Lakota Elders Asked to Mediate Occupation Fri, 4 Feb 2000 02:54:05 -0500 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - NatNews-owner@onelist.com LAKOTA ELDERS ASKED TO MEDIATE SIT-IN RAPID CITY JOURNAL Saturday January 29 By Jim Kent Special to the Journal Lakota elders have been asked to mediate between the Oglala Sioux Tribal government and protesters who have occupied the tribe's headquarters building since Sunday, Jan.16. No date has been set for the meeting, but Grey Eagle Society official Elaine Quiver said that it is likely to occur within the next week. Porcupine District Council representatives Marlin Weston and Phillip Good Crow on Thursday asked the Grey Eagle Society to intervene in the dispute. They said they would formally ask Tribal President Harold Dean Salway for a meeting with the protesters from the Grass Roots Lakota Oyate group to be monitored by the Grey Eagles. The Grey Eagle Society, which includes many of the elders on the reservation, is frequently called upon by the tribal government for consultation and assistance in resolving sensitive issues involving political decisions, cultural history and treaty rights. At Porcupine on Thursday, 40 Grey Eagle Society members discussed the status of the tribal office takeover and offered their opinions on the issues brought to light by the occupation. Good Crow and Weston said that mediation is necessary to end the takeover, which they say has brought the reservation to a stand-still. "I'd like to ask the Grey Eagles to get us together," said Weston. "There's a lot of things affecting a lot of people as a result of this. My district people are having serious health problems. They need money to get health care." Weston said the occupation of the tribe's Red Cloud Administration Building is affecting resident's ability to obtain money necessary for a variety of needs including kidney dialysis treatment. He and Good Crow agreed that the inabililty of council members to enter the building also was having a direct effect on the operation of the tribe. Primary among the protesters' demands is the removal of tribal Treasurer Wesley "Chuck" Jacobs, who they accuse of mismanagement and mishandling of funds along with unspecified members of the tribal council. The Grass Roots Lakota Oyate ( People) protest group also has demanded a complete audit of all Oglala Sioux Tribe financial records to include the tribe's General Fund. The General Fund is made up of money collected from a variety of sources including taxes and tribal casino revenues. Tribal critics claim millions of dollars pour into the fund each year but there is little or no accountability for how that money is distributed. Jacobs and members of the OST Tribal Council have denied the group's allegations and demanded that the tribe's Public Safety Department remove the protesters from the Red Cloud Administration Building. Although police units were sent to cordon off the block in front of the bulding after the grouup received threatening phone calls, no move has been made to enforce the order to vacate signed by the tribe's Chief Judge Patrick Lee. Harvey White Woman, a spokesman for the Grass Roots Lakota Oyate, said that tribal employees had initially been allowed into the building, but acknowledged that no one is permitted access now. "We gave employees the opportunity to come in and do the work they were required to do," White Woman said. " We even requested that a court order be issued requiring employees to come in, but nothing ever came of that." White Woman insists that the employees' failure to enter the Red Cloud Administration Building has less to do with the presence of the protesters than it does with fear of reprisal. "People have received threats that they would be fired if they returned to work," White Woman said. Regardless of which view is the most accurate, the fact remains that no progress has been made in the stalemate for almost two weeks. The tribal council is scheduled to vote Monday, Jan.31 on whether Jacobs should be removed from office. Impeachment proceedings also may be considered against OST President Salway, who has been accused of misappropriating relief funds for victims of the June 1999 tornado at Oglala. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytrc-02.04.00-02:54:07-1138