Rosebud SiouxTribal Elected Officials Have Established a Pattern of Violating The Tribal Constitution and Our Civil Rights.

 It has become an obvious pattern for the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council and Administration to violate the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Constitution and By-Laws and the Indian Civil Rights Act.  The Tribal Government uses its Attorney General and Tribal Attorney as political puppets to condone the violations of Tribal Members due processed and civil rights.  It saddens me that I have to continue to give the Tribal Council and the Tribal Administration of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe a repeated history check.

In September 2007, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Constitution and By-Laws were amended to include some very important language to protect Tribal Members Civil Rights.  Some checks and balances were implemented into the Tribal Constitution at this time, and it also makes reference to the Indian Civil Rights Act in Article XI.  The Constitutional Amendments striped the Tribal Council of any administrative or personnel authority they perceived to hold prior to 2007.  In Article IV of the Tribal Constitution the (a) through (v) clearly spells out the Constitutional duties of the Tribal Council.  The Tribal Council only has legislative authority.

In Article1- Duties of Officer's it spells out the duties of the Tribal President.  The Tribal President holds all administrative authority and supervision of Tribal Employees subjects the Legislation of the Tribal Council.  In Article XI - Tribal Courts Section 3. states, The AUTHORITY of the tribal court SHALL include but is not limited to the POWER to review and overturn tribal legislative and executive actions for violations of this Constitution or of the Federal Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 as well as to perform all other judicial and court functions.

All you have to do is read and you can understand this, and has established the checks and balances within Tribal Government.  A Tribal Member had a conversation with me about how Tribal Government and its attorneys are violating this Tribal Members legal due process and violating the Tribal Members Civil Rights.  The Tribal Member was wrongfully terminated, followed RST Ordinance 07-09 and followed established tribal legislation.  By following the legislative process this Tribal Member won both grievances and was awarded employment back by respecting and following this process.

In this process, a timeframe of being wrongfully terminated as stated in the grievance process and being awarded your job back takes place.  A timeframe where an employee was not working or getting paid.  Well, when it is deemed you were wrongfully terminated that timeframe of lost wages does not just disappear.   If a wrongful termination did not take place, the Tribal Member would have been paid within this timeframe.  This timeframe lost wages falls within Article X of the Tribal Constitution of the Bill of Rights.

Article X - Bill of Rights Section 1., Bill of Rights.  The government of the Tribe including the community SHALL NOT: (e) takeaway private property or possessor interest in private property for public use, without dues process adjust compensation; deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection, application, and opportunity of the laws;  This is Tribal Constitutional Law.  So in a grievance you have a winner and a loser. Well, the Tribal Member won twice and the lost wages during the terminations to the time of winning the grievance, lawfully falls within the Constitutional Bills of Rights.

Lost wages or backpay is private property or possessor interest by it belongs to the Tribal Members and in the wrongfully termination, they would have established its private property our possessor interest by earning the wages.  In this process the legislative officials have interjected themselves in this process by perceived authority.  Telling Tribal Members they need to go to this committee and that committee to basically repeating the grievance process they already won.  Tribal Council Reps you do not have the authority to decide nor does your opinion supersede the Tribal Constitution.

So Tribal Government is stating a RESOLUTION that prevents paying backpay is what prevents them from awarding backpay. I welcome any Tribal Council Rep to call me and show me under RST Ordinance 86-13, Council Rules of Order, Section K. Priorities of Enforcement how a RESOLUTION supersedes the Tribal Constitution.  I want an answer, even from the Tribal President of how they can logically justify a RESOLUTION supersedes the Tribal Constitution. 

Then you have the Tribal Attorney telling Tribal Members a RESOLUTION supersedes the Tribal Constitution and the Tribal Member can't file an action in Tribal Court.  It has come to the point Tribal Government has ESTABLISHED A PATTERN of violating the Tribal Constitution and repeatedly failing to uphold their Oath of Office.  This is a pattern by Elected Officials and its Attorneys to intimidate Tribal Members in hopes they just away and stop standing up for their Civil Rights.

I ask the Tribal Attorney to take 10 minutes and call me and logically justify, how lawfully he interprets the Law to read a RESOLUTION supersedes the Tribal Constitution.  If you actually believe this and you are actively politically intimidating Tribal Members for Elected Officials to please them, then you have a judicial ethical problem and need resign.  If you are being told by elected officials to follow the process, attempting exhaust all administrative remedies, and being denied written response from the Tribal President the statute of limitations does not apply.  Tribal Members are being misled by elected officials and attorneys in positions public trust, the issues is still ongoing and not resolved so, your opinion regarding statute of limitations does not apply.

Let's discuss Sovereign Immunity vs Civil Rights Violations.  The Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council and Administration is protected by sovereign immunity.   Sovereign immunity is not absolute when it comes to potential Civil Rights Violations or elected officials acting outside the scope of lawful Constitutional Authority.  If you step outside of your Constitutional Authority and violation Civil Rights you're not protected by sovereign immunity.  So it has come to the point your established pattern violating Tribal Members Civil Rights has come to a head and you're going to have to face the heat in court.

So since tribal government has arrogantly established this pattern of violating the Tribal Constitution and Tribal Members Civil Rights, its time for Tribal Members to start taking these actions to Tribal Court to bring the tribal governments perceived authority back into line.  IF WE TRIBAL MEMBERS ARE EXPECTED BY TRIBAL ELECTED OFFICIALS TO FOLLOW THE LAW TO INCLUDE LEGISLATIVE LAW, THEN YOU FOLLOW LAW AS WELL OR RESIGN.

I firmly believe the Tribal Membership are done with your perceived authority, your disrespect to the Tribal Membership, and violating our Civil Rights granted us in the Tribal Constitution and Indian Civil Rights Act.  Some Tribal Elected Officials have ignorantly and arrogantly proven time and time again they can do whatever they want and violate Tribal Members and Tribal Employees legal due process and Civil Rights.

We have big Tribal Election approaching us quickly, in this election, I will consistently stress to them elected officials seeking re-election they don't care about the Tribal Membership, our rights, or upholding the Tribal Constitution.  Your letters don't mean nothing they are disrespectful in an attempt justify violating the Constitution.  Come to community meetings, reach out to Community Presidents to hold a special meeting to respectfully meet with the Tribal Membership.  

Failure to show the Tribal Membership this respect while still being locked out of Tribal Government proves your disrespect the Tribal Membership.  A leader would take the time to address the Membership in person and membership criticism comes with the job.  So when the Tribal President says, WE NEED TO STOP COMPLAINING?  That was the most ignorant and arrogant statement that could have been possibly made.  Only the Tribal President and Donald Trump would make statement like that.

This Tribal Member told me that a few of the Committee Members were only concerned about recent recall petition. I remind you, Community Members, Tribal Members came together to file this petition for your repeated violations of the Tribal Constitution. If you are so ignorant to comprehend this and can't comprehend you violated the Tribal Constitution then resign effective immediately.  I'm glad this recall petition got your attention, and if you think the recall petition got your attention, wait until the 2023 primary election.  I firmly believe the Tribal Membership will send a clear message of how Tribal Government has disrespected us and lack of disrespect for the Tribal Constitution.

One Tribal Members most powerful rights is, the right to VOTE.  All you have to do is read, read social media and the step by the people with the recall petition to show you are not above the laws.  Remember your actions caused this.  The Tribal Membership are saying enough is enough.  Your pattern of violating the Tribal Constitution, the disrespect towards the Tribal Membership, and repeated violation of Tribal Members Civil Rights as screaming right in your face now.  We are no longer afraid of you, you lost respect of a vast majority of the Tribal Membership.

Respectfully,

Hawkeye Waln