By Jeffrey Whalen
The Oglala’s have a corrupted impeachment system. Once the Oyate elect the Tribal Council members into office the voters have little or no chance of removing them. While they are in office some act like Boss Hogg on the Dukes of Hazzard TV series and routinely commit offenses in an attempt to continue lining their pockets. This is getting old and it’s time for me to retire. We see crime and corruption on Pine Ridge at its best in terms of white collar crime. White collar crime is where administrators, leaders, elected officials and the like are placed into positions of power. They see the new found authority and the large amounts of money that comes with it, then in order to achieve more personal gain they end up committing crimes against the people they serve. I’ve stood up for the Oyate against the Oglala’s corrupt tribal system for a long time since about 1994. For the past three (3) years I’ve stood up against them in the newspaper with my opinion article. All things must come to an end and I’ve decided that the Oyate has to find a different Eyapaha. I’ve been a one man show for too long. For all of my efforts, the Tribal Council ended up passing a very illegal Bill of Attainder against me and prohibited me from accessing any financial records, and from working for the tribe. This is my reward for keeping the Oyate informed. The Tribal Council has some extremely corrupt individuals representing you. Their intelligence level is hidden under some rock at the bottom of a deep hole. They do not have the ability to wade through the red tape to get things done properly instead they find short cuts and end up missing important steps that could make a big difference in the way they serve us and the way we live. Taking short cuts usually leads to corruption. For the record, my I. Q. is 141 which is pretty high, but I’m still stupid in Math and because I could have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Short Term Memory Loss, Adult Attention Deficit Disorder and the ability to “blank out” when I’m agitated which is a mental problem that makes me go ballistic at any given moment, having a high I. Q. doesn’t do me any good. I’ve been a self-imposed hermit for a good part of my life because of all those disorders. Exposing the Tribal Councils ridicules activities on a daily basis has kept my personal agitation alive and well and has interfered with my own intelligence levels. Now it’s time to quit and let someone else carry the torch in the name of the Oyate. In this last opinion column, I’m going to tell you that the Oglala Tribal Council is not your friend. We still have 6 or 7 of them who represent themselves and 1 or 2 of them who should be put in jail and have the key thrown away. Our Constitution spells out the facts about what the government wanted for us by forcing an IRA system on our backs. Most Oyate despise this government and rightfully so. It has led to crime, corruption, back stabbing and everything you would see in a popular soap opera. It has made a great warrior nation come to its knees and made them beg for rations and handouts; it has made them sick with diabetes and other diseases and has made them dependent upon an unjust government who conquered them and who nearly annihilated the entire race. The IRA Constitution is just a tool for corruption that some of the Tribal Council members use against us. They have stacked the cards heavily against their own people. The Constitution mandates that there be 2/3rds of the council to vote in favor of any impeachment. This doesn’t do the Oyate any good because once we elect the council into office we almost never have an opportunity to remove them. We have to depend upon the Tribal Council members to do this. Some council members don’t give squat about what their voters decide. Give them a directive and see if they follow it. The friendship within the squared circle means more to them than the wishes of the voting public. In the recent Tribal Council impeachment decision for Garfield Steele, there was evidence of court orders restraining him from making any contact with his victim. The Tribal Council heard reliable witnesses and had a decision by the Ethics Commissioners to impeach, but it fell on deaf ears. The judge who issued the restraining order holds a Jurist Doctorate Degree in Law. A main witness against Mr. Steele has a Master’s Degree in Lakota Leadership. Of the three ethics commissioners, one has a Master’s Degree in Lakota Leadership, one has a Doctorate Degree and the other is a retired Electrical Engineer. Yet all of that evidence, education and testimony failed to impeach Mr. Steele. Why? Because as I said; the cards are stacked against the Oyate when it comes to disputing anything with the Tribal Council. We must re-take control of this government if we are to survive. Having a constitutional provision that allows for a 2/3rds vote to impeach is not good enough. It weighs in favor of the council members against the Oyate. Having an old worn out, dated (1941), impeachment ordinance only serves to protect the council and weighs in favor of them against the Oyate. It gives the sole power of impeachment to the Tribal Council, not the Oyate. The recently approved Ethics Code is stacked in favor of the Tribal Council against the Oyate. It does not allow the Ethics Commissioners to do anything but recommend sanctions to the council. The day of the impeachment hearing of Mr. Garfield Steele is the day that Irv Provost, Jim Meeks, Lydia Bear Killer, Craig Dillon and Charles Bettelyoun violated the law. Prior to the hearing, all Tribal Council members took an oath and swore to do justice according to law and evidence. There was so much evidence against Mr. Steele that they all had no choice to vote against him. Yet five (5) knot heads voted against and in turn, violated the law with their vote. Those five should be impeached immediately because they have proven they don’t care about the rights of the Oyate. In a separate issue and with the exception of Jim Meeks, the rest of those numbskulls mentioned above voted to pass an illegal Bill of Attainder against me. And yes, Garfield Steele, Scott Weston, Stanley Little Whiteman, Bernie Shot With Arrow, and several others did the same thing. A Bill of Attainder is a legislative punishment and they didn’t even give me Due Process. Those idiots have never given me Due Process which is a basic constitutional guarantee. Look into the Tribal Constitution, Article XII-Bill of Rights: “the Tribal Council in exercising its inherent powers of self-governance shall not make any tribal law or enforce any tribal, state or federal law that; (i) adopt any Bill of Attainder or Ex Post Facto law.” The cards are stacked against the Oyate. When the council wants to follow the law and it favors them, they will follow it to a T, but when the laws do not favor them, they will violate law every time. We all witnessed it and the Oath the council took right before the impeachment of Garfield Steele didn’t mean squat to Irv Provost, Charles Cummings, Craig Dillon, Lydia Bear Killer and Jim Meeks. They should all be impeached for this injustice against the Oyate. We have to amend the Constitution, get rid of the Ethics Code because it has just been proven that it does not work, rescind the old worn out impeachment ordinance 41-26 and replace it with something that has very large teeth that can consume any number of corrupt council members and at time. Take control of your government; restack the cards in favor of the Oyate. I want to thank Jackie Sears, Larry Eagle Bull, Robin Tapio and Dan Rodriquez for being the minority who are standing strong in a difficult environment. Signing off, Jeff (Jeff Whalen can be reached at: Jeffrey.whalen2@gmail.com) Copyright permission by Native Sun News
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