A powwow on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Photo by Hamner Fotos
Empowering the people through reform
By Brandon Ecoffey
Lakota Country Times Editor
lakotacountrytimes.com For the people of the Oglala Lakota nation this year's tribal elections are as important as ever. At least as important as any I've seen in my lifetime. For most tribal-nations our existence depends on our ability to practice and maintain our status as nations despite the fact that there are forces in the world who stand to benefit from undermining our sovereignty. The Oglala Sioux Tribe has always been effective at finding innovative ways to express and maintain our sovereign rights. The problem we have is in addressing the plethora of social ills that impact our people living on the reservation. To change what is happening across our homelands requires policy change and a commitment to improving and upholding the tribal constitution. I'm not calling for the ouster of all the current council reps, or the tribal president, but what we ultimately needed is a council that is willing to give up some of its power in the interest of creating a more stable and functional government. As a student of political theory I can't help but see how the overarching power granted to the tribal council has created an environment where the decisions of the legislative branch trump those of the executive and of the judicial. How many times have we seen the tribal council overturn a judge's ruling against one of their colleagues? Our courts must have the ability to enforce the law when the tribal council runs afoul of it. Of course that would require that OST to invest in qualified judges but that is a debate for another day. The groundwork for change must be created through legislation passed by the council. The system of governance that is in place right now is foreign to our way of life and inappropriate in regards to our traditional Lakota views on society. The beauty of the system though is that it can be changed by the people through constitutional reform.
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For so long we as a people have called for more accountability within tribal-government, instead we have become accustomed to this lame duck state where council members only make it to a handful of meetings. The law requires that a certain number of council meetings be held throughout the year, how is it possible that quorums are so frequently not met? For those aspiring for tribal council seats this November, let's hope you make constitutional reform a top priority. (Brandon Ecoffey is the editor of LCT and a Dartmouth educated citizen of the Oglala Nation. Brandon was born and raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and earned his education at Dartmouth College. He can be reached at editor@lakotacountrytimes.com) Find the award-winning Lakota Country Times on the Internet, Facebook and Twitter and download the new Lakota Country Times app today.
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