Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council Delivers a Low Blow to the Tribal Membership and Tribal Programs
In a recently obtained motion excerpt from the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Secretary to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Finance Department, the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council and Administration has delivered a low blow to the Tribal Membership, Tribal Programs, and Tribal Employees. This memorandum was shared with the War Party Room in hopes to expose Tribal Government hypocrisy.
The Tribal Council wants the Budget and Finance Committee to explore the possibility of increasing Tribal council wages by $10,000.00 for fiscal year 2023. By increasing Tribal Council's wages by $10,000.00 is a $4.80 per hour raise. If the $10,000.00 raise was just for 20 Tribal Council Representatives it would be $200,000, if its for the Tribal Council and Tribal Administration it would be $240,000, and if Tribal Council, Tribal Administration and include the Sergeant-At-Arms it would be $250,000.
I also had the opportunity to review the approved 2023 General Account, Indirect Cost, and Casino Account budgets. The Tribal Council budget for the General Account in 2022 was $528,320. The approved Tribal Council budget for the General Account for 2023 in $720,286. Tribal Council Increased its General Account budget by $191,966 from 2022 to 2023.
Tribal Council's 2022 indirect Cost budget was $572,850 and they approved the Tribal Council Indirect Cost budget in 2023 to $694,286. The Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council approved its General Account and Indirect Cost budgets by a total of $313,402 from last year. By the Tribal Council increasing their own budget it proves they are going to increase its wages by $10,000.
Tribal Council also sent the word out to Tribal programs to expect a budget cut for 2023. The 2023 budgets prove Tribal Programs who proves services and financial assistance to Tribal Members budgets were cut. Rosebud Sioux Tribe Constitution and By-Laws, Article IV, Powers of the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council, Section 1, (g) states, To appropriate for public purposes of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe available Tribal Council Funds.
The Rosebud Sioux Tribe Constitution and By-Laws is clear and the governing document states, appropriate for PUBLIC PURPOSES OF THE ROSEBUD SIOUC TRIBE, Tribal Council funds. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe Constitution and By-Laws does not state, take the Publics funds for the Tribal Council by cutting public funds to give to the Tribal Council.
Let's discuss Indirect Costs, Indirect Costs are Federal funds that pay half of the Tribal Councils salary (per diem). With Indirect Costs, it has some Federal guidelines attaches that have to be followed with legal justification for expending the Indirect funds. I recall years back the Federal Government required the Rosebud Sioux Tribe to justify Tribal Council Duties in order to justify the expenditures for half of the Tribal Council salaries.
Well to justify Indirect Costs it means, attend you Tribal Council meetings, your Committee meetings, provide reports to the Communities and Tribal Membership, and make themselves available to the Tribal Membership. Now we have zoom Tribal Council and Committee meetings not requiring Tribal Council Representatives to physically be present in the Tribal Council Cambers.
Living in a time a high national inflation Tribal Members and Tribal Employees have to drive to work, required to be in the office and work with the public daily. Tribal Employees and Tribal programs do this everyday to provide services to the Tribal Membership with gas prices averaging $3.80 a gallon. However, we have Tribal Council not leaving home and participating in Tribal Council and Committee meetings by zoom. They are not spending gas money or other resources that Tribal Employees or Tribal Members have to too.
Now they want to give themselves a $10,000 raise. The Tribal Council meeting are still closed to the public as well as the Committee meetings. How can Tribal Council and Tribal Administration justify hiding behind closed doors and zoom while Tribal Employees and Tribal programs are fully open to the public with no additional pay. Can we all see the hypocrisy now, can we all see how blatant it is and how Tribal Members and Tribal Employees are being grossly disrespected?
Tribal Hypocrisy Defined;
A Tribal Employees requests a raise above $2.00 and they get grill, criticized, and even ordered to be investigated regarding asking for a raise. Tribal Council's only Constitutional authority is to approve the Tribal budgets. Tribal Council has not authority to make personnel decisions in regards, to pay increases, this Constitutional authority solely lies with the Tribal President. So if the funds are in an approved budget it is up to the Tribal President and the program director not the Tribal Council or the Tribal Budget and Finance Committee. The Only way the Tribal Budget and Finance Committee gets involved is of the funds are NOT available in the programs budget. Only way Tribal Council has a say is if the request for funds is over $10,000.
Why is it Tribal Employees and Tribal Members get grilled by Tribal Council for asking for money, yes Tribal Council easily makes a motion to explore to give themselves a $10,000 raise. All the fancy language in the motion is all smoke and wind, in reality, Tribal Council already appropriated themselves a large 2023 increase to cover the $10.000 raise.
I want to commend the Tribal Council Representative who opposed giving Tribal Council a $10,000 raise.
This motion was all done in a form a secrecy, meaning the motion was made off air so the public could not see the motion being made, and the above memorandum was not for the Tribal Memberships eyes.
Our Children have not received clothing orders yet, and they were denied ARPA money and giving our children ARPA checks was debated on the Tribal Council floor. Well, at the time, the Tribal membership had to bite the bullet and live with the decision of the Tribal Council. Since Tribal Council is giving themselves a $10,000 raise, the Tribal Membership need to stand firm and we all need to demand out children get a $1,000 or a $1,500 ARPA check based on Tribal Councils action. Cutting Tribal Service programs, still hiring behind closed doors, and attending meetings by zoom not spending any gas money like Tribal Members and Tribal Employees have to.
Let's not forget Tribal Council Representative get $500 for medical travel when the Tribal Membership get an average of $75 or less depending on where the appointment is located. Really, $500 for medical travel when even a cancer patient do't get $500 when they are fighting for their lives. This is out of control and Tribal hypocrisy has become a norm at the locked down Tribal building and Tribal Council Chambers.
It is time for the Tribal Membership to rise up and remind Tribal Government the priority of enforcement. The Priority of enforcement is the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Constitution, The Tribal Membership, and then Tribal Government. The way it works now is, Tribal Government is like North Korea, then take what they can, then give the people some four and water, and burn the Tribal Constitution. Tribal Council if you're offended by this, I say good, this is exactly how it is and has been and now we are sick of it.
It is to the point a recall petition is warranted, then just maybe Tribal Council will start Policing themselves rather than playing politics. I have no tolerance for politics I want leaders not politicians. This last election had a very low voter turn out in the 2022 General Election so getting 30 percent of the people who votes on the 2022 election should be pretty easy. Tribal Members need to demand ARPA checks for our children based on the Tribal Council action to increase their salaries by $10,000. Fair is fair here, you're taking $10,000 and throwing a dollar at our children and that is highly unethical and morally wrong.
It's time for Communities to direct their Tribal Council Representatives to approve ARPA checks for our Children based on the $10,000 Council wage increase in community meetings. If your Tribal Council Representative does not attend Community meetings then have the Community president deliver a community motion excerpt to the Tribal Council Representative. Lets see of they respect the Tribal Membership or lets see of they continue to ignore us and take for themselves.
Remember the only way to issue the Tribal Council a performance review is during the Primary and General elections. We have an election less than a year away. Tribal Government thinks they can hide Tribal Finances from the Tribal Membership, when in all reality its public information especially Federal funds. All it takes is a simple court filing to get a court order to release the information we want. If the Tribal Constitution is being disrespected by Tribal Government then we the Tribal Membership can use the Constitution to get what we want. Tribal Government can't trample on our rights.
Respectfully,
Hawkeye Waln
This should be illegal
ReplyDeleteFort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes in Montana did the same thing a few years back. But I believe the raise they gave themselves was closer to $20,000. And there are 12 members that sit on council there. When a new council was elected months later and a few new members tried to resend that resolution it was shot down. Fort Pecks council is really corrupt, lead by the puppet master chairman Azure.
DeleteThere supposed to work to help the people not help themselves. Is that the only reason why there working there? Then they need to fire themselves! Greedy counsel members!
ReplyDeleteThat's crazy bc us members fight to what little money they help with they want to give themself a raise what about the members they use the U numbers to get federal money they receive but the members don't receive nothing that's selfish what about the peoplw that live off reservation they ask for help and nothing don't even help with going to a trade school to better themselves and get denied these members need to held accountable for the money that people are not receiving but for themselves my opinion
ReplyDeleteWe need to clear out that whole tribal building. Down to the T.
ReplyDeleteWhat do they need the extra 10,000 for? I want to know. They need to explain themselves and stop hiding things in close sessions that are not open to the public.
ReplyDeleteDamn Greedy Counsel Members. Give to the people. You are all Apple's, learning from the white man. Or being like the white man. I pray that my higher power. Well bring to light . All your Evil deeds.
ReplyDeleteThe council need to give out the 1500 to each child, can they really keep they’re hands off the money that’s intended for gift cards for 3 years?
ReplyDeleteRST is trash, it’s always going to be like this unless we do something about it; coming from a freshmen from TCHS:)
ReplyDeleteSo this means not only are they going to continue not helping those that arent living on the rez....where does those funds go btw? Where does that money go? Those off rez are still counted when the funding comes thru. Now they want to start taking from those on the rez?Counsel should take a pay cut if anything not a raise.
ReplyDeleteYeah then when you go ask for help recently went to leihap office and that girl didn't even look at our paper work right away just said incomplete like she could of help just walked away even d.s.s. in mission helps better the the secretary at any of the office
ReplyDeleteAt a meeting a motion was approved and put into effect right away to allow council members to get 2 months advance of their council per diem. Also, all council members can donate to themselves, it has been told. In full transparency, the list of self donations and advanced per diem or pay given to council members and officers should be publish. Let tribal citizens know, it is our money they are putting into their pockets.
ReplyDeleteThe RST Council are a bunch of Greedy Clowns, what happened to the "People, the sacred children, our Elders", All $$ hungry ,in it for themselves, they know what they did was wrong,yet go behind closed doors and give themselves a raise when our people are suffering in silence, I hope it falls back on the RST council, how do they sleep at night? Probably smiling because they have nothing to worry about,fat pockets of EVIL, What goes around comes around, remember that and quit acting like you guys and gals actually give a DAMN about the little people!!!
ReplyDeleteheard council passed resolution to compact rosebud IHS. keeping it secret. oglalas voted on this issue. people voted no. don't trust tribes to take over administration of treaty obligations. anyone know if this resolution happened.
ReplyDeleteEven those abstaining and absent are far from innocent, just as greedy, they took the money, smgdh.
ReplyDeleteA petition to all tribal members should be started to remove these “counsel members” from office. I would sign as I’m sure most of the population would also. On and off reservation!
ReplyDeleteIt's about time our people come together and get every council member out of our tribal building they're rude pushy mouthy greedy disrespectful they give their families priorities before our people. I am ashamed of our tribe our president does not benefit our people sad. So many homeless and so many houses boarded up for years ..
ReplyDeleteEven the council reps who voided their checks eventually had to accept them. Taxes were taken from them they HAVE to accept them. The few who voided even had them reissued a couple of days later. The check was already dated and printed before they voted on it. They were getting that money no matter what. Hearsay, that on top of the 10,000 raise they also recieiced an additional 7,000 which got the ARPA office into some trouble. That should be something someone looks into.
ReplyDeleteSpring Creek Rep pushed this resolution then abstained her vote. She also took the 10 grand check and cashed it. How many times has she benefitted herself and family off the Tribal Membership’s dime?!! A lot.
ReplyDeleteThe President could have called it out of order for not following the proper process, the Secretary could have to. That’s their job the treasurer didn’t have to sign it but we all know he got paid so did she.
And how the heck are they allowed to be living in BIA?? That was Bordeaux term negotiation that started with the former personnel director and then led to his staff (the secretary) and treasurer.
REGULAR employees are not afforded the housing option at BIA unless it’s 638. Neither the Personnel Director, Treasurer or Secretary are 638.
They royally screwed over our Tribe in many cases and will probably get away with it unless we elect someone who has never been in and that hasn’t worked under any presidential and Vice’s administration they to know the “Good Ol Boy” ways and will not make changes.