante. He currently serves as South Dakota’s Secretary of Tribal Relations.

 

“I see enhanced sentencing as flexing the sovereignty muscles that we do have,” stated RST Attorney General Mato Standing High. “There needs to be criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians in Indian Country for domestic violence offenses.”

 

“There needs to be tougher prosecution against white collar crimes,” continued Standing High. “People don’t get prosecuted for these crimes. If we continue to let white collar crime slide, the people who are committing these acts will believe they will always be able to get away with it.”

 

“Grant based funding for the development and maintenance of tribal justice systems does not work, we need direct funding,” stated RST Prosecutor Matthew Rappold, who also serves as a Special Assistant US Attorney. “We have to have needs based, non-competitive funding to fund tribal justice systems.”

 

“The average Todd County School student misses 40 days per year,” stated RST Truancy Prosecutor Jamie Ayers. “So an 8^th grade graduate actually only has a 5^th grade education. Students are exposed to abuse, alcoholism, hunger, poverty, lack of transportation and violent crimes. Some have parents who are involved in gang activity. Some are being raised by grandparents or great-grandparents on fixed incomes.”

 

“We learn in law school that treaties are the supreme law of the land,” added Attorney General Standing High. “We are still talking about treaty promises that are not going to come through. We don’t have high arrest rates because of our people; we have high arrest rates because of the system.”

 

“There is no way of validating protection orders issued by our tribal court in other jurisdictions,” stated Nicole Witt who serves as Executive Director of the White Buffalo Calf Woman Society Shelter. “Why don’t we implement a national tribal protection order registry? This would enter a protection order into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) so local police officers can find out quickly it is valid.”

 

Faith Spotted Eagle spoke on behalf of the Brave Heart Society who traditionally “brought back the dead from the battlefield. Today they are bringing back the spirits of our people who have suffered layer upon layer of trauma. The United States is a post-conflict society and we have personalities that are essentially numb.”

 

In the past 14 years, the Brave Heart Society has helped 90 girls complete the Isnati ceremony on the Yankton Sioux Reservation. “The majority of those girls are doing better than their counterparts are,” stated Spotted Eagle. Cultural activities and ceremonies like the Isnati are one way of “healing traumatic events.”

 

“Child abuse and neglect are both forms of violence on the Rosebud Reservation,” stated Natalie Stites, Project Manager of the Defending Childhood Initiative. “At least two children per day are a victim of a crime. Our children and youth are incredibly vulnerable.”

 

The Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA), signed into law by President Obama last summer, created the ILOC, an independent, all-volunteer advisory group, to help with the challenges to securing equal justice for Native Americans living and working on Indian lands. TLOA directs the Commission to report back to the White House and Capitol Hill next year with specific proposals to make Indian Country safer and more just, so that Native Americans may finally receive the full protections guaranteed to all U.S. citizens by the Constitution.

 

Commissioners include: The Honorable Troy A Eid (Chairman), Affie Ellis, Tom Gede, Carole Goldberg, The Honorable Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin, The Honorable Jefferson Keel, The Honorable Earl Raphy Pomeroy III, Theresa Pouley, Jeff Davis, Eileen M. Garry and Ted Quasula. For more information please visit: www.indianlawandordercommission.com