By Julie Winokur
Hartford Courant
If the people of Connecticut took over the state capitol, the media
would swarm into Hartford and the nation would tune in to watch. Such a
move might warrant the intervention of the FBI, the Justice Department
and the National Guard. But for two months, 100 Indians have been
occupying the tribal council headquarters in Pine Ridge, South Dakota
and the story has barely traveled past the edge of the plains. Despite
the fact that a sovereign government is under siege, there has been a
virtual news blackout.
Jan. 16 a group calling itself the Grass Roots Oglala Lakota Oyate
entered the Red Cloud Building and declared a takeover of tribal
council headquarters. They met no resistance as they seized financial
records and installed their own tokalas, or scouts, for security. They
sealed off part of the building containing critical files, locked down
the computers and called in the FBI to remove all financial records.
That they summoned federal law enforcement was in sharp contrast to the
famous Wounded Knee uprising of 1973 in which three people were killed.
This takeover, planned for nine months, was a desperate measure by a
group who claim their tribal council has embezzled millions of dollars,
that mismanagement of funds has forced the Oglala Sioux into the depths
of poverty, and that they had no recourse but to seize the seat of
power.
Pine Ridge lies in the poorest county in America, with 75 percent
unemployment and an average family income of $3,700 per year. The life
expectancy for men is 48 years, 25 years below the national average.
The infant mortality rate is the highest in the country. Bad health,
disease, drugs and alcohol have ravaged the Oglala Sioux.
"Millions are being embezzled and nothing's being done," says Floyd
Hand, one of the leaders of the Grass Roots movement. The group points
to personal loans to councilmen
|
as high as $126,000 in one month (despite a $500 cap), countless job
placements made to council members' families and a complete disregard
for the tribal constitution.
The group has demanded the resignation of treasurer Wesley "Chuck"
Jacobs and immediate suspension of all council members, pending a
referendum vote. They are also calling for a complete overhaul of the
current form of government. Hand insists that the only way to expose
the truth is through a full forensic audit, and the only way to
accomplish that was through a takeover.
An independent audit of the general fund is under way. Jacobs has been
suspended pending a hearing. Other council members have been sent into
a frenzy defending their actions, and Harold Dean Salway, tribal
president, has been forced to document the spending of $30,000 in
federal aid given in the wake of last year's devastating tornado.
While people on the reservation may disagree on the Grass Roots
movement's methods, they agree that the tribe's funds are chronically
mismanaged, that nepotism rules job placement and that a handful of
people are getting rich while the rest of the tribe struggles to
survive.
The Oglala Sioux have been mired in corruption for decades, argues
Floyd Hand.
When President Clinton gave his State of the Union speech in January it
was the first time the name Pine Ridge had passed the presidential lips
in that context in anyone's recollection. While Clinton talked about
investment opportunities on the reservation, the tribal treasurer was
only a horsehair away from a public lynching, and the tribal president
was fending off impeachment proceedings.
|
