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OST Council woman files complaint against Tribal Treasurer
By Jeffrey Whalen
Native Sun News Today Columnist
nsweekly.com In July Jacqueline Siers was unjustly “taken through the ringer” by the retaliation of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Treasurer Melanie Two Eagle who levied false and misleading charges against her. We have all heard of the results of the Council decision that ruled in favor of Jacqueline. On September 19 Siers filed a complaint against Two Eagle. Most complaints against the Tribal Council or Executive Committee members are filed in the Executive Secretaries office. In this instance, Melanie is the Treasurer of whom the complaint is being filed against and Rhonda Two Eagle is the Executive Secretary of whom is supposed to receive the complaints. The problem is that Rhonda is the mother of Melanie, so it would be natural for Rhonda to refuse to accept a complaint against her daughter. Because of this unusual circumstance of processing complaints, Siers has opted to file the complaint with the President’s office. The Tribe's Executive Committee enjoys a family affair because Rhonda and Melanie are mother and daughter and my good friend Jim Red Willow who is the 5th member, and Tom Poor Bear who is the Vice President, are brothers. Jim is a straight shooter so I never was concerned about him and Thomas. However, Rhonda has turned down complaints on her daughter Melanie in the past. Because of this Siers has a legitimate reason to file her complaint in the President’s office rather than in the Executive Secretaries office. There are two charges being assessed against Two Eagle: Retaliation and false allegations. In terms of retaliation Siers writes; “On July 21, 2016 Ms. Two Eagle-Black Bull filed a complaint against me and my colleague Mrs. Sonia Little Hawk-Weston for questioning her during an OST Finance Committee meeting. The complaint was filed the same day of the OST Finance Committee meeting.” I was present during the July 21 meeting and witnessed the events unfold. Records show that there were ten (10) Finance Committee members present. Two Eagle was extremely disrespectful of Siers and Weston. Two Eagle aggressively ran toward Siers and Weston as if she had the intention of causing bodily harm to the two council ladies. The council ladies brought out the fact that Two Eagle gave a sole sourced contract to Casey Peterson at $320,000 or so which was a violation of the tribal Procurement Manual and ultimately a violation of tribal law.
Read the rest of the story on the Native Sun News Today website: OST Council woman files complaint against Tribal Treasurer (Contact Jeffrey Whalen at Jeffrey.whalen2@gmail.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
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