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[source: NativeNews; Fri, 11 Feb 2000 11:21:40]

From: "Wild Horse" <wild.horse.list@mindspring.com>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 10, 2000

Red Cloud Building, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota:

THE TRUTH IS OUT AS FINANCIAL LEDGERS ARE CIRCULATED!

For weeks now, critics have urged the Grass Roots Oglala
Lakota Oyate to prove their allegations against the Oglala
Sioux Tribal (OST) Treasurer and members of the Tribal
Council. Today, the Grass Roots Oyate released copies of
financial ledgers that prove gross mismanagement of federal
funds allocated to the members of the Tribe. Grass Roots'
spokespeople stated that a copy was given to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation in Rapid City, S.D.

Wesley "Chuck" Jacobs, has denounced the group's efforts to
permanently remove him from tribal government. To date, he
maintains his innocence and claims that he takes direction
from the OST Finance Committee. He has publicly threatened
that "if I go down, they all go down", referring to members
of the Tribal Council and Finance Committee. The Finance
Committee is comprised of thirteen members, who not
surprisingly, are all Tribal Council members. One member is
quoted as saying, "I took a position on the committee to
protect our monies." But the evidence paints a different
picture. The ledger reports, which are detailed in content,
show individual pay outs for such things as: hundreds of
dollars in advanced mileage; several months of monthly auto
allowances in one large payment; payments to numerous family
members.

While the Grass Roots Oyate are claiming a small victory, it
is a bittersweet one. The ledger reports show that the
tribal members with the most basic needs are given twenty or
thirty dollars. They include cancer patients/organ
transplant candidates in need of emergency medical
assistance for long-term treatments in Denver or
Minneapolis. Spokespeople for the group contend that the
current form of government is designed to benefit the
elected officials, not the grass roots people.

The Grass Roots Oyate took peaceful control of the tribe's
administrative offices in Pine Ridge Agency on January 16,
2000. Their non-violent approach to changing their
government has left tribal officials and Bureau of Indian
Affairs officials at a loss for how to remove the occupants.
The group contends that they have sovereign immunity under
the guidelines of the 1868 Treaty at Fort Laramie. They have
vowed to remain in the Red Cloud Building until their
demands are met. Demands include the abolishment of the
I.R.A. (Indian Reorganization Act - 1934) form of
government. The I.R.A. was, by some estimates, illegally
forced upon the First Americans, as a way to assimilate them
into "mainstream America". At a recent meeting with tribal
leaders, Commissioner on Indian Affairs, Kevin Gover stated
that the I.R.A. government was designed to fail.

The Grass Roots Oyate are committed to making significant
changes in their government. They are calling for a return
to the "Council of 21" system that governed the Oglala
Lakota Nation for centuries. Treaty elders, who have stayed
in the building since the first day, say this ancient system
is still in place and will greatly benefit all tribal
members. The elders are preparing an information packet to
distribute throughout the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

For further information, please contact Floyd Hand or Media
Coordinator, Dale Looks Twice at (605) 867-5303.

As with all my emails concerning the Occupation Peoples
please forward to any and all interested parties in its
entirety

Wadv
Wild Horse

http://members.tripod.com/GrassRootsOyate

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