It’s Bear Runner
By Ernestine Chasing Hawk Native Sun News Today Staff Writer
nativesunnews.today PINE RIDGE – The two candidates that vied for Presidency of one of the largest tribes in the nation, the Oglala Sioux Tribe, came from opposite ends of the spectrum. However they were new faces on the horizon, faces that emerged with a promise, a better tomorrow for some of the Nation’s poorest people. Julian Bear Runner, who ran on a platform promoting new generation leadership, will become one of the youngest candidates to win Presidency of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Bear Runner led his opponent Dr. Richard Zephier by a 696 vote margin. Bear Runner garnered 2,223 votes to Zephier’s 1,527 votes. Bear Runner, would like to see honor and tradition restored to the office of presidency having experienced corruption at the highest level when as a compliance technician he sought to have one of the council members drug tested. As a young man, Bear Runner lifted himself up from the harsh realities of reservation life by working to support himself and five siblings. At 25 he joined the Army, serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan gaining real world experience. “This election started a long time ago. This election cannot be business as usual. This election cannot give us the same no results leadership," Bear Runner said. "We can’t give in to this system designed for us to fail in." "We have to seek New Generation Leadership, raise leaders with Lakota values, Grandma and Grandpa led with Waunsila and common sense, this is our nation, our homeland, this we must protect. Let's return this government to the people,” he added. Incumbent Darla Black won her seat for Vice-President over Tom Poor Bear 2,022 to 1,718.
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