A sign at the entrance of the Lower Brule Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. Photo from Rolf Blauert / Wikipedia

Human Rights Watch released a report today that accuses the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of widespread corruption and mismanagement.

The 111-page report, entitled Secret and Unaccountable: The Tribal Council at Brule and Its Impact on Human Rights, says $25 million earmarked for social services and economic development has gone accounted. Some of the money went to a questionable purchase of a financial firm with a $22.5 million loan that was guaranteed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs

“Since 2007, Lower Brule’s Tribal Council has lost tens of millions of dollars to mismanagement and possible corruption,” said Arvind Ganesan, the director of business and human rights at Human Rights Watch. “This has severely undercut efforts to provide basic services that people across the reservation desperately need.”

Chairman Michael Jandreau has run the tribe for 36 years. He's trying to remove critics on the council who have questioned his management and leadership style -- a tribal court hearing is being held today.

"It just reinforces why we need to get rid of the old council," Kevin Wright, a new council member who is critical of Jandreau, told The Sioux Falls Argus Leader. "Mismanagement of funds – federal tax dollars – is a serious accusation."

Get the Story:
Millions of dollars for Lower Brule tribe vanished (USA Today 1/12)
Lower Brule Chairman Calls Report 'Ludicrous' (KELO 1/12)
Lower Brule Tribe Grass Roots Movement (South Dakota Public Radio 1/12)
US: Tribal Council Mismanagement (Human Rights Watch 1/12)

Get the Report:
Secret and Unaccountable: The Tribal Council at Brule and Its Impact on Human Rights (January 2015)