Sicangu News

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe is having a General Election today Thursday, August 23, 2012. I encourage all of you who are registered voters to cast your ballot. This is one way you can become involved in your own tribal government.

 

Many have lost faith in the Indian Reorganization Act which was basically forced upon us by the federal government in 1934. Many believe our tribal government needs to be changed. I remain hopeful that a true Lakota leader will emerge from the Seventh Generation to re-write our Tribal Constitution in a way which benefits all of us.

 

A totally new Tribal Constitution, written to reflect the virtues of our ancestors, could be proposed to the tribal council at any time. If each community worked together to collectively bring the same resolution requesting a brand new Constitution in front of the tribal council they would have to act upon it. Such action could be put to a ballot through Article IX of the current RST Constitution, which reads in part: “It shall be the duty of the Secretary of Interior to call an election on any proposed amendment, upon receipt of a written resolution signed by at least three-fourths (3/4) of the membership of the Council.”

 

On a happier note, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe is sponsoring the 136^th Annual Rosebud Fair, Rodeo and Wacipi this week. Many people look forward to this time of year as it is celebration time for us. There are many activities scheduled to happen. I hope that you all have a great time.

 

I especially want to welcome all of our tribal members who live off the rez along with other visitors to the Rosebud Reservation for this annual celebration. Many of our family members come home for this celebration. It will be good to see them again.

 

I have written about Rosebud Fair in the past and some scholars have disagreed with the timelines I have put forth concerning the origins of our celebration. Still, as I have come to understand the history of my own people, the Sicangu Lakota maintain that our very first tribal celebration was held in late summer of 1876. This occurred when the Sicangu Lakota Oyate learned of the June 25 annihilation of General George A. Custer and the 7th Calvary. A welcome home victory celebration to honor many Lakota warriors who had fought in the Battle of the Little Big Horn took place here on the Rosebud. Our Lakota Akicita carried home the personal flag of the fallen General Custer along with several troop guidon flags.

 

Francis White Bird, Sicangu tribal member and Decorated Vietnam Veteran, had replicas of the captured flags made several years ago. A ceremony was also held at Fort Meade in Sturgis to dedicate the flags. The flags are carried in the grand entry at the Rosebud Wacipi held in August. When the replicas were first brought to Rosebud, White Bird gave a history of how they came into the possession of the Lakota people and talked about the origin of the celebration. The Lakota descendants present that day were proud to be part of a waktegli waci or victory dance.

 

In the book, The Sioux of the Rosebud, Anderson and Hamilton write of the Fourth of July festivities in 1897 where “The celebration lasted for six days…On July 1 the Indians went to the fairgrounds… one mile north of the Rosebud Agency and set up their great circle of tipis…on July 6 the Indian police held a drill followed by a…reenactment of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. This event should not have required much coaching, since almost every Indian present over twenty-one years old had been at the original battle in 1876.”

 

When I was a small child I remember a large building which once served as a display area for the tribal fair. Garden produce, canned goods, handmade clothing, drawings, beadwork, quillwork, plus other arts and crafts items were judged at the fair. The displays were organized according to the districts of the Rosebud Reservation.

 

My late Grandmother often reminisced about how the celebration was when she was a child. The people of Rosebud knew it was fair time when a steady procession of horse-drawn wagons would arrive from all directions. Several people from the different reservation districts would come to the agency a few weeks in advance to prepare the camping area by building shades and outhouses. They would also build the arbor for the Wacipi and prepare the rodeo arena. All of this was volunteer work.

 

Families would travel with essentials and food to last the duration of the fair. Back then our people were so self-sufficient that they didn’t have to depend on anyone for anything. Wagons were loaded with clothing, bedding, tipis, poles, canvas tents, firewood, tools, along with cooking and eating utensils.

 

The tiospaye camped according to the district they came from. It was a very organized circle, with everyone respecting each other and their camping area. There was no running water as we know it today. So travelers had to haul their own water in wooden barrels. Can you imagine Rosebud Fair without the food vendors? Back in the day, Lakota cooks would pack dried meat, biscuits, boiled potatoes, and home canned fruit for their families to eat while camping.

 

On the first day of the fair, there would be a morning charge. Many young men and women would mount their horses for a long charge through camp. Lakota victory songs were sung back then as they still are today. The Wacipi was held for people to dance and enjoy themselves. Other ceremonies, such as a young woman’s coming out celebration or feasts to honor family members, were also held during the Wacipi.

 

Now, 136 years after Custer fell at Little Big Horn, the Sicangu Lakota still remember the accomplishments of our ancestors by hosting the Rosebud Fair at the end of August. This weekend make sure to put safety first!

by Debra White Plume, writing from the banks of Wounded Knee Creek

“As long as the water flows and the sweet grass grows” are words Red Nations people take seriously, like in Treaty Making. We have learned the so-called United States is a trickster. They are settler invaders who occupy our lands across Turtle Island. As Lakota people, we know who we are and where we come from. We went deep under ground for generations, and emerged through Wind Cave in the sacred Black Hills, a place that is located in the middle of this land, to live on Mother Earth again.

We call the Black Hills He Sapa. In our Lakota language, we call He Sapa “The Heart of Everything That Is”, it is sacred land. To make a long story short, our Lakota Nation fought the US military for decades for our freedom and territory, we made Treaty with them in 1851 and 1868 after they begged for Peace. We retained a land base including the He Sapa. After the US made bounty on the Buffalo Nation and almost wiped them out as part of the Scorched Earth Policy to get us off the land (in violation of the Treaties), we came in to be counted. We were each given an Indian Number, and assigned to Prisoner of War Camps. Pine Ridge Reservation was POW Camp 344. We, the Oglala Band of the Lakota Nation, live the closest of the Tetuwan Oyate to the He Sapa, the other Lakota and Dakota Bands located nearby.

When our ancestors came in off the land they had a star map and a land map they had preserved through decades of warfare with the US. The Star Map shows constellations, the Earth Map shows land where our people are to be when the stars are in a certain position, and what ceremony we are to have in that place at that time.  As traditional Lakota people, we are schooled in this way from the womb, so by adulthood, we know this deep in our spirits, hearts, and minds. We teach it on to the next generation, and to those who grew up assimilated and colonized but want to reclaim their Lakota identity. We are to hold our ceremonies at a certain place on Mother Earth when the stars travel to their special place in the sky during the seasons, when done this way by the Lakota people, we call this the Good Red Road. This is what Lakota people are talking about when we say we are walking the Good Red Road, we are traveling through He Sapa in ceremony just as the Stars are traveling through the sky.  We also say “He Sapa is the Heart of Our Home, He Sapa is the Home of our Heart”, so our ancestors fought for it, and so do we. Love is a very powerful force!

One part of the Good Red Road is a prairie area called Pe Sla, in Treaty Territory that the US stole when gold was discovered. Unilaterally approving laws in violation of the Treaty, the US made land available to settlers through gradual encroachment. The Reynolds family began obtaining parcels of land on Pe Sla 136 years ago. Local legend has it they tried to mine for gold there, but found none, no one did, so they bought out the other settlers, one by one. Now the descendants of the early settlers want to sell the land through auction on August 26 in Rapid City. Every bone in my body tells me this is wrong. Not just illegal, but wrong. It tears at my heart to think part of our Good Red Road is being auctioned. Pe Sla is a place that fills your heart with love and joy, and when you go there, you just want to cry, and the healing tears fall, the power there is so strong. It is a place where generations of Lakota have sent their voices to the Universe. We want our generations to be able to go there, too. All of our Lakota way, belongs to our children’s children, and so on. We are keeping care of the Lakota way, for them, to carry on. So we are in a dilemma.

Certain circumstances can prevail upon a person to behave in a manner that is fundamentally contrary to one’s belief system, instincts, and historical frame of reference. To even sporadically arrive at this conclusion is shocking! Talk about a paradigm shift!

Such is the situation when faced with a very real possibility that sacred ancestral land, that in living memory has not been available to the people, is suddenly obtainable!  Imagine that YOU must get permission from those who withhold it, when you want to pray in ceremony, how would that make you feel? Deprived of your ancestral identity, who will you be? Our Lakota ceremonies are who we are. Without our ceremonies, we cease to be Lakota. We must have access to our sacred places that collectively make up the Good Red Road, for us, here on earth.

While paying money for Pe Sla in the paradigm of western thought is repugnant, knowing what may happen if it developers buy it is more horrendous. The lesser of two evils is to purchase that land to get it off the auction block. The worst scenario is to do nothing, and risk the land passing into hands of a big Fat Taker who will wring every red cent out of it that he can, carelessly destroying the land. While the land purchase is not a happy option, it is seen by some as realistic, the temptation is there to go for it. Buy the land, get it back, even if it is already ours. Take care of it like a good relative!

One does not easily get comfortable with the decision. Inner conflict rises, you know that feeling of uneasiness, like a distracted thought, just out of reach? Doubts rise, begin to spread, just as that first glimmer of chance that “yes, we can get that land back!” brought elation. If we could see what it looks like, the going back and forth between the conflicting paradigms, intellectually and emotionally, I imagine the image would look like waves in the ocean, rising, falling, going this way and that way, as we change our minds, is it right or wrong to buy this land? Many people suffer this.

Meanwhile, a group of people has committed to the land purchase option and they are taking action. They are the steady rock of firm belief that this is the route to take, they are leading the way for people to accept the purchase option and have spurred a collective action to raise funds and awareness. This group is called the Last Real Indians, an organization of professional, educated, dedicated Red Nations people. While most Tetuwan Oyate have identity based on ancestral freedom and way of life, it is also possible, and often necessary, to be able to successfully navigate life in the western world’s processes on an ‘as needed basis’, without relinquishing ones’ ancient ways.

Such rationale supports the immediate option that requires about $10 million, maybe more, and it is a peaceful option. Will it hurt our stance that the land is our Territory by Treaty? Legal minds say no, because it is not Traditional Government doing this work, raising funds, or bidding at the auction; it is Tribal Councils, individuals, organizations that operate in the framework of the US.

A discussion in Indian Country reflects the belief that it is ludicrous that land purchase is the ONLY immediate option, when most Red Nations people believe that it is ALSO an option for the US government to honor the Ft Laramie Treaties, and relinquish its’ illegal and immoral “title” to the land.  After all, the Treaties are legally binding international documents. The US does not make treaties with ethnic minorities now, does it? It makes treaties with other Nations and its Constitution states that treaties are the supreme law of the land. The US Supreme Court in 1980 ruled that the illegal taking of the He Sapa was the “ripest, rankest case of land theft in its history” then awarded millions of dollars to compensate the Lakota Nation, who refuse the money. Other Governments all over the earth are returning stolen lands and territories to indigenous people. What is preventing the US from taking such action?

The United Nations Special Rappateour, Mr James Anaya, acknowledges how the return of the Black Hills to the Great Sioux Nation would be a way for the US to begin reconciliation with the Lakota Nation, stating: “that’s a situation where indigenous people have seen over time, encroachment on to their land, and they’ve lost vast territories. there have been clear instances of broken treaty promises. It’s undisputed that the Black Hills was guaranteed them by treaty and that treaty was outright violated by the United States, That has been recognised by the US supreme court,” he said. he reserves recommendations on a plan for land restoration until his final report to the UN human rights council in September.  “I’m talking about restoring to indigenous peoples what they’re entitled to and have a legitimate claim to in a way that is not devisive but restorative. That’s the idea behind reconciliation,” he said.

As folks everywhere prepare to go to the auction, it is important to know where they are going.  While the richest gold mine in the history of the world was in the He Sapa, it has closed, mined out. Alot of the settlers who came here back in the day were gold miners, people who were FAT TAKERS, our term for selfish greedy people. They saw us, along with the 7^th Calvary who grew tired of fighting us, (we are known incorrectly as the Great Sioux Nation) as folks who should be rubbed out. Indeed, many US leaders said so! Dig deep into history to find those old quotes. Mt Rushmore is carved into a mountain in our sacred He Sapa, four faces of American Presidents, a major attraction in a state dependent on tourist dollars. Crazy Horse, carved into granite, is a desecration that attracts major tourist revenue, and is commonly viewed as a twisted Fat Taker gesture to “honor” a great War Chief who gave his life to protect the Lakota people, lifeway, land. Tourist attractions are protected by SD law, while Lakota are prohibited from sacred lands so tourists can free roam to spend dollars. James Anaya of the UN knows what he’s talking about!

Rapid City (RC) is the site of the auction to sell 2,000 acres of Pe Sla. RC was the site of a US Civil Rights Hearing years ago to examine many violent crimes against the Lakota by whites; RC is known for the dozen deaths of Lakota men who “drown” in Rapid Creek, while it is rare for Lakota men to drown in their homelands, for some reason, they drown in RC; RC is known for shoot-outs between the RC Police and Lakota men, sometimes the police die, sometimes the Lakota die. Sometimes both die. Who said the ‘wild west’ was over?

There was recently a march there of Lakota people demanding justice for a blind elder who came out of heart surgery with KKK burned or cut into his torso; indeed, a town nearby still displays photographs of their last KKK Rally in full regalia, held in my childhood. SD social services is under investigation for high rates of Lakota children taken from their families and placed in non-Lakota homes that all get a pretty penny from the state, while Lakota relatives are ignored, overlooked, and never receive one red cent, anyway. RC is where a big trial was held for a white attorney who was guilty of taking pornographic photographs of his foster Lakota daughters. SD was the second place in the US to pass the “show me your papers” law targeted at immigrants from “Mexico”.

So in RC, where Human Rights and Civil Rights hearings have to be held, we can think that there will be nicey-nice doings at the Pe Sla auction, yes we actually have many friends and allies among the white people in SD! Yet, SD history shows wherever there might be more than 3 Lakota people, there is intensified police presence, like state troopers, US Marshalls, FBI, and Homeland Security. Like at the US State Dept Hearing in Pierre, SD recently regarding TransCanada’s proposed oil pipeline. They expected many Lakota to testify on behalf of sacred water and earth, therefore, against the Keystone XL Pipeline, so police presence was intense!

A comment in an area newspaper this week says: “The US stole all that land fair and square. They stole pretty much the whole of this nation. It is one’s right as a European to steal anything under the notion of manifest destiny. Make those Indians pay something to get back what was stolen from them. After all giving back stolen goods is not in the best interests of the thieves.”

While the purchase option is controversial, it is an immediate solution to a BIG problem: access to sacred places that are part of our identity. It is achievable, to make the fast purchase now, and to keep working to get the Ft Laramie Treaties upheld, a struggle that has been going on since 1868 and that we have not abandoned.

Lakota elder Leonard Little Finger when asked by a reporter about the possibility of being outbid at the auction said, “if someone else buys Pe Sla and won’t let the Lakota go there to pray, we’ll still go and if they shoot us or disallow us, there’ll be others that come.”  We have the inherent right to be who we are, so do our children’s children, no government should have the power and support of its people to deliberately take our people’s identity away, to break apart our Good Red Road.

 

 

ROSEBUD, SD – In a ruling issued late last week, the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Election Board will allow candidates whose eligibility to run for office was challenged following the primary election to remain on the ballot for Thursday’s General Election. The decision was based upon CA No. 11-07, a 2011 Memorandum Opinion and Order issued by the Rosebud Supreme Court.

 

Lenard “Shadow” Wright, who is finishing a term as tribal council representative for the Rosebud Community, filed separate challenges against Scott Herman, William Kindle and Rodney Bordeaux on July 30, 2012. Wright challenged the eligibility of all three candidates, citing Article III – Governing Body – Section 2 of the RST Constitution and By-laws which contains the following language: “The offices of the President, Vice President, Council Representatives, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be subject to limits of two consecutive terms.”

 

Wright asserted that the Constitution was effective as of September 20, 2007 and asked the Election Board to determine that Bordeaux, Kindle and Herman had already served two terms and thus were not eligible to be placed on the ballot for a third term.

 

However, during the challenge hearings held last week, all three candidates referenced CA No. 11-07 which states in part “The majority of this Court disagrees with the trial court in its interpretation that the oath of office taken in October 2007, after the passage of Amendment F in September 2007, is to be counted as the first term under the amendment. . . Taking an oath of office in October 2007 was not an act that occurred in isolation but rather a culmination of the entire elective process that began prior to the effective of amendment F. While the successful candidates of the 2007 General Election began service after September 20, 2007, their oath of office and the beginning of their service is a result of an entire election process that began in June of 2007 when all candidates were certified under various eligibility rules contained in the Ordinance effective on that date of certification.”

 

Also, “The majority Court clarifies. . .and holds that Amendment F, incorporated as Articles III, Section 12, began with the 2009 election cycle and the successful candidates sworn into office in 2009 service “term one” under Amendment F provisions. All terms of office, prior to the 2009 election cycle, were serving under the law in effect prior to September 20, 2007. An election cycle begins with candidate certification and concludes with the oath of office.” The court order is dated October 19, 2011.

 

On August 15, 2012, Antelope tribal council representative candidate Scott Herman withdrew from the election. As a result, the Election Board has scheduled a special election for Antelope.

 

Candidates who were certified to appear on the primary election ballot from Antelope Community will advance to the Special Election scheduled for Thursday, September 20, 2012. The top vote getter will be seated as the tribal council representative from Antelope. Appearing on the ballot will be: 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.

 

The General Election is scheduled for Thursday, August 23, 2012. Polls will be open from 8am to 7pm in all Rosebud Reservation communities. Voters will select a tribal president, vice-president and eight (8) tribal council representatives as follows:

 

Tribal President: Rodney Bordeaux and Cyril “Whitey” Scott.

 

Vice-President: William “Willie” Kindle and Oliver J. “OJ” Semans. Semans got 358 votes.

 

He Dog: Royal Yellow Hawk and Mary F. Waln.

 

Horse Creek: Webster Two Hawk, Sr. and Fremont Fallis.

 

Ring Thunder: Patricia “Patti” Douville and Rose Two Strike Stenstrom.

 

Rosebud: Richard “Tuffy” Lunderman and Stephanie C. Sully.

 

St. Francis: John Swift and Patsy Valandra.

 

Swift Bear: Delano Clairmont and Alvin Bettelyoun, Sr.

 

Upper Cut Meat: Kathleen High Pipe and Philimon D. Two Eagle.

 

Corn Creek: Arlene Black Bear and Brian Hart.

 

Incumbent Todd Bear Shield will retain his tribal council seat from Bull Creek Community because he ran unopposed.

 

In addition, voters will also select two (2) school board members to serve St. Francis Indian School during Thursday’s General Election. Candidates include Fred “Fritz” Leader Charge, Sam High Crane, Janice Hunts Horse, Theodora T. Connors/Arcoren, Arlene D. Black Bear, Astaro Walking Eagle, Keith Fielder, Pam Kills In Water, Richard W. Lunderman, LeRoy Hairy Shirt, Steve Leader Charge, Michael Crow Eagle, Billy Jo Crow Eagle, David P. Brushbreaker, Darlene Crow Eagle, Norman Running, Jr., Sandra Black Bear, Carmen White Horse, Wilbur B. Smith, Sr., Jennifer Bordeaux Black Bear and Krista L. Running Horse.

 

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

World Peace and Prayer Day/Honoring Sacred Sites Day 2012.

Please consider making a cash donation to the Lakota people so we can buy back one of our most sacred sites in the Black Hills. Follow the links for more information. Wopila for your generosity.

http://www.protectpesla.org/

http://www.indiegogo.com/PeSla-LakotaHeartland

Here is a link with more information on Lakota Star Knowledge (please be patient while slideshow loads):

http://www.rosebudsiouxtribe-nsn.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57&Itemid=64

Additional information can be found here:

http://geometryofplace.com/bkhills.html

We appreciate all donations!

ROSEBUD, SD – The Rosebud Sioux Tribal Election Board is expected to issue a written ruling possibly as early as Wednesday but no later than Friday of this week after listening to testimony in three separate hearings held on Tuesday, August 14, 2012. The public hearings were held to deal with three challenges to candidates who are running for public office. The tribe will hold a General Election on Thursday, August 23, 2012.

 

Lenard “Shadow” Wright, an unsuccessful candidate for the office of tribal president, filed separate challenges against Scott Herman, William Kindle and Rodney Bordeaux on July 30, 2012. Wright challenged the eligibility of all three candidates, citing Article III – Governing Body – Section 2 of the RST Constitution and By-laws which contains the following language: “The offices of the President, Vice President, Council Representatives, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be subject to limits of two consecutive terms.”

 

Rodney Bordeaux was elected to serve his first term as Tribal President in 2005. He was re-elected to additional term in 2007 and again re-elected in 2009.

 

William Kindle was elected to the office of Vice-president in 2007 and then re-elected in 2009.

 

Scott Herman was elected to serve as the Tribal Council Representative for Antelope Community in 2005. He was re-elected in 2007 and again in 2009.

 

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe hosted a Constitutional Convention in 2004 and several amendments were recommended by a Task Force to be placed on a ballot for a Secretarial Election. The Bureau of Indian Affairs conducted the Secretarial Election and the amendments which were approved by tribal voters were incorporated into the RST Constitution and By-Laws, effective September 20, 2007.

 

All three candidates referred to a 2011 ruling issued by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s Supreme Court which basically stated that the term limits placed upon candidates for office would commence with the RST 2009 election, instead of the 2007 election. Wright, however, asserted that the Constitution was effective as of September 20, 2007 and asked the Election Board to determine that Bordeaux, Kindle and Herman are not eligible to be placed on the ballot for next week’s General Election.

 

Election Board members include Sam High Crane, Patti Romero, Rhonda Mackenzie, Cecelia Fast Horse and Ronald Valandra.

 

 

It is sad when Lakota people talk trash about each other. It’s even more disheartening to know that many people actually believe all the bad things they are told about another person. I have learned not to believe everything I hear because most of the time it just isn’t true. I rarely repeat things which I cannot confirm.

 

There are many who devote tons of negative energy into cruel verbal speculation about the personal, private lives of others. Our ancestors would be embarrassed of the way many Lakota people talk garbage about each other. They would also be ashamed of the fact that many people actually believe everything they are told about others. The energy we use to verbally put down other people would be better applied to making positive changes in our own lives, in my opinion.

 

For the lack of a better term, we all have our haters. They are usually the people who are dedicated to focusing on the misfortunes of those individuals they do not like. Vicious gossip is something that many people engage in every single day on our Rez as well as many other areas. I believe it is safe to say that we all have talked bad about someone else at one time or another.

 

Still, some people evolve into kind human beings and recognize gossip for the destructive force it really is. Others will spend their entire lives tearing down their relatives and people around them. Gossip is purposely telling lies about someone else. Do you sit down to visit with someone and wind up gossiping instead? If you find yourself constantly denying that you do, in fact, gossip on a regular basis, then maybe it is time to listen to what you are actually saying about people.

 

Innocent conversation is when we usually let other people know what has been going on in our lives. Maybe someone in the family achieved a major accomplishment, like obtaining a college degree. This is something worth letting friends know about. Visiting includes catching up on all the important things which have occurred in our lives since we last saw one another. Genuine visiting is usually harmless. It is good to share information and family updates with loved ones. There is rarely a sharing of lies when we visit.

 

Gossip is in a totally different realm. It is hard to believe that there really are people, ranging in age from teenagers to elders, who spend their time inventing a destructive chain of lies about other people. The chain of lies begins rattling when one gossipy person will tell another person the made up drama about so and so.

 

Some people feel they have to run from person to person to blab what they were told. Such is the evil seed of gossip – it grows very quickly. These conversations usually start out with “they said” or “did you hear about.” This is how rumors grow into monsters. One person says something to another person and the wildfire is lit. It’s even worse when we see mere Rez gossip brought up in the tribal council meeting or become the topic of the latest newspaper story. We must be really bored when our focus is on the lies told about other people.

 

There are often high levels of dark emotion and dysfunction prevailing on the Rez. Local gossip stems from anger, jealousy, hate, resentment or some other fear filled emotion. It is never about love. Rumors are also a fast way to get attention. People who blab to get personal attention should seriously consider counseling. Hard core liars and those who gossip are actually afflicted with an extreme mental illness, in my opinion.

 

Gossip ruins reputations and lives. It would be great if we could all work to improve our own lives instead of making such a big effort to ruin the lives of others. It is not Lakota to allow all those cruel untruths to spill from your mouth with a hidden agenda of wrecking other lives. I believe that buying into and perpetuating gossip is another example of our willing assimilation into the colonized society!

 

Does a family member or co-worker gossip about you? I know there are people living on my own Rez, even in my own community, who say things about me all the time. Some are even blood relatives. I have learned the hard way who I can confide in and who not to talk to. My words have often been used against me.

 

It takes an enormous amount of energy to remain negative. It would be awesome to focus more positive energy on the young people of our Rez. I have learned it is a lot more fun to be positive. The dark, negative emotions will make you physically ill if you continue to hold on to them. Still, some people would much rather cling to their darkness; many are so addicted to negative thinking they are beyond conjuring a single positive thought.

 

How fast would we change what we think if the people we gossip about immediately knew our thoughts? We all have this gift of knowing, some of us are more attuned to it than others. Would you make a greater effort to consciously monitor your thoughts when everyone around you knew what you were thinking about them?

 

If it scares you to know that some human beings have the ability to hear your unspoken thoughts, then it is time to purify your mind. I have always believed thought and speech create my reality. For instance, I have an idea which is a thought I might further consider. At some point I will start talking about my idea. If the thought is a good one then I will work to make it my reality.

 

Gossip begins as distorted thoughts. Thoughts hold power. Create your reality ethically and responsibly. Don’t waste your thoughts, voice or personal power working to ruin the lives of other people.

All across the Lakota homelands our beloved children are preparing for the exodus back to school. Many are highly motivated to continue their quest for an education. Our students who are genuinely committed to receiving an education, no matter if they are in Head Start, Kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school or college, are looking forward to another academic year in the classroom.

 

Many of us encourage our young people to finish school. It used to be that you could find work even if you did not finish high school but times have changed. Now if you want to be considered for any kind of meaningful employment you must at least have a high school diploma or general equivalency diploma (GED) in order to apply for even temporary jobs.

 

Furthermore, despite the laws which require our students to remain in school until the age of sixteen or eighteen, there are many young people of school age on our Lakota reservations who have made the choice not to be in school. For these people, who have made a personal choice to remain uneducated, life will probably be a continual struggle for survival.

 

We desperately need our young Lakota people to become educated. Many of our people who depend on federal, state or tribal assistance for basic survival did not finish high school. It is a fact that some families have not worked at jobs for two or three generations. Is this the future we want for our great-grandchildren?

 

It is also a fact that some of our own Lakota people who serve in positions of power where they must make educated decisions did not finish school. How can you make an educated decision if you didn’t stay in school long enough to obtain the skills needed to read, comprehend and approve documents that will affect the generations which are still to come?

 

With all the opportunities we have to become educated, there is no excuse for not being able to read. And reading is really not enough anymore, one must also be able to comprehend what is read and have the skills to apply critical thinking to issues that must be decided on behalf of our families or programs or tribe. What we do today determines the quality of life for the next seven generations.

 

I have also learned that attaining a higher education does not guarantee anything. It is a fact that many of our own educated tribal members are overlooked when they apply for jobs on their own reservations. Many tribal members have stated that it’s not what you know but who you know when it comes to getting hired for a local job. Corruption is rampant in some areas of tribal government. I wonder if our young people see this and become so discouraged they make a conscious choice to drop out of school.

 

Sometimes the issue is even more complicated as there are students who are quickly discouraged from attending classes. I believe many of them are tired of being bullied while at school; so many of our beloved children are attacked on a regular basis while they are at school. It happens in the classrooms, restrooms, lunchrooms, hallways and outside of the buildings. If I were being threatened with verbal harassment or bodily harm by another person I sure wouldn’t want to go to school either.

 

But until the adults set the stage for the children they are raising nothing will change. When you are an adult bully you will most certainly have children, teenagers and extended family members who will mimic you. They will bully their peers and people smaller than them. There are tribal members living on my rez who are well known for their violent attacks on other people who cannot defend themselves. Violent tribal members are not the role models I want my grandchildren to imitate.

 

If you are a student I do not want to discourage you from attaining an education. Do not give up. A college degree is possible at any age. Nowadays many tribal members graduate from college when they have reached their thirties, forties or fifties. We all can continue to hope and pray that education will eventually mean something when it comes to tribal hiring practices.

 

So, our children will soon be in school working their little brains into an educated frenzy in order to learn the lessons associated with reading, writing, arithmetic, etc. Our most brilliant young people are in college continuing to learn so they can earn a piece of paper which will qualify them to work in a number of fields that are supposed to pay decent salaries.

 

The Lakota Oyate is in dire need of educated people to run tribal programs. Please stay in school. A college degree will open many more doors than a high school diploma!

 

Finally, I want to send my sincerest condolences to the local families who faced the sudden loss of their beloved child this week. There is nothing that can compare to the pain we suffer when a child in our Tiospaye leaves for the spirit world.

 

As parents and grandparents we have great hopes for our children and grandchildren to have a better life than the one we have lived. Often we depend on them to make the changes which we could not find the strength to make. Our young people are the future and it just doesn’t seem fair to us when they depart so quickly.

 

I always remember in my prayers the families who have lost babies, children and teenagers to sudden, unexpected deaths. Please know there are many people who are also remembering you in their prayers this week.

 

We can never see what is coming so make each day on earth a good one for those you love. Hold your babies, children, teenagers and other loved ones close to you. Don’t let a day go by without telling them you love them very much.

The raw powers of Wakinyan, Tate and Peta often remind humanity who is really in charge.

 

The fires which burned thousands of acres on the Rosebud Reservation helped me to reflect on many things. Even though the fires were started by lightning and no one is to blame for the size of the blaze, there were still a lot of accusations of who was supposedly at fault. Many people showed their genuine selves while the fire burned. Their masks were melted away by the heat.

 

We should appreciate it when people show their true selves. I don’t appreciate fake people. They are the ones who will act really super nice to your face while bad-mouthing you behind your back. An extreme crisis situation always forces people to show their real motives.

 

On Rosebud we have a Fire Department which is managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In June 2012 there were many tribal members who completed the rookie firefighter camp held at Ghost Hawk Park. I was very proud of all our young people who toughed out this difficult fire training. You have to be strong in order to be a firefighter.

 

A firefighter must certainly be in excellent physical condition. Fires are hard work. Many times people who fight fire must walk several miles a day to work on containment. Not everyone is cut out for this kind of work. An individual must have extreme physical, mental, emotional and spiritual strength to become a fire fighter.

 

A firefighter has to be mentally and emotionally sound. It doesn’t do a fire crew any good to have unstable people trying to fight a fire. If your mind isn’t strong, you have no business on a fire crew. Fires have a life of their own, witnessing a huge inferno will definitely work on your mind and emotions. It’s easy to panic when you don’t have a firm handle on your own thought process.

 

Firefighters have to work as a team. There are many people on my rez who flatly refuse to cooperate when it comes to teamwork. What would have happened if there was no teamwork on those fires we had here on the Rosebud? They probably would still be burning out of control if there was no leadership or teamwork within our fire crews.

 

The people who dedicate their lives to fighting fires are trained for a reason. They are out there to do a job. It only hampers their efforts when there are untrained people getting in the way. When curious onlookers arrive on the scene of a fire, it complicates the work the fire crews are there to do. Not only do they have to work to contain the fire, they must also worry about the safety of onlookers or untrained volunteers. It must be doubly stressful to have to take into consideration people who do not heed the advice of trained fire fighters.

 

During the fires on the Rosebud Reservation, I received emails, texts and telephone calls about some of the things which were happening out there near the fires. Some of the information I received was appalling. It is pretty immature when adults criticize the men and women assigned to fire crews. It’s even worse when people refuse to get out of the way of firefighters.

 

The Rocky Mountain Area Incident Management Team arrived to help with the fires burning on the Rosebud Reservation on July 21, 2012 at 6pm local time. The teams which worked very hard on containing the fires on Rosebud were part of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. Nearly 600 people worked to contain the blaze.

 

Incident Commander Joe Lowe told departing fire crews, “Firefighters on this incident have been humble professionals and have done an outstanding job, we have come together with local fire fighters and I am proud of the work we have all done.”

 

Many of us on the Rosebud Reservation are also proud of the hard work all the firefighters devoted to containing the fire. I hear lots of tribal members constantly criticizing our First Responders. Many people do not stop to think what life would be like without the firefighters, police officers and emergency medical staff who put their lives on the line every single day for us.

 

But everyone has their own internal problems I suppose. That is, most of the people who insult other people are basically insecure. They believe it will somehow help them to feel better if they put someone else down. Insults are also directed at other people to take attention off of personal issues. When you are busy insulting others, you have no time to work on your own problems.

 

Sometimes people who always seem to be angry insult other people because they are really not mature enough to come up with any other way to handle their internal rage. So, they will try to start a fight or to try to make the other person feel bad in some way. I have learned that the only way to handle an insult with class is to completely ignore it. Just walk away.

 

When the person insulting you is someone you care about you might confront them with the truth. Let them know you believe need to change their behavior. Of course this might make them even angrier, but at least you gave them something to think about.

 

So, I want to let all of the firefighters know that they did an excellent job with the Longhorn Complex fires. To contain a blaze spanning 43,639 acres of brush, grass and timber in rough terrain is quite an accomplishment, especially when weather conditions made the job extra difficult.

 

The Tokala were members of an ancient society who were known for their bravery in defending the people. The Tokala would commit themselves to a fight to the death if need be. I view our Sicangu Lakota firefighters as the modern day Tokala. Firefighters are our heroes!

 

Here are the tally sheets from the Primary Election