A more stable tribal government and economic development on the reservation could be the result of a vote on constitutional changes by Oglala Sioux Tribal members on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation April 22, supporters say.

But Richard Little Hawk of Calico, a former Wakpamni District tribal councilman, doesn't believe people fully understand the ballot issues and the possible ramifications of their choices.

"I don't think the people are really fully aware of the impact these amendments will have on the reservation," said Little Hawk. "I think people should really know what's going on."

The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council voted by two-thirds majority to place nine amendments on the ballot for a Secretarial Election to amend the tribal constitution.

Key proposals include an amendment to separate the tribe's judicial system from its tribal council and an amendment that would establish four-year staggered terms for council members and four-year concurrent terms for the tribe's president and vice-president.

Currently, all tribal council members and executive officers are re-elected every two years, making it possible for a completely new administration and council to take office every two years.

"Some of these issues have been talked about for years," said Robert Ecoffey, Bureau of Indian Affairs Superintendent for the Pine Ridge Agency. "Separation of powers, as far as the courts, I think that is a huge effort to … stabilize the legal system down here and really assert tribal sovereignty."

Pine Ridge Area Chamber of Commerce Director Ivan Sorbel said several of the proposed changes were suggested more than 10 years ago by Harvard School of Business after a study on why economic development wasn't happening on reservations.

"A lot of (the amendments) deal with what a lot of people have been telling us for a lot of years," Sorbel said.

Still, the proposed constitutional changes came as a surprise to many reservation residents, who said they found out about the Secretarial Election when they received voter registration forms in the mail earlier this spring. LaCreek District tribal council representative Craig Dillon, who serves on the Secretarial Election Board, did not return several calls from the Journal.

Registration letters and explanations provided to the media included only summaries of what each amendment would do. A sample ballot printed in the Lakota Country Times March 27 includes the exact wording of the amendments.

Sample ballots are also supposed to be posted at the Pine Ridge Agency BIA Office, the Red Cloud Building in Pine Ridge and the nine district CAP (Community Action Program) offices.

After studying the ballot, Little Hawk believes some of the amendment summaries are inadequate or inaccurate. And he is concerned about what the changes would - or wouldn't - do.

Little Hawk supports separation of powers but believes the proposed amendment won't create a true separation.

The tribe's former chief judge, Pat Lee, said the Oglala and other tribal courts were created almost as council programs under constitutions adopted soon after passage of the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. All power to appoint and remove judges was given to tribal councils.

That has changed. Lee was appointed chief judge in 1989, 1993 and 1997, then elected in 1998 after a 1997 Secretarial Election amended the constitution.

"That was the start of the separation of powers, where the people put the chief judge in rather than the council," said Lee, now a teacher at Oglala Lakota College.

"This is the next logical step to put more of a separation … between the branches of government."

But Lee said it will take work to effectively restructure the tribal court system.

"If you've still got that political influence or means of removing judges because of unpopular decisions, then that's not true separation," he said.

Lee, a tribal member who was born and raised at Pine Ridge, said being under council oversight didn't necessarily make it harder for him to do his job, "but you know the potential is always there" for a tribal leader unhappy with a court ruling to try to interfere.

Little Hawk is also troubled by an amendment clarifying the removal process for elected officials.

He pointed out that the tribal constitution currently states that any elected officer who is "convicted of a felony or any other offense involving dishonesty" must resign. The proposed amendment removes the part about dishonesty.

Also, under the current constitution, an elected tribal official can be impeached by a two-thirds vote of the tribal council. Under the proposed amendment, impeachment is possible only if all tribal council members are present at the meeting.

"It creates an impeachment-proof council," Little Hawk said. "And if you're stuck with four-year terms on top of it, that kind of scares me."

Little Hawk has questions about other amendments. So far, he doesn't have answers. He and others feel tribal leaders should be doing more to educate the public about ballot measures.

A lack of information might be one reason that only 2,287 people returned the forms making them eligible to vote April 22. Ecoffey's office mailed out 16,000 registration forms.

Only enrolled tribal members who are at least 18 years old and have lived on the reservation for at least one year are eligible to vote. That's a change from the 1997 Secretarial Election, when tribal members living off the reservation were allowed to vote. About 1,200 voted in that election, Ecoffey said.

Despite the low registration numbers, Blaine Wilson, Oglala, agrees with the residency requirement.

"It makes sense to have people's input (who) actually live here, the people whom these amendments will impact," he said. "It seems logical."

Kim Brings, an administrative assistant in the Wakpamni District, went door-to-door in the district to help register voters. Most were willing to comply.

"I was saying, 'Well, if you don't register, you don't even count,'" Brings said. "Everyone should count."

But some tribal members don't believe their votes matter. They say they've lost faith in tribal government and tribal leaders.

Mike Zimiga, a 19-year-old student from Pine Ridge, didn't bother to register. "I just don't care about it, because I don't they they're helping out the rez (reservation)," he said.

Still, change has to start somewhere, and supporters believe these amendments are a good beginning.

"If (the amendments) pass, then we've got to figure out how they work," Sorbel said. "I don't expect things to just change overnight."

He is hopeful, though. About five years ago, the Pine Ridge Chamber surveyed 10 banks on why they would not open branches on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Sorbel said bank officials were concerned about lending protection, partly because the reservation had no Uniform Commercial Code (one was adopted last fall) and partly because of government instability because of the election schedule.

Bank officials were also concerned that the tribal court system was not independent of the tribal council.

"(They said) 'even if you had a Uniform Commercial Code, your court's not strong enough to support this," Sorbel said. "I think if these laws are passed and if they're stable enough, it will give a bank a good look at locating in our area."

Having a bank on the reservation would be "a huge step" toward spurring economic development, he said.

Tribal members also see potential on the ballot. Angie Eagle Bull of Pine Ridge would like to see four-year council terms.

"I have been working with members of the council for over 20 years, and two years is not enough time to follow through on plans," said Eagle Bull, who is vice president for finance at Red Cloud Indian School.

Eagle Bull also agrees with an amendment strengthening financing training requirements for tribal treasurers, though she is concerned that it will be difficult to find a tribal member with the CPA certification the amendment would require.

Every ballot measure is important to Eagle Bull. "I have children, and I know these amendments will affect the future for my children," she said.

Little Hawk just hopes voters will understand the issues and proposals well enough that their decisions - whatever they are - will affect the future in a positive way.

"It is very important we the voters read and understand the language of the proposed amendments," he wrote in an open letter to tribal voters.

"Read the words carefully and compare (them) to the words they will replace in the OST constitution."

As for Ecoffey, he is not making any predictions.

"I'm not taking sides on this one," he said. "We'll let the voters decide for themselves."

For more information on ballot issues, call the BIA office at 867-5125.

Contact Heidi Bell Gease at 394-8419 or Heidi.bell@rapidcityjournal.com

Journal correspondent Emily Fischer contributed to this story.