Jackie Siers
Council Representative Siers speaks out By Jackie Siers My name is Jacqueline “Jackie” Siers. I am a Council Representative for the Oglala Sioux Tribe, representing the Wakpamni District. My Lakota name is Cante Waste Win “Good Hearted Woman”. My father is Ted Siers Sr. and my mother is Yvonne Fire Thunder-Siers (Deceased). My Paternal Grandparents are Frank Siers Sr. and Lillian “Bertha” Allman. My Maternal Grandparents are Joseph Fire Thunder and Dora LaDeaux-Fire Thunder. I have six brothers, Ted Siers Jr., Morgan Siers (Deceased), Billy Siers, Bobby Siers (Deceased) Richard Siers and Paul Siers. I have one sister, Alice Siers-Perkins. I have one daughter Tina Siers and five precious grandchildren, Joseph Bernie 12 yrs. old, Kaleb Siers 10 yrs. old, Michael LeBeau Jr. 9 yrs. old., Nina Siers 7 yrs. old., and baby Jackie Her Many Horses 2 yrs. old. I am writing this article because I am concerned about the future of our tribe. I was approached by tribal elders who are tired of our tribal government. They are telling me of hopelessness they are feeling. I am hearing them. I can only console them and try to give them hope. It’s always next administration and so on. When is that going to end? Just when you think you’re getting the right leadership in office, something turns in another direction. Again, their needs go unheard. Maybe we should dedicate time for them to be heard. The only thing they can look forward to is that there will be an election coming soon. Is this the only change we can give them for the future, is a change of face? They want change for the future generation to come. They are tired of the in-house fighting amongst the tribal leadership, especially on the radio. Election is around the corner and the political attacks have now begun. The suspension of our Oglala Sioux Tribal President, Bryan Brewer and the removal of the OST Executive Director, Dr. Richard Zephier is only the beginning. These two individuals are both highly educated and exemplify leadership quality needed within our tribal organization. There is resistance to accountability and this is the outcome for trying to hold people accountable. The political interference outweighs doing the right thing. I personally don’t get involved in personnel issues. There is an ordinance that established a personnel manual that is to be followed. This is being ignored and personnel issues are being brought straight to tribal council. Time and time again, trying to justify why tribal council has to get involved only alludes to the fact that there is a special interest for one particular individual. That’s all it is. I am amazed by the countless violations of our tribal members’ rights. The actions coming out of committees and on to the council floor that continuously hurt our tribal members is wrong. The Executive Sessions are nothing but political ploys to bring people down and a way to strategize how to plan the attack. We should be protecting our own. I know blame, jealousy, power, ignorance and ruthlessness is not our Lakota values. When is our Lakota values used? I can recall many times that the Constitution was violated repeatedly. The Ordinances (Laws) enacted by our own governing body are violated by our own governing body. Why just focus on the Tribal President, when some have done worse things and they were ignored. I am hearing that the president acts like he has the power and he needs to be dealt with. The way I see it, the Tribal President is being held back with no support from the tribal council. We should all be supporting our Tribal President and we should think outside the box. Did President Brewer cause catastrophic damage to our tribal nation or did he just hurt some feelings? He was simply trying to get Economic Development here on the reservation, which is so desperately needed. He was thinking about the future of our tribal members. The recent suspension of Barbara Dull Knife, OST Council Representative was also wrong. The Oath of Office violations she was accused of, did not occur. Barbara should be exonerated and be allowed to receive back pay. Barbara did protect her tribal members’ rights and looked out for the general welfare of her tribal members. How is this violating the Oath of Office? Barbara is a strong elderly Lakota woman and grandmother. She did her job. She stood up for her district members. This is what they called violating her Oath of Office? This is my first term in office and may be my last if I get impeached for speaking my mind. I and every person in the United States have this right to freedom of speech. Using a Bill of Attainder against one of our tribal members, Jeff Whalen, is a prime example. The Tribal Council made a resolution banning him from working for the Oglala Sioux Tribe. This is a violation of his Civil Rights. This is how people are being oppressed in this day and age. Not everyone agrees with our Tribal Council, but we ran for public office and should expect public opinions that may be negative against us. We shouldn’t take it personal. Mr. Whalen had always written articles about Tribal Council, but I never took it personal. I figure it’s how he views us and assures he writes according to documentation and facts. I was always told that the truth hurts and it is evident that it does. I was raised to be a compassionate, respectful and honest person. I was always told I was no better than anyone else. I ran for public office and I know I was going to be under the microscope of the people. I expected at some point and time that I will upset someone and may be criticized for it. I don’t take it to heart. I had noticed that our leadership is very sensitive and react immediately without thinking things out. I, myself certainly welcome constructive criticism. I had made some decisions that I regret, but can’t turn back time. The only thing I can do is try and correct them and make things right. This is the way things should be done. I wanted to inform the readers that I am being threatened with impeachment for a dishonest act. I am confused by this accusation. I was told that another council representative has filed an impeachment on me. I figure it is retaliation. There’s so much of that going on these days. Well readers, this is what had happened. When I completed my personnel action notice (PAN), the day I was being sworn in as tribal council, I was given an hourly rate of $20.13 per hour, which is an annual salary of $42,000 a year. The Payroll Supervisor changed my salary back to my Higher Education Director salary of $29.00 per hour, because they still owed me for 8 hours of pay as Director of Higher Education. The Payroll Supervisor forgot to change my hourly rate back to the council salary. I noticed the overpayment later when we were going over budgets during the sequestration. I approached the OST Treasurer and asked him why my salary was more than the other council salaries. A few days later the OST Treasurer and the OST Comptroller both informed me that a mistake had been made on my hourly rate of pay. They both agreed that it was not my fault, but the fault of the Financial Accounting Office (FAO). The Payroll Supervisor did write a letter admitting it was her fault. I met with other council members and tribal staff members and was told it was an administrative error and that it was not my fault. I was honest and reported it. If anyone was dishonest, it should be the other council representatives who did not report their overpayment. I have the printouts of the others that were overpaid. I am currently paying back what was overpaid to me at my own decision to be fair to the other council members. I didn’t have to do this, but to be ethical and fair I opted to do this myself. I signed a payroll deduction agreement and it is coming out of my payroll check. I am an honest person and would never deceive anyone. I live by strong ethics and morals in my daily life. I could have ignored it, but I am not like that. I believe in being honest and truthful. An Errors and Omissions were filed by the OST Property and Supply Office. This is insurance that is used when an employee under the tribe has made an error like this. I filed a complaint on the OST Treasurer, because I felt he was the custodial of all funds. I just wanted the truth to come out. It was ruled by the ethics board that this whole thing was just a mistake in the payroll department. I do have the documentation of this ruling. There is much more to this than I am writing. I had given you a brief account of the simple error of the payroll department that has prompted a political bashing against me. I hear threats and intimidations from various council representatives that feel I should be impeached. Why? I was honest and ethical as a person can be. What more can I possibly do to remedy a mistake that wasn’t mine to begin with. I took a $21,000 pay cut to be on tribal council. It wasn’t about the money that I ran for office. I wanted to help make things better for our tribal members and employees. It was a turbulent journey the past year and a half. I wouldn’t have made it this far without the Lord’s guidance. I did a lot of praying, because my stomach was upset and my health was physically being affected. I wanted to quit many times. I could have just walked away, but I would be just thinking of myself. I had to think about the people who had faith in me and voted me in office. I needed to fulfill my obligations to represent the Wakpamni District Members who made it possible for me to be in this leadership role. I am honored and will continue to be a voice for our tribal membership. I would never jeopardize what I had worked so hard for. My educational degrees didn’t come easy. I sacrificed a lot to get my Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the Oglala Lakota College and I received my Master Degree in Public Health Administration from the University of Hawaii. The struggle of reaching my personal educational goal is the greatest feeling and I treasure the fact that I did it myself. Well, not entirely, my family struggled with me. It is not right for people to tear someone down for being honest and reporting what was an honest mistake made by the Payroll Department. I felt bad, because the Payroll Supervisor had offered to pay it out of her own salary. I could have been a tyrant and insisted this happen, but she made a mistake. People make mistakes in life. Who hasn’t made a mistake? I welcome anyone who wants to hear what had happened. My phone number is (605) 407-8914. I want the readers to know the truth. We have to start listening to the oyate and make a change for the betterment of the future generations to come. If we were all on the same page when we came in to office instead of having our own agendas, we could have accomplished many things. I found it difficult adjusting to the inside politics. I am used to it now, but late in the game. In the future I will be writing to let future candidates know what to expect, especially if it is your first time running for Tribal Council. Wopila to the Native Sun News for giving me this opportunity to voice my concerns and my personal opinions to the readers of your newspaper. (Jackie Siers can be reached at Jackie62@hotmail.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
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