Robert Ecoffey
Longtime BIA superintendent announces retirement
By Native Sun News staff PINE RIDGE—Robert Ecoffey an Oglala Lakota and the longtime superintendent of the Pine Ridge agency has formally announced his retirement from government service. The retirement which will be effective May 4, will bring to an end a 37 year career with the federal government where he worked exclusively in Indian country. “It has been a wonderful experience working with the Bureau for all these years but I am now ready to do something different,” said Ecoffey. The lifetime government employee graduated from Pine Ridge High school in 1973, after which he attended Chadron State College where he majored in Criminal Justice. During his time working for the Federal government he was appointed by President Bill Clinton as the director of the United States Marshal for the District of South Dakota. He was the first Native person to serve in that position in the 200 plus year history of the Marshal Service. Ecoffey is widely credited along with Mitch Pourier and Det. Abe Alonzo of the Denver police department as being the investigators who solved the 30 year old cold case involving the murder of Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, a Mi’kmaq woman from Nova Scotia, Canada who was murdered by fellow American Indian Movement members in 1975. In addition to his work as the director of the Marshall Service, Ecoffey also served as the national Director of BIA Law Enforcement for three years. He began his career with federal government as a patrol officer in Pine Ridge, SD when he was 19. When asked what he planned on doing after retiring Ecoffey reiterated that he was not done working and was only moving on from the BIA. “I have worked a job since I was a young kid and I do not think that I could possibly just sit around idly,” he said. “There is still a lot of work that needs to be done both in our community in Pine Ridge and in Indian country overall. I plan on continuing to try and find ways to try and help the people,” Ecoffey added. Copyright permission by Native Sun News
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