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[source: NativeNews; Wed, 02 Feb 2000 14:57:52]

>From: ErthAvengr via ndnaim..thanks!
>
>RAPID  CITY  JOURNAL
>February 2
>TRIBAL COUNCIL VOTES FOR FULL FIVE-YEAR AUDIT
>By Heidi Bell Gease
>Journal Staff Writer
>
>The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council voted unanimously Tuesday to have a full
>independent audit of all tribal and district financial records going back
>five years.
>     But before council members could vote on Paul Little's motion to
suspend
>Tribal President Harold Salway, Salway adjourned the meeting.
>     It was the second time in a row that Salway adjourned a council meeting
>with a motion to suspend him on the floor. The same thing happened when the
>council met in November.
>     With a grassroots group still occupying the tribal administration
>building, Tuesday's meeting was at Billy Mills Hall in Pine Ridge.
>     The protesters had two main demands when they began occupying the
>building Jan.16: that tribal Treasurer Wesley " Chuck" Jacobs be removed
from
>office and that a complete audit of all tribal records be completed.
>     Jacob's opponents claim he has mismanaged tribal funds. Salway
attempted
>to suspend him twice on the same grounds, before the council voted 12-4
>Monday to suspend Jacobs until an impeachment hearing is held.
>     Protesters have said they will not leave the tribal administration
>building until Jacobs is removed from office. Tuesday, they urged the
council
>to end the situation once and for all.
>     " It's just a matter of saying, " You are fired," said Robert
Ecoffey, a
>former council member and father of Bureau of Indian Affairs Superintendent
>Robert Ecoffey. " The treasurer is nothing more than an employee of the
>tribe."
>     At the same time, Salway's opponents accuse him of misappropriating
>relief funds earmarked for victims of a 1999 tornado. Salway said FBI and
>other investigations had cleared him of the charges and produced a letter
>from the tribe that sent the money saying they did not plan to file any
>charges against Salway.
>     That wasn't enough for some, including Little.
>     Tribal attorney Marvin Amiotte reportedly told Salway he had the
right to
>adjourn a meeting if business could not be conducted.
>     Tuesday, tribal members on all sides of the issue clapped, cheered and
>booed Little's motion for several minutes, giving Salway a reason to end the
>meeting.
>     Council members also attempted to remove Amiotte from office Tuesday,
>only to have him leave the hall. His status was unclear.
>     Many council members sat looking stunned after Salway adjourned the
>meeting.
>     " That's twice now the chairman has walked out of our meetings," said
>Gerald " Jump" Big Crow afterward. " I think that's an impeachable offense."
>     Salway must call the next council meeting, which isnt required until
>April. Meanwhile, Big Crow said there were numerous items on this week's
>agenda that were not addressed.
>     Among them, Big Crow said, were about $500 million worth of proposals
>related to President Clinton's New markets Initiatives program, which he
>announced during a visit to Pine Ridge last summer. Big Crow said proposals
>include doing $350 million worth of road work and maintenance over the next
>30 years, which would improve access for visitors and provide badly needed
>jobs.
>     The abrupt end to this week's meeting means those projects will be
>delayed. Big Crow said, because the tribal council must approve them before
>districts can consider them.
>     " We can't get it ( to Washington, D.C.) unless we have our council
>meetings," Big Crow said. " I think our council chairman walked away from
the
>noose around his neck."
>     Salway said the delay shouldn't affect the New Markets projects.
Federal
>authorities understand the need to " audit, cleanse and purify" tribal
>government, he said. " They should be more than willing to give us the
money."
>     Meanwhile, Salway questioned the council's motives in trying to oust
him.
>He also questioned what happened to other tornado-relief items donated to
the
>tribe, which he said were overseen by Jacobs.
>     " The audit should be able to purge any of the questions of
impropriety,
>" he said.
>     Sillke Hansen, a mediator with the community-relations service for the
>U.S. Department of Justice in Denver, has spent the past two weeks in Pine
>Ridge. After Tuesday's meeting, she said she thinks the two sides need to
sit
>down and talk to work out the issues.
>     " If I can help to make that happen I'm going to try to do that," she
>said, although many council members have shown no interest in a mediation
>session.
>     Also Tuesday, the council voted 17-0 to move its fiscal accounting
office
>from Pine Ridge to Kyle, effective immediately.
>

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