Dr. Art Zimiga plans to sue the Oglala Sioux Tribe for his “inherent” right to vote.
Zimiga to challenge OST disenfranchisement
By Brandon Ecoffey
Native Sun News Managing Editor RAPID CITY –– Does a person who was born on the reservation, enrolled in a tribal nation, and who is culturally in touch with their community become somehow less Native when they leave the reservation? When it comes to voting rights on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation this may actually be true. If being Indian is a political act in itself as some contend one would assume the right to vote is an inherent right associated with popular democracy but according to the tribal voting laws only those who have established residence on the reservation for more than a year prior to an election can legally vote, leaving many across the country, who are enrolled citizens of the Oglala Lakota Nation, essentially disenfranchised by their own tribal government. This reality has left some tribal members living just north of the reservation in Rapid City upset and angered. “They use our headcount when applying for federal and state dollars but as tribal members we have no say in where that money goes or who is representing our interests on the council,” said Mel Lonehill, who was born on the reservation but now resides 50 miles north in Rapid City. Lonehill said that the idea has been tossed around by members of the Native American community in the city to create some sort of organization to assure tribal members living off the reservation receive their fair share of dollars allocated for services by the federal and state government. Lonehill is not the only Oglala upset about the tribe’s laws banning off reservation Indians access to the ballot box. Dr. Art Zimiga, 74 who was born near Allen, SD, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and who grew up in and around the reservation before earning his PhD from Harvard University is one of the possible 9,000 Oglala living in Rapid City whose vote would not have been counted if cast in Tuesday’s tribal election. Zimiga has worked in multiple capacities addressing issues impacting Native Americans as a professor at UCLA, Harvard, and various tribal colleges. And just recently Zimiga ended a run as the tribe’s director of economic development under the Bryan Brewer administration but despite his accomplishments and status as an enrolled citizen he still lacks the right to help choose who will be elected to serve the tribe and he is doing something about it. After reading a Native Sun News editorial by Tim Giago questioning the legality of the OST’s refusal to allow tribal members to vote in tribal elections (Giago called it “disenfranchisement”) Zimiga said, “It got to the point that I thought it would be good to test the system. I haven’t yet but I am going to go down to Pine Ridge and challenge in front of the Oglala Sioux Supreme Court for the right to vote,” said Dr. Zimiga. “There is fundamentally something wrong with denying Lakota people and their children their rights and the basic thing needed to be recognized as citizens or as members of that tribe. Tribal government’s behind the times and we need to purge many of these old laws and resolutions that are in conflict with one another.” According to tribal records there are approximately 47,000 enrolled citizens of the Oglala Sioux tribe and although census data has estimated that roughly 16,000 people live on the reservation other studies have shown that this number is likely closer to 25,000. With the likelihood that a non-reservation voting block could shift the power dynamics of any tribal election, supporters of a change in the law say that this fear is part of the reason why so many resist opening the voting rolls up to all tribal members. “There might not be another tribal president from the reservation if everybody was allowed to vote,” said Lonehill jokingly. Although voter registration laws and the legal requirements necessary for an individual to be approved to run for office are dictated by separate ordinances both bar any non-residents from participating in the election process. During this past election long time Bureau of Indian Affairs Superintendent Robert Ecoffey was removed from the presidency ballot despite owning a home on the reservation and two businesses. In past elections others were not allowed to run for office due to their residency including the current president of Oglala Lakota College, Tom Short Bull, who sought the presidency in 2002. There are those living off of the reservation that still consider the Black Hills, where Rapid City is located, to be a historic part of the reservation. They also believe that Rapid City should have at least two tribal council representatives. Dr. Zimiga says that he was advised by the election commission to take his grief to the Tribal Supreme Court to challenge the law. “The first test will be with the Oglala ... I was told to take it to the Supreme Court and if nothing happens there it will be on to federal court after that,” he said. (Contact Brandon Ecoffey at staffwriter2@nsweekly.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
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