West River Eagle

Op/Ed: The blind leading the blind: Part 2



The elected tribal representatives (men and women) must reassess their qualities and ability to serve as official representatives for and on behalf of our people. If they are unwilling to do so they should step aside or be voted out of office and allow others that opportunity with the same high standard of qualification requirements and expectations that will be expected of them as well.

Past and present elected tribal representatives have failed or underperformed as unqualified, repeat, ineffective long term, self serving and a group think mentality embodiment of tribal government. 

Our people must stand up and take the necessary steps to bring about change now or forever be responsible for failure to our future generations!

We have lost much as a Lakota society in past and present generations. The only hope we have left is in our younger generations. However, we have left them a baggage of destruction that will take generations to restore to a semblance of positive and proactive change towards hope and opportunity.

In today’s existence as a Lakota society, it is the younger generation that is in the forefront of defending our sovereignty. Our elderly and women stand shoulder to shoulder with our youth in providing advice, mentorship and resistance. Sprinkled in the mix are our youth advocates and defenders who need rally structure and leadership while leading the charge in defending our sovereignty and our people. Our veterans are an integral faction of our fight as well and as seasoned warriors provide clout and tactical defense of our sovereignty and people as well.

Most conspicuously missing is our elected tribal representatives and elected leader. You might see a picture occasionally in a photo op for optic effects to illustrate their concern or perceived hands on in negotiations and participation with not much to show in preparedness towards defending our sovereignty or intellectually saying anything that is provocative and inspiring.

Our elected tribal representatives and leader have not exemplified themselves as astute and articulate tribal politicians in government to government speeches, campaigning as a national Indian organization officer candidate, participating in discussions to bring about resolution to an imploding issue or on the front end of discussions to protect and defend our sovereignty.

In a by gone era, choice and selection of tribal leadership was either hereditary or earned as practiced through a binding hand shake, a man’s word and by example. There were no boastful speeches, symbolic pounding of the chest to proclaim leadership or unearned titles of chief, leader, protector or provider of our people.

We still live in destitution and desperation while those elected to lead our people ration out meager assistance and further our dependence on our tribal government and elected representatives who squabble over the same trough of money available for all enrolled tribal members on the Cheyenne River.

To set the record straight to our elected tribal representatives, this is not personal. This is a voice of concern echoed with and by our people for several decades that have gone unanswered.

As a matter of fact there have been and still are relatives, generational family friendships, interrelations through marriages, children and extended family in my own circle of family and relatives who are or were elected tribal representatives.

Again, we are a small populous of people that are interconnected as “relations” and in some cases we are unaware of those direct and extended connections.

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