Silent witnesses represent murdered women

Every single day there are women being abused in our communities. Children are also being hurt. Our little ones have very fragile minds, bodies and spirits.

 

Many believe that children don’t remember what happens to them after they have grown up. But an abused child remembers enough of how it felt to be hurt and will most likely become an adult who regularly inflicts pain upon others. When parents fight in front of their little ones they are committing violence against their own children.

 

In my opinion, emotional illnesses are a major root cause of violence. For instance, anger can be an emotional illness if it is not processed in a healthy manner. Anger which gets bottled up inside certain people is often expressed in violent acts. Many Lakota people are regular victims to violent acts on the Rez.

 

Have you ever wondered how many of these violent acts are due to the inner anger many people refuse to let go? I believe many of our people are incarcerated because they chose to swallow their anger instead of finding a constructive way to process feelings of rage. Unchecked anger will eventually come out in full force and often results in a crime violent enough to warrant a prison term.

 

I believe the most important awareness activity observed in October is that of Domestic Violence. There is rampant domestic violence across this land. If you think otherwise then you are in denial. Women, men, teenagers and children suffer from violent acts of physical, mental, sexual, emotional and spiritual abuse on a daily basis. This abuse often comes at the hands of close family members who live under the same roof.

 

Victims of domestic violence should seek help right away. Do not continue to risk your emotional, sexual, mental, spiritual or physical wellbeing to stay with your abuser. Abuse is not love. You are worth more than the abuser wants you to believe. Get away now! It is not worth putting your life or your children’s lives in danger by staying with a violent person.

 

In 2010 President Obama signed the Tribal Law and Order Act into law. This law was supposed to give our tribes more power to enforce existing tribal laws against violence and abuse. Also, this law was supposed to give our tribal court and police departments more power to arrest and sentence offenders to appropriate jail terms.

 

Some of you mistakenly think this law was based solely on statistics gleaned from off reservation sources. I’m not sure where you get your information but you are wrong. The level of violence committed within the borders of the Rez is staggering. There currently exists enough statistics right here at home to create several more laws aimed at protecting our people from violent acts.

 

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe received $25 million dollars in stimulus money to build a new jail. The Oglala Sioux Tribe also received $42 million in recovery act funding to construct a new justice center. I hear a lot of you saying we don’t need new jails and that the money would be put to better use with jobs along with more youth programs.

 

Of course, I agree more money for jobs, along with activities for the young people would be great. But until people learn some self-control, jails will always be there to lock up offenders who continue to violate the law and one another. Some say the federal government won’t be happy until all of our people are locked away in prison. The only way to close the jails and prisons down is to stop committing the crimes which will put you there.

 

Domestic and other forms of ugly violence are taking place every day on the Rez. Our tribal governments are responsible to some extent in providing public safety to our members. Rosebud has laws against domestic violence. The law and order code reads in part:

 

“It is the intent of the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council that the official response to cases of domestic abuse shall be that violent behavior is not to be excused or tolerated, whether or not the abuser is intoxicated. Furthermore, it is the intent of the Tribal Council that criminal laws be enforced without regard to whether the persons involved are family members, were or are married, cohabiting, or involved in a relationship. It is also the intent of the Tribal Council that the Elders of this tribe be cherished and protected according to the traditions of the tribe.”

 

Many of you have seen the life sized red silhouettes on display at the Rosebud Hospital. There is also a red silhouette in the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council Chambers. These stark reminders of the violence that exists on the Rez were placed there by the members of the White Buffalo Calf Woman Society, Inc. Those silent witnesses to domestic violence are all accompanied by captions.

 

Each one of these silent witnesses is placed for a Lakota woman who was an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and who was murdered by her husband or domestic partner. The silent witnesses at the Rosebud Hospital are in memory of Nida Mae Kills In Sight- Eagle Elk, Victoria “Vicki” Eagleman, Lavina Holy Eagle and Carol Ann Swan. The silent witness at the Rosebud Tribal office is in memory of Cheryl “Cowgirl” Tail Feathers.

 

I believe many of you would agree with me when I say perpetrators who succumb to their inner anger to the point where they kill the people they supposedly love deserve incarceration. How else are we to be safe in our own homes?  Many Lakota women who loved and stayed with an angry man were murdered by him.

 

Please learn to release your anger in a good way. Don’t take out your frustrations on your companion or children. Put down the alcohol and face each day in sobriety with the resolve to love your family. Our children need the strength of loving parents.

 

 

The cruel, violent bully needs your prayers

October is a month when we see Domestic Violence Awareness activities happening across the country. Do you know that October is also National Bullying Prevention Month? Domestic violence and bullying are acts committed by cruel hearted people. If you are a mean person who likes hurting others, then you definitely have some serious mental, emotional, spiritual and physical problems, in my opinion. You need help!

 

When we hear the term domestic violence we tend to think of incidents which happen in the home. The most common type of domestic violence that usually comes to mind is when a man verbally, mentally, emotionally or physically assaults his woman companion or his own children. Many women and children have been violently beaten, even murdered, at the hands of a man who professed to love them.

 

Violence starts in the home and then moves into the community; right? What we do not usually think about are the numerous acts of violence and bullying which happen every day in our tribal and public organizations. Countless acts of violence and bullying are being committed against many people, mostly women, while they are on the job or otherwise working in a public service capacity. This is not right.

 

To me, it doesn’t matter if the violent act is committed in the privacy of a home or in a public place. Violence against women and children is still violence. Again, too many women are being bullied while they are at work. This is blatant abuse and I do not believe we should have to put up with it. Are you being bullied while you are on the job? We need to start filing criminal charges against those violent bullies.

 

My recent experiences with violence and bullying made me wonder if the men who work in the public sector are also abused in the same way. I had to ask myself a question: if I was a man would I be subject to the same abusive treatment? I have to say that much of the public and cyber bullying I recently experienced was committed by men. Do the tough-acting men who brutalize women while we are at work also try to bully men? I highly doubt it. Men usually will not stand for that kind of treatment from other men.

 

The Lakota people are a matriarchal society and women are considered sacred beings. The women have always had an important voice in Lakota society. The women were consulted in every aspect of life, including the negotiation of the treaties we made with the federal government in the 19th century. The women owned, and still own, the home. We take care of the family. Our voices are crucial in the decision making process. We have always brought balance to our society. We are the backbone. Ladies, please remember that without us there would not be a Lakota society!

 

When alcohol was introduced into our society it altered everything. Maybe I should also say it continues to warp a lot of minds. In fact, I believe the main root cause of both the disease of the mind and crab in the bucket syndromes is alcohol.

 

The foreigners who brought the alcohol came from a male dominated society. They exerted their unwelcome influence over our people. They planted many seeds of doubt within the minds of our people. Doubt mixed with alcohol was not a very good combination for us. Those seeds have germinated over the past 520 years. Our people have never been the same.

 

Today we have tribal members who regularly overdose on alcohol and get all tough while under the influence. Only when they have guzzled enough of that horrid liquid drug to soak themselves with false booze courage, do they become brave enough to intimidate their fellow tribal members. They are caught up a dysfunctional illusion that by being bullies they are changing things. But they are not changing anything; they are only drunken bullies trying to force things to go their way.

 

You and I both know these people. When they are sober they won’t even say anything mean to your face. In fact, they might even act like they are your friend or colleague. But when they choose to overdose on cases of beer or gallons of vodka they are quick to spew a bunch of violent threats aimed at you. They will bravely attack you in cyberspace! They also might run from person to person trying to tear up your name. Remind you of anyone you know? Violence is violence and alcohol overdosing is no excuse.

 

Of course, it isn’t just the adults on the Rez who are terrorized by bullies. And you don’t have to be drunk to be a bully on my Rez. Our headstart, elementary middle and high school students are also subject to the cruelty of bullies every single day at school.

 

Sometimes a parent has to go into the school to put a stop to the bullying because the staff members are not really effective in keeping the peace between the students. And then when the parent shows up to help their student set things straight with the bullies, they are bullied by the administrator!  

 

Do you realize that our children learn how bully by imitating their parents? Next time a child is picking on your child, think about who the parents of that student are. Chances are they are people who bully others.

 

An aggressive child will grow into an adult bully. So the vicious cycle continues on and on and on. When I look at some of the adult bullies on our reservation and then think about whom their parents are, it makes sense that they grew up to be mean people.

 

I believe when you are a bully you are basically a violent person. I don’t think Lakota people are born mean or cruel or violent. Their parents make them that way. The cruel, violent bully needs your prayers.

 

 

Non-Lakota rejects don’t count

This week most of the country is observing Columbus Day. Some of the states now call it Native American or Indigenous People’s Day. In any case, it is a day which marks the historical landing of that lost Italian on the shores of America. It’s also a day filled with protests by Indian people across this country.

 

Before the arrival of Columbus and all who followed him, our people were self-sufficient. The land provided all. There was no such thing as poverty, for our people knew they had to depend on themselves and worked hard to ensure we had food, clothing and shelter all year round.

 

It is a fact that most of the immigrants which followed the trail blazed by Columbus came here to destroy us in the name of Manifest Destiny. We were not supposed to survive.

 

Many of our ancestors perished in the fight over land. Some tribes even went as far as to allow their blood line to die out. Our people who weren’t killed were cast out too foreign places far away from home. They were placed on the tracts of land we now call the Rez.

 

Then Indian children were forcibly removed from their homes to be placed in boarding schools, again in faraway places, with the intent of brainwashing them into assimilation. Later, our people were sent away on relocation programs, a modern attempt to help us become lost in what they call the melting pot. But we are still here.

 

Today, the most recent census report shows Todd County as number five in South Dakota for the lowest per capita income. Per capita income is listed at $7,714 for our Rosebud Rez. Buffalo County currently holds the top spot with $5,213, Shannon County is in second place with $6,286 and Ziebach County is number four with $7,463.

 

It’s no surprise that the counties most ravished by poverty listed in the 2010 census report for South Dakota all lay within the boundaries of Indian Reservations. Rosebud (Todd County), Cheyenne River (Ziebach County), Pine Ridge (Shannon County) and Crow Creek (Buffalo County) are our homes. Buffalo County’s per capita income breaks down to about $434 a month.

 

Now, compare a person living on the Rez who is gainfully employed full time and earns the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The employed person will earn about $15,080 in gross income per year, which breaks down to approximately $1,257 per month. After all of the required federal, state and local deductions are taken out of the paycheck; the employee is hard pressed to support their family.

 

Many people living on the Rez know what it is like to live paycheck to paycheck. They are the working poor and even though they are employed, they still live without many of the modern day conveniences which are enjoyed by the majority of American people living in this country.

 

Anyway, these are some of the reasons why Indian Reservations in South Dakota are known for being among the top poorest places to live in this so called abundant country called the United States of America. And when it comes to unemployment rates, living conditions and lack of suitable housing, just to name a few, we are often invisible to those who do not live on the Rez.

 

Occasionally, we will gain national attention through network primetime shows when some random television personality decides to focus on poverty issues. Then there is a public outcry amongst many people. They call and ask how they can help us. It doesn’t last long.

 

Yet, we are wealthy in ways which cannot be measured. Tribal people have come through the last 520 years with a majority of our ceremonial ways of life intact. We still sing the songs our ancestors sang thousands of years ago. Many children attend ceremony to ensure our prayers will be carried on for the generations yet to come. These are the riches which have kept us alive since 1492. These are things which a high per capita income cannot buy.

 

Still, I believe the non-Indians will never be satisfied until they have it all. For the last several years we have witnessed an influx of foreigners who want to take over on our ceremonial way of life. They come here from the American cities and from other countries. Most of them show up in the summer to throw themselves into our sun dance ceremony.

 

Many are quickly overcome by their ego and become very arrogant, pointing out what they believe we are doing wrong in our own ceremonies. What? Some who cop this attitude are escorted to the gate leading out of the sun dance grounds and barred from returning. Problem solved, right? Sometimes this is when the real problem starts.

 

There are unqualified people right now who think they know how to run a sun dance. In several states to the east of us, there are people who were kicked out of ceremonies in Lakota Territory by our own spiritual leaders. Many of these ceremony rejects have started their own sun dances. They are prostituting our most sacred rites to satisfy their enormous egos.

 

Worse yet, they bad mouth our medicine people on a regular basis. How ridiculous is that? Most of them stole sacred Lakota teachings from our spiritual leaders who probably initially had compassion for them and allowed them to pray with us. But I believe these people have no idea of what a real ceremony is all about.

 

When Lakota ceremony is conducted by a genuine Lakota medicine person, born and raised on our homelands, it is real. Non-Lakota rejects don’t count. Just because they say they were on a Lakota Rez praying with us doesn’t make them genuine.

 

Stop the celebration of an Italian who got lost 520 years ago. And stop paying those fake chiefs for imitation ceremonies which hold no meaning. You are hurting the real Lakota people more than you realize.

Elk hunting season cancelled on Rosebud Reservation

ROSEBUD, SD – Last week the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council authorized their Game, Fish & Parks Department to issue 400 Deer rifle tags to be sold to tribal members.

 

The tags will be available beginning at 8am on Saturday, October 6, 2012. Sales will take place at the Game, Fish and Parks Department in downtown Rosebud. Tribal members can bring a money order for $36 or they can pay with a debit/credit card. No cash will be accepted.

 

This season there will be several areas on the Rosebud Reservation which will be completely off limits to guides, hunters and the general public. These areas include most of the land which burned in the Longhorn Complex fire last July. Also, members of the Spring Creek Community requested there be no hunting permitted within the boundaries of their community. Tribal members who purchase hunting licenses/tags will be provided with a map outlining the areas which are off limits.

 

In addition, the scheduled elk hunting season was cancelled shortly after the fire was contained last summer. Also, refunds will be allowed for those hunters who purchased archery, black power and special mule deer tags if they are turned back in. For more information please call the Game, Fish and Parks Department at (605) 747-2289 or toll free 1-888-747-8686. You may also access more information online www.rstgfp.net

 

 

You are Lakota, strut your stuff!

I was all psyched as I typed a biting piece on ceremonial thieves and new age exploiters for this week. I had the majority of my weekly word quota posted up in a word document when a picture popped up in my Facebook newsfeed. It was an image of a racial slur someone allegedly wrote in a dormitory restroom on the South Dakota State University (SDSU) campus. I pray our Lakota students find the strength to move past those east river racist fools.

 

Yup, racism thrives in South Dakota. This publication really has no room for a photo depicting a racial slur directed at Lakota people. We publish the Lakota Country Times every week with the intent to offer positive reinforcement to our young people. So, I don’t think it would be appropriate to publish a picture of an overused racial slur containing the “n” word directed at those of us who live on the prairie.

 

This is the caption which accompanied the Facebook picture shared by Wayne Weston of the Pine Ridge Rez over the weekend: “This was seen by my nephew who is attending SDSU in his dorm bathroom our young Lakota men & women who are attending higher education institutions are also being educated on how racism still exists with their neighbors. For many of us who experience this for many years we learned how to tolerate this, yet for these young people they are traumatized. When my son attended USD [University of South Dakota] they wrote this on his dorm door and he was traumatized as well. We need to encourage these young minds to not give up, its continues to baffle me that these types of wasicus continue to fear us.”

 

South Dakota is the state where you see the license plates which proclaim “Great Faces. Great Places.” But all is not as it seems. I saw another picture over the weekend which said “Great Places. Still Racist.” I have lived here for most of my life. The only time I lived away from my homelands was when I attended college in another state.

 

Back then, the first few months in an entirely new place were kind of overwhelming. One thing I remember about those first days spent at that huge, out-of-state university is how I was treated. Many were amazed when they learned I was Lakota. They would excitedly ramble on about the cultural history I represented. They were in awe of my people. It was quite a different experience to be treated as a famous Lakota.

 

I grew up on the Rez in South Dakota where we aren’t considered famous by the locals at all. I’d become accustomed to being treated differently by non-Indians and it was never on the par of celebrity status. Many of the wasicu I encountered when I ventured off the Rez were (and still are) openly hateful.

 

Also, the single semester I spent at the University of South Dakota traumatized me. The non-Indian students and even some of the professors there viewed me with contempt. Some of them called me derogatory names.

 

How many of you left the Rez to attend college at a university in the “Great Faces. Great Places” state only to return home without finishing the semester because the wasicu treated you badly? It doesn’t have to be this way.

 

We get used to being treated badly when we step outside the boundaries of the Rez. I learned you can respond with extreme anger or you can keep on moving away from them with your proud, dignified Lakota strut. I used to get mad when I encountered prejudiced people but now I realize it is their problem, not mine.

 

Racism, discrimination, prejudice and hatred are things which we should not have to become accustomed to. I believe our individual attitudes have a lot to do with how we are raised. Were your parents racist or were they tolerant? I had one racist parent and one tolerant parent so I guess I grew up somewhere in between the two extremes.

 

I have come to believe that all human emotions are prompted by either love or fear. When you view life from the vantage point of love, you will feel more joy, peace, bliss, contentment and tolerance. When you operate from fear, every experience is clouded with anger, hate, guilt, judgment, racism, etc. Do you walk in fear or love?

 

I have learned that people who operate from deep fear quickly become angry. Don’t look at them wrong because right away they start screaming angry words at you while spewing out spit all over your face. Instant rage is simply a cover for intense fear. And don’t try to tell them they are operating from fear because they will just get angrier at you!

 

I have learned that the majority of the racist people who inhabit this state of “Great Places. Great Faces” are operating from a personal state of fear. This fear causes them to see Lakota people as some sort of threat. I truly believe it is the guilt they carry deep in their subconscious minds which prompts them to act out as extreme racists. After all, they are guilty of stealing the majority of our homelands, right?

 

On the other hand, people who operate with love as their motive are mostly tolerant. They encourage you with kind words. When you see them they are smiling and happy. There are lots of Lakota people like this; there are lots of non-Indian people like this too. I pray for the day when all humans can operate from an emotional base of love.

 

We have to be the example. We say we want a better future for our coming generations. I believe this future should be one where we no longer allow racism to affect how we feel about ourselves. I want our students who attend a university in South Dakota to be strong. You are Lakota, strut your stuff!

 

Waln unofficial winner of special election at Rosebud

ROSEBUD, SD – Calvin “Hawkeye” Waln, Jr. received 941 votes to Trent “Okie” Poignee’s 680 votes last week during a Special Election held on the Rosebud to determine who would represent Antelope Community, the largest on the reservation, on the tribal council.

 

In the primary election held in July 2012, incumbent Scott Herman received the most votes with Waln in second place. However, Herman withdrew his name from the election in August after winning a challenge which was filed against him by Lenard Wright.

 

Initially, the RST Election Board had determined that all nine candidates who had originally filed for the open seat would be allowed to remain on the ballot for a special election set for September 20. Those candidates included: 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.

 

However, Waln filed action in Tribal Court (Docket # Civ-12-389) against the Election Board and stated that the “Board violated the RST Constitution and his rights under the Indian Civil Rights Act by calling for a Special Election, instead of certifying he and candidate Herman for the seat and allowing the General Election to proceed or in the alternative declaring him the only certified candidate an either putting his name alone on the General Election ballot or declaring him victorious by default.”

 

RST Special Judge B.J. Jones denied Waln’s “request for a preliminary injunction against the Special Election to be held on September 20, 2012.” The order also read “The Court does hold, however, that the Special Election have only two candidates – the Plaintiff [Waln] and either the third leading vote-getter or next leading vote-getter should the higher vote-getter decline.”

 

The Election Board then concurred with Judge Jones’ decision and issued a public notice stating that only two candidates would appear on the ballot – Waln and Trent “Okie” Poignee.

 

An appeal to the ruling issued by Judge Jones was filed by Shawn Bordeaux, one of the candidates on the Antelope community ballot. But Rosebud’s Supreme Court did not issue an opinion on the appeal before September 20 and the reservation-wide election to choose Antelope’s tribal council representative proceeded as originally scheduled.

 

Also, Antelope Community held a special meeting on September 17 and approved a motion recommending that the Tribal Council appeal the Tribal Courts’ decision on the election for community representative. Community members felt the court decision violated both their civil rights and their right to vote in a candidate of their choice.

 

The Election Board did request that the Special Election set for September 20 be rescheduled for October 18, 2012 to allow time for the Tribal Supreme Court to deal with the action filed. The Tribal Council had a lengthy discussion on the issue during a meeting last week but did not respond to the Election Board’s request and the Special Election took place as scheduled.

 

Waln will be certified as the winning candidate after the challenge period expires on Friday, September 28, 2012. The Election Code states the candidates who are certified as winners are sworn in on the next business day.

 

For more information please call the Election Board at (605) 856-2373.