The on-call workers will begin removing any and all snow starting this month until March 28. The following is a weekly schedule and contact information:

Jan. 5-11: Leo Guerue, 605-828-0568; Richard Yellow Face, 605-828-5689.

Jan. 12-18: Arthur Little Elk, 605-828-0857; Leon Wright, 605-319-9793.

Jan. 19-25: John Wooden Knife, 441-5232 or 605.334.2713; Mike Smith, 605.407.5210 or 605.747.2817.

Jan. 26-Feb. 1: Leo Guerue, 828-0568; Richard Yellow Face, 828-5689.

Feb. 2-8: Arthur Little Elk, 828-0857; Leon Wright, 319.9793.

Feb. 9-15: John Wooden Knife, 441-5232 or 334.2713; Mike Smith, 407.5210 or 747.2817.

Feb. 16-22

Leo Guerue, 605.828.0568

Richard Yellow Face, 605.828.5689

Feb. 23-29

Arthur Little Elk, 605.828.0857

Leon Wright, 605.319.9793

March 1-7

John Wooden Knife, 605.441.5232/605.334.2713

Mike Smith, 605.407.5210/605.747.2817

March 8-14

Leo Guerue, 605.828.0568

Richard Yellow Face, 605.828.5689

March 15-21

Arthur Little Elk, 605.828.0857

Leon Wright, 605.319.9793

March 22-28

John Wooden Knife, 605.441.5232/605.334.2713

Mike Smith, 605.407.5210/605.747.2817

If you are unable to contact the on-call worker, call George Guerue, Sr. at 605-828-1340

The following is the winter road clearing listed by program and community: RST Department of Roads: All BIA routes first; Corn Creek; Black Pipe; He Dog Housing and school; Upper Cut Meat; Parmelee; Spring Creek Streets and school; St. Francis streets; Two Strike; Grass Mountain.

Motor Fuel Tax, 605-856-2589: Rosebud streets; Ring Thunder; Soldier Creek; and Old He Dog. Motor Fuel Tax will work with RST road department to do emergency snow removal.

SWA/Housing, 605-747-2271: North and South Antelope; White Horse Housing; Sicangu Village (Casino Housing); Okreek; and 10 and 20-Plex Apartments.

SWA (will contract): Upper and Lower Swift Bear; Winner Housing; Ideal; Horse Creek; Milk’s Camp; and Wood.

For more information, or any questions on the schedule, call the RST road department at 605-747-2251.

ROSEBUD, S.D. — The Sicangu Oyate Land Office is reaching out to all interested people on the Rosebud reservation in an effort to gather comments and suggestions for an overall Land Use Management Plan.

According Paula Antoine, SOLO coordinator, the plan is a compilation of objectives, policies, goals, maps and programs used to guide the future development and re-development of tribal, community and individual property.

The office is in the development phase of the plan that includes Gregory, Mellette, Lyman, Tripp and Todd counties; which, will also include the Agricultural Resource Management Plan.

The purpose of the ARMP is to define specific, tribal goals and objects for the agricultural and range resources on the Rosebud reservation

Additional objectives include: identifying available agricultural resources; defining critical values of the tribe and its members; developing those objectives through public meetings; making use of the public meeting records, existing survey documents, reports and other research from U.S. Federal agencies, tribal community colleges and land grant universities.

The objectives must also be completed within three-years after establishing the plan and will also define monitoring needs on Indian agricultural lands as well as protect, conserve and maintain

Antoine urgently requests public input for this planning process, beginning with a survey that individuals can obtain at the office and return by Feb. 29. She noted the survey was important because it will assist in the current and future management as well as develop an understanding of historic and current land uses. The results of the survey will be compiled and made publicly available at a future date.

This preparation process will form the framework for potential solutions and management strategies in the final Agricultural Resource Management Plan and ultimately, the Rosebud Reservation Land Management Plan.

In a written release, Antoine said, “hopefully, by working together, we can succeed in leveraging resources needed for future land management projects nd improve the current regulatory process.”

Individuals who would like to participate in developing the ARMP processcan contact Antoine at 605-747-4225 or email solocoor@gwtc.net.

The Sicangu Oyate Land Office handles issues of: land loss, fractionated ownership, checker-boarding, trust relationship, sacred sites, land management, sovereignty and jurisdiction, legal and legislative and termination; as well as tribal executive land assignments and functions, farm pasture leases on tribally managed lands (not under Tribal Land Enterprise management), grazing permits, land exchanges, home/business site leases and land consolidation.

We view ourselves as Sicangu Oyate Tamakoce Okawanyakapi or Caretakers of the Rosebud People’s Land. Everything we do is based on the best interests of the future generations. We are in the process of creating a vision statement, mission statement, along with goals and objectives and to guide us and join with the land to reach that vision. And we cannot to this alone, we need your help. Please read the following vision statement, which is first in Lakota then in English.

We are requesting your comments and ideas. Please call the Sicangu Oyate Land Office at 605.747.4225 with your comments or email: solocoor@gwtc.net.

Tokatakiya Wowayanke / Vision Statement

Unkiye ca lel unkanihi pi. Wakinyan heunca pi. Wiwila hena unkowaja pi nahan unkitawa pi. Mni hena unkiye etan u.

“It was us who brought you here. We are the Thunder Beings. The springs are here because of us and belong to us. This water comes from us.”

— Statement from a Thunder Being in purification ceremony.

In 1878, the Sicangu Bands settled at what was to be their final Agency at Rosebud Creek, located at present day Rosebud, South Dakot. It was the Thunder Beings who guided the Wicasa Wakan or Holy Men to the Maka Izita Opaya, or the Smoky Earth River, in the Little White River Valley, because of the abundance of spring water. The valley is understood to be the Wizipan, or the environmental buffalo hide container used to store the necessities of life. This Wizipan ecosystem contains water and aquatic life, plants for food and medicine, wildlife and winged, and forests for wood and shelter. It is held in the same high regard as the Black Hills with sacred sites and unmarked burials.

“Taku Wakan Tanka Anpetu Wi nahan Maka etan unkicaga pi hena inaunkinjin pi kte, nahan yuha un zaniyan ni unkunpi kta ca tokatakiya tanyan awa unkiglaka pi kte yelo. Mni Wiconi, nahan Maka Sitomni, nahan Woniya hena e.

“Mni Wiconi ki he tokapa. Mni ki wakan nahan he cola zaniyan ni unkunpi unkokihipi sni. Wakinyan ki ta mni ognake ki wiwila hena mahel, nahan ohomni, tipi nahan awanyankapi. Wicoicage eya upi hena Mni waste awica unkici ustan pi kte, nahan iyes akilehan, nahan tokeya, iwaste pi kte, nahan yuha oun waste icicagapi kte. Hecel Unci Maka, nahan taku akan waicage, nahan mahel unpi, hena zani pi kte. Lena iyukcanpi nahan Tunkasila wicaunyanpi hena Mila Hanska kici 1868 Wolakota kagapi hena oiyute ki mni ca unpi.

“Unci Maja Sitomniyan, nahan mahel, Wakan Tanka taku ki iyuha unkicaga pi. Taku mahel yanke, nahan slohanpi, nahan waicage, nahan wamakaskan, nahan wahupa koza, nahan Ikce Oyate, nahan taku waunyankapi unkokihipi sni hena iyuha unkagapi, nahan taku unkiciyapi. Wicoicage upi hena iyokipiya maka akan zaniyan icagapi kte. Wicoicage upi hena tokeya Makoce unkitawapi ki le etan akilehan nahan tokeya, iwaste pi kte, nahan yuha oun waste icicagapi kte. 1868 Wolakota tamakoce hena unkikikcupi kte, nahan wiyopeye sni tanyan unkunpi kte. 1868 Woklakota woiyowaja hena Lakota Woope, nahan Wolakota Woope, nahan Mila Hanska Woope, nahan Mni Wanca Kowakatan Woope Wakatuya hena yuha un tanyan awaunkiglakapi kte.

“Woniyan ki Wakan Tanka etan u nahan wakan. Taku Maka iyokogna nahan mahpiya icete unpi hena, nahan wicahpi hehan, cewicunkiyapi nahan takuwicaunyanpi. Wakinyan hena mahpiya el mahel unpi nahan wakatanhan awaunyankapi. Wahupa koza hena el okinyanpi. Wicoicage upi hena woniyan ki hena tawapi ca tohan unkokihipi ki awanwica unkici yanka pi kte hecel yuha tokatakiya oniya waste yuhapi kte, nahan iye akilehan, nahan tokeya, iwaste pi kte, nahan oun waste icicaga pi kte. Taku tate nahan anpetu wi etan u, nahan oniya unkitawapi ki optaya tankatanhan kahwoke kiyapi, nahan optaya kinye kiyapi, hena tanyan awaun kiglakapi.”

Whenever the Creator created for us from Mother Earth and Father Sun is for our security and protection, and for us to live healthy with, so we shall be diligent to take care of it in the future. This is the water of life, our lands and our air.

The Water of Life is paramount. This water is sacred and without it we cannot live healthy. The aquifers are where it comes out. The Spring People are our relatives, and are the Guardians who have always lived in and around the springs. The coming generations will have clean water that will benefit them equally, and first, and they will develop environmentally safe and sustainable economies from it. This way Grandmother Earth and everything that grows and lives on the land and beneath it will be healthy. With this in mind, our Grandfathers negotiated the 1868 Ft. Laramie Treaty boundaries to be water.

On and under Grandmother Earth, the Creator made for us all things; sub-surface resources, the crawling, the plants, the animals, the winged, the humans, and that which we cannot see, to be relatives. The coming generations will live happily on our lands, educate themselves, take care of it, and pray in peace. They will benefit equally, and first, from our lands and develop environmentally safe and sustainable economies from our collective resources. We shall strive to reclaim our treaty resources and utilize the Lakota Customary Law, Treaty Law, Federal Environmental Law, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other Human Rights instruments to protect our resources.

The air we breathe is sacred and comes from the Creator. We will continue to pray to and be good relatives to all that is between the earth and the sky, and unto the stars. The Thunder Beings dwell in the clouds and watch over us from above. The winged dwell there. The right to clean air belongs to the coming generations, and we shall diligently protect it for them so they will benefit from it equally, and first, and develop environmentally safe and sustainable economies from it. We shall protect and regulate our solar and wind energy, and any outside transmissions and aircraft crossing our air space with Treaty and International Law.

Photo by Tani Gordon

By Tani Gordon

Sicangu Eyapaha

MISSION, S.D. – Sinte Gleska University and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Child Care Program held the first annual Rebuilding the Tiwahe Wacipi (“Rebuilding the Family Pow Wow”). According to event organizers, the basis for the pow wow was to bring family and culture back together through tradition and was held at the SGU Multi-Purpose Building in Antelope Community.

Families filled the building to watch children dance to the local drum groups Rocking K and Young Horse. The Child Care program fed the public with delicious soups, frybread and wojapi. Gifts were given to both children and parents as well.

This wacipi was a sincere gathering because of the main focus of offering Lakota knowledge and dance to the youth who graced the event. The impressive event is the start of a concentrated effort by the Child Care program to have a pow wow every season in the hopes that education and participation in the Lakota language and culture will grow.

The program’s Song and Dance initiative took a step closer to spreading that knowledge by offering applications for dance regalia for children from infants to 17 years-old. This program not only helps in producing the outfits for youth but also encourages the parents to become more involved and get educated on tradition. Items available include the dance costumes, moccasins, beading and the opportunity to work with a variety of material. This program also visits the communities and schools of rosebud to promote this assistance.

A variety of tables from RST programs also surrounded the dance floor, offering assistance and information that can help service the tribal members. These programs included the Lakota Tiwahe Center, the Sicangu Coalition, Commodity Food Program and Diabetes Prevention to just name a few.

Numerous Speakers gave sage advice and comments on the importance of rebuilding the tiwahe. Speakers included were Sam High Crane, St. Francis, Sandra Black Bear, Ironwood, Homer Whirlwind Soldier, Grass Mountain, and Melvin Running Horse of Parmelee.

Keynote speaker, Phil Two Eagle said, “ The Sicangu Lakota are experiencing the total breakdown of the tiwahe and we wanted to bring awareness to that by incorporating the Lakota language, history and culture into our everyday living. I think the Rosebud Sioux Tribe leadership and Tribal Programs can play a greater role in helping our families to rebuild their families by focusing tribal program services and budgets towards Lakota language, history and culture.”

He continued, “we believe that the colonization and christianization of our families has had a major impact in our Lakota Language loss not so much the culture but the decimation of our tiwahe can also be attributed to alcohol and drugs, gangs, suicides and violence in the communities. We as a people must now take a stand that we do need help preserving our Lakota language, history and culture.”

TLE Minutes Reg. Rescheduled 9-19-11

TLE Minutes Spec. Bd 09-28-11

TLE Minutes Rescheduled 10-17-11

TLE Minutes Spec. Bd 10-24-11

For questions or more information, call TLE at 605-747-2371.

ROSEBUD, S.D. – In response to Sen. John Thune’s (R-S.D.) recent press release characterizing President Barack Obama’s decision to deny the controversial Keystone XL a permit as pandering to anti-pipeline extremists, Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Rodney Bordeaux issued the following statement to Thune:

RST President Rodney Bordeaux

“Dear Hon. Senator John Thune,

“I write this letter on behalf of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and in response to your press release of January 18, 2012, entitled, ‘President Rejects Keystone Pipeline, Chooses Re-Election over American Jobs.’

“Your press release states, ‘In rejecting the job-creating Keystone XL Pipeline, President Obama today chose to try and save his own job by pandering to his anti-pipeline environmental extremist voting bloc, over creating jobs for thousands of Americans.’

“The Rosebud Sioux Tribe has opposed both the TransCanada Pipeline and the TransCanada XL Pipeline based upon Tribal Treaty Rights guaranteed by the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie, the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, protection of grave sites and sacred sites, (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. Section 3001 et. sex., Pub. L. 101-601), protection of cultural, religious and historical sites, (National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, 16 U.S.C. Section 470 et. seq., Pub. L. 89-665), protection of the Oglala Aquifer from contamination of potential catatstrophic contamination, and protection of our lands and waters on the Rosebud Sioux Tribe aboriginal treaty lands from desecration from tar sands sludge spills.

“The previous TransCanada pipeline crossing eastern North and South Dakota has had fourteen spills in North Dakota resulting in over 21,000 gallons spill of tar sands sludge. Tar sands sludge is sixteen times more toxic than crude oil.

“The possible catastrophe to clean and safe drinking water and our land and natural resources is far greater than any short term benefit in a brief spike in construction jobs. In addition, the forecasts of additional property tax windfalls have fallen short by one-third of the original estimates.

“I take great offense in your statement lumping the interests of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, interests that have been recognized in treaties, federal statutes and upheld in federal courts, into the same category as the “anti-environmental extremist voting bloc.” Unlike the environmental special interest groups you referenced in your letter, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe is a federally-recognized Indian Tribe with the right to make our own rules and be governed by them.

“A copy of our letter will be sent to local and state media outlets and newspapers, including the Rapid City Journal, Lakota Country Times, and Todd County Tribune.

“Please respond to my letter and clarify your statements and apologize to the people of the Rosebud SIoux Tribe and to the other members of the Tribal Nations in South Dakota.

“Please call if you have any questions.

“Sincerely,

Rodney Bordeaux
President
Rosebud Sioux Tribe”

Bordeaux issued the statement this afternoon and there has been no comment from Thune’s office.

RST President Rodney Bordeaux

On January 18, 2012, President Barack Obama rejected the application for the construction of the TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline. The rejected pipeline would have carried tar sands sludge, a substance sixteen times more toxic than regular crude oil through an area containing the largest source of fresh water in the United States. A spill would have been an economic and environmental disaster. A similar pipeline project crossing eastern North and South Dakota has had fourteen leaks spilling 14,000 gallon in North Dakota.

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe joins the coalition of the Great Plain’s Tribal Chairman’s Association, the Indigenous Environmental Network, Owe Aku International Justice Project, the First Nations of Canada and numerous grass roots organizations in hailing the rejection of the TransCanada XL Pipeline as a tremendous victory for Tribal Nations, treaty rights, protections of cultural, historic, and sacred sites and the Oglala Aquifer.

However we must remain vigilant as Big Oil will mount an attack on President Obama and will continue to pursue its efforts to get this project approved. We have won a battle but the war has yet to be won. We all must protect Mother Earth and we stand with those that continue to protect her.

Environmental activist Tom Weis rides through Rosebud, S.D. along with Sicangu horseback riders during his "Tour of Resistance" cycling tour that started in Montana. Photo by Tani Gordon.

By Alfred Walking Bull
Sicangu Eyapaha

ROSEBUD – The Rosebud Sioux Tribe continued to show its solidarity against the controversial TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline project, proposed to go through tribal treaty lands in South Dakota with a recent visit by RST President Rodney Bordeaux to the White House and a recent visit by environmental activist, Tom Weis.

RST Council Representative Russell Eagle Bear (Black Pipe), John Spotted Tail, community liaison, and Ken Haukaas, RST budget analyst, recognized the efforts of Weis, president of Climate Crisis Solutions, on Nov. 2 by hosting an event in the RST Council chambers to express encouragement and solidarity for Weis’s “Tour of Resistance” bike tour. The activist is currently traveling from the U.S.-Canada border to Texas, along the proposed pipeline route for the Keystone XL project.

Earlier this month, Bordeaux traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with top government officials, including President Barack Obama, to express the tribe’s opposition to the pipeline project.  At a press briefing at the National Press Club, Bordeaux outlined Rosebud’s historic, legal and cultural responsibilities involved in its opposition.

Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Rodney Bordeaux at the National Press Club in Washing, D.C. before meeting with President Obama to present him with the Mother Earth Accord of 2011. Courtesy photo.

“We’re very much opposed to the KXL pipeline. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe, since 1851 and 1868 – through our treaties – has held the utmost concern for our environment and this XL pipeline is going to cross our territories. It directly impacts the Rosebud Sioux Tribe; it comes across our reservation on the northern tier.”

The tribal president also expounded on the complicated nature of corporate project, where tribal nations are concerned. “We’ve had problems with the XL people coming down to our reservation and not discussing it with us. So what they did is they went across and around the fee lands. They skirted all the trust lands and tribal lands and they did not talk with us about this. So the problem we’re having with it – in addition to not consulting with us – is the cultural sites on our reservation that they completely ignored. They ignored the National Environmental Policy Act, which basically asks for tribal consultation. We have a Tribal Historic Preservation Office that was not consulted.”

At the Nov. 2 event in Rosebud, Eagle Bear reiterated Rosebud’s position with past pipeline projects. “We’ve been opposing it. We’ve opposed the first Keystone XL project. Four tribes got together, we took it to Federal court, we lost, and actually the judge threw it out. And here, in the state of South Dakota, when you take something to Federal court, winning is against us Natives. But we took that chance and we went to Federal court … and what the Federal government did at that time was they kind of overstepped some of the laws they had put in place. And they had to back up a little bit. At that time, President Bush was still in office and he signed a presidential permit for the first Keystone XL project.”

The State Department, which regulates international border arrangements like the pipeline, announced in early November that is would implement an additional environmental impact statement to reroute the pipeline, effectively delaying the project. Senators Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) remain split on the issue with Johnson expressing his concern that proposed legislation to speed up the decision process, attached to a tax-cut bill, neglected the environmental intricacies; Thune arguing it was a job-creation matter.

Eagle Bear explained at the “Tour of Resistance” event, the environmental realities of the pipeline, “After President Obama got in, this next project started and they started up in Canada. Up in Canada, we have some tribes up there; we have some relatives up there. [Keystone is] doing some strip mining and mining this tar and what they’re proposing to do is build a pipeline, put this tar inside this pipeline and then put water inside it and ship it all the way down to Texas. That’s the intent. And so, last month, we had a meeting with some of the First Nations from Canada. We had several chiefs that came down here and we signed an accord with them that we will support them and we are going to be opposed to this project and we took a stand here as a nation, as a tribe, we some resolutions in opposing this.”

Weis explained his part in the struggle to bring awareness not just to the pipeline project, but to the broader challenge of economic and environmental politics and their impacts on Indian Country.

"Tour of Resistance" supporters Kathy Arcoren, Alma Espinoza and Paula Antoine. Photo by Tani Gordon.

“The reason why I’m riding is for you … I’m riding for the children, for the youth, for all of our non-human relatives who have no voice and who are counting on us to fight for them. And it’s a fight. [In Alberta] we’re dealing with basically every major oil company in the world, invested in developing the tar sands in Canada and they’re determined to squeeze every last drop out of mother earth that they can get. And they don’t care who they hurt in the process. They don’t care, they don’t care about us, all they care about is money. And there’s something very wrong with that. I think what’s happening is we have a segment of society at the very top that has been afflicted with a disease that I call greed. I think it’s actually a disease and it blinds them to what matters, to what’s important.”

What is important to Bordeaux and to members of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe is the trust placed in tribal leadership to look beyond the economic sense of the times. “ … our tribal Constitution mandates us, as tribal leaders, look out for the next seven generations, it’s a perpetual document. So we ask that President Obama not, only not, sign the presidential permit, but we ask that the U.S. Congress look to Native nations as the caretakers of this land, of Mother Earth.”

During his time on the road with stops throughout South Dakota’s reservations, Weis has had time to reflect on what he views as the causes of this controversial project as well as alternatives that should be considered. “There’s an entire culture that’s being destroyed right now. And it’s just so people can make money and continue doing things the way they’ve been doing them. It’s time to move toward life-affirming energy sources, time to move toward wind and solar and geothermal and just being smarter about how we use energy,” he said. “It’s going to take a little time to make that transition away from fossil fuels to green energy but we can do that in a decade. We have to commit ourselves, as a people, to making that shift. And that’s where presidential leadership comes in. This whole Keystone tar sands proposal should not even be on the table. We shouldn’t even be talking about this, it is a waste of all of our time, it is an insult to all of us as humans to deal with this. But, deal with it, we will.”

Haukaas, for his part, explained Rosebud’s efforts to look toward energy alternatives. “We are developing wind power on the reservation; we have a shovel-ready project in St. Francis, a 30 megawatt windfarm. Efforts are tough … we have a hard time getting that power to somewhere who can use it.” He continued to explain the tribe’s efforts in exploring geothermal energy in White River, with a well that’s drilled to 3,440 feet, intended to heat the White River Health Care Center. The geothermal well would also have the potential to heat 2,000 homes, eight to nine months out of the year. “Renewable energy is here and we don’t need that pipeline here,” Haukaas said.

Weis with supporters Antoine, Arcoren and Chief John Spotted Tail. Photo by Tani Gordon.

Eagle Bear expounded on traditional wisdom and tribal sovereignty that guide Rosebud’s continued opposition. “We need oil, but not at our own expense. One of the things that we’re stressing as a tribal nation is that this is our aboriginal territory but it’s also within our treaty boundary. And they’re coming right through that and what the tribes are saying – especially the Lakota, the Oceti Sakowin – what they’re saying is, ‘if you’re going to come, if you’re going to build a pipeline: stay out of our boundaries.’ Go east, go west, go someplace else if you want to put in a pipeline. And so our Seven Council Fires took a hard stance on this Keystone XL project. If there’s any future leaks it’s going right over our Ogallala Aquifer, the water that we drink today could be contaminated; it could happen as soon as they plant those pipes in or it could happen in days, or months or years. But it could affect us in some form or fashion in the future.”

Weis closed his stop in Rosebud by expressing his gratitude and feeling of unity. “The reception I’ve received in Lakota country has been just so heart-warming, so beautiful; I don’t even know how to express my gratitude and the love that I feel for embracing me. And I see something happening; alliances are being formed that are so powerful that we’re not going to be able to be stopped.”

Bordeaux met with Obama the evening of the press conference and presented him with the Mother Earth Accord of 2011.

We want that solid wind  – and a solid win. Victory feels good, especially when it’s “our” side that’s the “we.”

But the wind is never solid. The same storm that carried Barack Obama to the White House in 2008 also blew strongly for Republicans in the congressional elections of 2010. Both sides – two very different ways of looking at the world  – claim the people’s approval for their course of action.

There are structural reasons for that. First, the U.S. Constitution is not a mechanism for solving complicated problems when the nation is this divided. It’s too easy for those out of power to just say no.

Consider the political math: Two houses of Congress must agree. One of those chambers, the U.S. Senate, essentially requires a supermajority of 60 votes before an idea can take hold.

The truth is neither house of Congress actually represents the will of the people (whatever that is).

The House reflects 435 congressional districts designed for the most part to be ideological islands where the majority is determined every decade through the redistricting process. Only a few house seats, just enough to decide who runs things, are actually competitive.

The Senate is even less democratic. A Senator from Wyoming has an upper chamber vote that represents 544,000 people, while a Senator from California has the same single vote on behalf of 37 million citizens. Why is it more fair for one state’s residents to have two votes in the Senate than, say, 5 million American Indians and Alaska Natives represented by some 500 nations, villages and tribal governments?

So why bother? Why vote? It’s easy to dismiss the process as unfair and irrelevant. But that’s not true either. The fact is imperfect elections do matter. (Hardly a slogan, I know.)

Four years ago there was strong support for Obama from Indian Country, unprecedented excitement actually. Many thought that election would bring about a new kind of government, one that would solve many of the problems that had been lingering for decades. And, as I wrote before the last elections, by any objective measure Obama has been an engaged and effective president. There’s a long list of successes: the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, solid budget requests, key appointments, and soon to be a third annual meeting with tribal leaders and the White House.

Yet somehow that doesn’t seem to be enough. There’s not nearly the enthusiasm across Indian Country for the upcoming election, let alone the president’s re-election campaign.

But the Republican alternative is significant reason to vote. All of the Republican candidates for president are advocating deep budget cuts. The frontrunner, Mitt Romney, has a plan to cut a $100 billion from Medicaid and then shift the remaining funds to state governments through block grants. This action would, at least if Romney was successful, mean less money for an already underfunded Indian health system. Other Republican candidates would consider that generous. They’d return government to its place, at funding levels that might have been appropriate during the 1950s.

In less than a year we will once again go to the polls. Sure, there will be promises that meet all of our expectations. And, for some, that’s probably enough (though disappointment will follow).

But for the rest of us, this election ought to be about real alternatives in flawed democracy. On one hand, we need to keep pressing for reforms that would help this country live up to its ideals. At the same time, we need to elect candidates that do their best while seeing the landscape for what it is. No matter how hard the wind blows.

Thanksgiving would not be observed if it were not for Indian people. It was Indian people on the east coast who were the reason for the pilgrims to give thanks because without the Indians, the newcomers would have starved to death.

Today I am thankful for my rights to free speech and freedom of the press. Without these rights, which are guaranteed under the Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s Constitution and By-laws, I would not be able to write this column for you each week. I want to send out a huge thank you to all of our loyal readers for your continued support of the Lakota Country Times.

Like many Lakota people, I do not single out one day a year to give thanks. I am thankful every day of my life. I give thanks every morning for the life I have and for the new day I am being given to live.

Many of us offer morning prayers every day, seven days a week, every single day of the year. Some of us offer prayers at noon, prayers over food, prayers before meetings or other events, prayers at night and even say lots of special prayers when we feel the need. When I hear people praying they always give thanks for many things.

I am also thankful for the air I breathe and the food I eat. Mother Earth is so good to us but we often take her for granted. Also, I believe it is very important that every time I drink or use water I give thanks for it. We must remember there are parts of the world where people do not have access to the good water or food which we have. I am also appreciative of fire, which heats our homes.

I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for the Akicita who are far away fighting in a war that I do not understand. I am thankful for the trees and flowers. I thank Creator for all the birds and animals on the Earth because they have taught me so much.

I am also extremely thankful for my ancestors because without them I would not be who I am today. I am thankful for the Lakota children who have given me great inspiration and encouragement in many ways. I am thankful for the Lakota medicine men, spiritual leaders, and the Lakota pipe carriers. I am especially thankful for our young men and women who have taken the time to perfect their talent as Lakota ceremonial, Native American Church and wacipi singers.

I am deeply appreciative of my Lakota culture because it has taught me to be grateful. I have learned to feel appreciation for every minute of every day because I realize that life is short. I do not want to devote my time to people who are not thankful for anything in their lives.

As residents of Indian Reservations, we are faced with many challenges. We might forget to appreciate the things we are surrounded by every day of our lives. Today I am thankful to be able to say that I am Sicangu Lakota.

I do have to share that I also give thanks for all of my people who are still stuck in the crab-in-a-bucket mentality for they show me how not to behave. In my opinion, those of us who grew up on the rez were conditioned to be colonized. The majority of our Lakota people think with a colonized mind. Colonizing the Indigenous people of this continent was the entire purpose of the European and Spanish invaders. Tribal people were not supposed to survive.

The crab-in-a-bucket mentality is a phenomenon brought about by the victimhood mindset. When you think all those dark thoughts that chain you into your victimhood it is pretty difficult to be grateful for anything. So many of the Lakota people I encounter are trapped in their own victim mentality.

So this week I am very grateful for having the strength to overcome my victim mentality. It changed my life. I no longer believe that everyone else is to blame for my circumstances. I now know that I am the only person on earth with the power to change my life. When we make a conscious effort to stop blaming the tribe, government, churches, boarding schools, family members, friends, etc. for what happens to us, our lives will begin to change.

We alone are responsible for the thoughts we entertain in our own minds on a daily basis. Change your thoughts and you will change your life. There is a saying about how practice makes perfect and this can be applied to how you think. Are you thinking thoughts of gratitude or are your thinking about how hard everyone makes your life? You alone have the power to change your own thoughts, attitude and the path you follow in life.

I found this great quote by Steve Maraboli and I would like to share it here with all of you. He wrote: “Today is a new day. Don’t let your history interfere with your destiny! Let today be the day you stop being a victim of your circumstances and start taking action towards the life you want. You have the power and the time to shape your life. Break free from the poisonous victim mentality and embrace the truth of your greatness. You were not meant for a mundane or mediocre life!”

Finally, I encourage you to never take anything for granted. The gifts or people you enjoy today could be gone tomorrow. Learn to live in the moment because I believe it is the only way to find true joy in our lives. Rejoice in each sunrise; give thanks each morning to the Creator for gifting you a new day of life. Enjoy your family and friends while you still can. The staff at Lakota Country Times wishes a Happy Thanksgiving to all of our readers.