A former council member for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota questioned why nearly half of the sitting council attended the White House Tribal Nations Conference in Washington, D.C., on November 5.

Every tribe was invited but was only allowed to send one representative. Nevertheless, Chairman Rodney Bordeaux and nine council members went to DC.

Bordeaux said the trip was worth it. There were other tribal events besides the meeting with President Barack Obama.

"It was an investment well worth the effort and cost, an opportunity to move forward our agenda and see how Washington works and how active we need to be because of our government-to-government relationship,” Bordeaux told The Rapid City Journal.

But former council member Ron Valandra wondered why so many tribal leaders had to go. “It is kind of a shock to see that 10 of our elected officials traveled to Washington, D.C., when tribal paychecks were bouncing on the 30th of October, 2009,” Valandra said. “It makes me, as a previous tribal council member, wonder where the travel funds came from.”

Get the Story:
Tribal spending for D.C. travel concerns some (The Rapid City Journal 11/15)

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