By Native Sun News Staff PINE RIDGE — A lifelong resident of the Pine Ridge Reservation is seeking a 12th term on the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council. Gerald “Jump” Big Crow, who resides in the reservation’s largest district of Pine Ridge Village, announced his candidacy last month for district representative in this year’s biennial race. Big Crow has served an unprecedented 11 non-consecutive terms as an OST councilor – more than any other member in the tribe’s post-1934 history. 1934 was the year the federal government authorized the Indian Reorganization Act, which returned a modicum of self-governance to once entirely autonomous Native American tribes. Between 6,000-7,000 residents call Pine Ridge Village “home,” according to Big Crow. Big Crow began his career as a tribal council member in 1970, he says, serving a two-year term, then serving nine consecutive two-year terms from 1982 until 2000, with his last term of one year coming in 2007 when he was appointed to replace a councilor who lost his full two-year seat. Additionally, “I’ve served as chairman of all the (tribal administration) committees – finance committee, law and order committee, HHS (health and human services) committee … economic development committee, land committee and education committee,” Big Crow said. State taxation, the reservation’s no-alcohol buffer zone, which is officially known as the “White Clay Extension,” and legalizing alcohol on the reservation are hot issues for Big Crow while he’s on the campaign trail. Right now, the tribe is only getting a 94 percent share of reimbursable taxes from South Dakota, he said. “And I think we’re doable to get a 100-percent take.” The Pine Ridge Reservation “buffer zone” was initially established as a 50-square-mile area just south of Pine Ridge Village, in Nebraska, by President Chester A. Arthur in 1882. The intent of the zone was to protect the Oglala Lakota from illegal whiskey peddlers – who were white – operating in the area at the time. The zone was subsequently incorporated into the Pine Ridge Reservation by Congress in 1889, until such time as it was no longer needed. In 1904, however, President Theodore Roosevelt rescinded Congress’ inclusion of the buffer zone as part of the reservation – without determining if the protective area was still needed and without the consent of the Oglala Lakota people. Roosevelt unceremoniously placed 49 of the 50 square miles that comprised the White Clay Extension back into the public domain, which opened a floodgate of illegal alcohol sales in a legally protected region by white proprietors to the “dry” Pine Ridge Reservation. Big Crow says he would like to see this buffer zone land, which includes the town of Whiteclay, Neb., rightfully returned to the Oglala Sioux Tribe. “Our Constitution of the United States, Article 6, says … the 1851 and 1868 treaties (of Fort Laramie) are the supreme law of the land, yet President Roosevelt comes in and rewrites a draft to take out this buffer zone land and turn it back to the state of Nebraska. And that was part of the treaty land here” on Pine Ridge, he said. Big Crow questions the legality of Roosevelt’s actions in 1904, which are still reverberating throughout the reservation today. “He didn’t have the authority to do what he did,” he noted. Big Crow said he spoke to the staff of all three of South Dakota’s congressional delegates – Sens. Tim Johnson and John Thune and Rep. Kristi Noem – and their staff have informed him that none of the three want to comment on President Roosevelt’s illegal actions. “They said it happened before their time,” he added. The Oglala Sioux Tribe should take the $4 million a year in revenue from alcohol sales that Whiteclay makes and use it to benefit the people, Big Crow says. “I would like to have a referendum vote, and maybe we could double or even triple that amount by legalizing alcohol on Pine Ridge. We can make contracts with the state and federal governments and subsidize more money and build a scholarship system for our college and high school students and build roads and street lights with some of that money.” He says revenue generated from alcohol sales on Pine Ridge might create anywhere from 2,000-3,000 much-needed jobs. “We need to do this for ourselves because of the cuts that are coming down from the Obama administration that were absorbed from the (George W.) Bush administration, where all the profits are going overseas,” said Big Crow. “We have to make things better for ourselves.” Eliminating unemployment as well as improving education and health care on Pine Ridge are also concerns of Big Crow’s. The tribe “needs to focus on all three facets – we can’t leave any of them out of the picture. If we can get 2,000 or 3,000 members of our people working, even through creating a bank in Pine Ridge, creating a bank in Kyle, creating a dollar store in Pine Ridge and a dollar store in Kyle – we can turn that dollar around maybe 20 or 30 times here on the reservation.” And, “We can’t just benefit a handful of tribal members, we have to benefit all of them,” he said. Big Crow says tribal administration also needs to severely cut its annual travel expenses – most of which are allocated on trips to Rapid City, which lies some 100 miles away from the tribal administration center of Pine Ridge Village – to better conditions overall for tribal members. “The John (Yellow Bird) Steele administration spent nearly $2.4 million in travel in its first year and it spent $2.6 million in its second year,” said Big Crow, “so that’s $5 million.” “We could’ve built 70 homes last year with that money and maybe 80 homes this year, for a total of 150 homes,” he added. Steele has served as tribal president since the last election in 2010. The tribe also needs to push for four-year council terms instead of two-year terms to allow leaders to accomplish more, Big Crow said, including improving the trust relationship with the U.S. government. In addition, tribal administration needs to start taking care of its financial difficulties in an effort to start taking care of the people who are struggling with health issues such as diabetes and cancer, he said. “We won the battle and lost the war on this treaty obligation, because the United States does not honor the treaties. They stole our land, our water, our gold – and made us like it.” The Oglala Sioux Tribe will hold its primary election Tuesday, Oct. 9.
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