President Trump’s primary domestic policy goal is job creation which presents an opportunity for tribes. The Indian treaties, which are the backbone of tribal law, are not a business plan. The tribes need a new beginning, a new federal policy, and the Lakota word for new beginning is Wokini. The president of South Dakota State University, Dr. Barry Dunn, has outlined an extraordinary plan to devote the revenue it receives from being a land grant university (some $600,000) to creating educational opportunities for young people from the nine Sioux Reservations is South Dakota. He calls the plan Wokini. The University envisions partnerships with tribal colleges, tribes and community members across the state. It is a bold new vision that President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue can build around as agriculture presents the best opportunity to create a private sector economy in these remote areas. The upcoming farm bill presents an opportunity to create a program (or pilot) focused on rural farming tribes.Read More on the Story:
Marshall Matz and Gary Baise: Wokini: A New Beginning For Tribes; Opportunity For President Trump (Indian Country Media Network 6/24)
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