Pine Ridge Struggle diary: Jan 25 2000 Fri, 4 Feb 2000 01:25:43 -0500 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source: craig hymson Jan 25, 2000 I have just gotten off the phone interviewing one of the tribal members occupying the building. I don't have much time now, since I want to get this story up and on the site ASAP(I need help by the way since i have to be at my day job in 3 hours). The details are complicated and I need to sort them out. Here is a very brief synopsis: I spoke with Eileen Janis the PR coordinator for Presidenty Sully, of the Oglala Sioux tribe. Last Sunday at 2pm, tribal members entered the main tribal building and have remained there since. As of right now there are 50 or so tribal members including youth and elders inside. They are demanding that the tribal treasurer, appointed by the council resign immediately. It is complicated but basically they charge him with mismanagement of tribal funds and corruption. The tribal president supports the actions of the people and is at odds with the rest of the council. Eileen says the action was taken after the people, meeting in their own districts, decided that they have had enough. They did not force their way in. Staffers at the building went to work and then opened the doors for others to enter. They ARE NOT being attacked or harassed by the FBI. Tribal police are standing guard out front protecting them. The council has threatened to remove them by force but thepolice have said that they will lay down their badges and prevent that from happening. Yesterday, they won the approval of the tribal court to appoint an alternate signatory(currently only the treasurer can sign checks). The building occupiers who Eileen refers to as the People, are guarding and monitoring the financial records. They refuse to leave until the Treasurer, Mr.Jacobs, is removed from office and an independent audit is conducted of tribal accounts. They have given some records to the FBI, who is holding them until independently audited(this is still a little fuzzy for me). Additionally, they are demanding a traditional way of governence(in contrast to the current council system). They also place blame on the Federal Govt.s Indian Reorganization Act, which "set us up to fail...they never took into account our culture, our way of life or anything else. They just said...this is how you are going to run...there are(in the current system) no traditional ways to make people accountable, to get them out(of office)...we just have to do what we say." She also told me that the Council has been slandering the people inside on television and on radio(locally, she says that there has been a regional and national media blackout on their action), saying they are "stupid fullbloods" who "don't know anything" and "don't know what they are doing". ================================================================= 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-02.04.00-01:25:34-30035