PIERRE, S.D. ? Roads came to the forefront as Great Plains regional tribal leaders met here Jan. 30 with Neal McCaleb, the Department of Interior’s assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, and a former state transportation commissioner.
The tribal leaders also talked about improving options for the funding of economic development projects, education, welfare and law enforcement training during McCalebs’s brief visit to the South Dakota capital.
Tribal leaders pushed for better access to highway funding because highway funds are now distributed from the Federal Highway Administration to the states, which are contracted to fix roads. Tribal officials said the roads are often neglected and when they are repaired with substandard materials the roads break up with in a matter of months.
The roads are vital to tourism for the reservations, said Clarence W. Skye, executive director of the United Sioux Tribes.
Skye said federal highway dollars never make it directly to the tribes for road repair. Tribal leaders want more federal dollars for the repair of major routes on the reservations paving the way for tourists to travel comfortably and safely to key economic interests.
The tribes have had battles with the state when state officials have attempted to withhold repairs on crumbling roads unless tribes compromised law enforcement jurisdiction. In recent years, the roads have been sparingly repaired. Tribal leaders said they are seeking a more equitable distribution of highway funds.
BIA officials complained last year that road maintenance was under funded limiting the agency’s ability to repair BIA routes.
“The greatest problem is that the roads don’t last. They break up because they are working with inferior materials,” said Skye.
McCaleb, who said he would meet again with the tribal leaders at the nation’s capitol in a few weeks, pledged his help in bringing more highways dollars to failing infrastructure.
“He said he would be willing to work with the tribes to improve highway conditions and help them obtain better materials, such as more rock in the road bed to prevent them from breaking apart,” said Skye.
Leadership within the United Sioux Tribes is also looking for more assistance in promoting the funding of the Wakpa Sica cultural and interpretive center near Ft. Pierre.
Nearly two years ago, a bill sponsored by Rep. John Thune, R-S.D., which dealt with education, economic development, tribal governance and housing was signed into law as part of the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act and authorized construction of a center.
The center, at a site that has not yet been selected, will house a Sioux National Tribal Supreme Court, display an interpretive history of American Indian and non-Indian relations, provide archival information on tribes and families, house an Indian mediation facility and an Indian economic-development center.
Advocates envisioned it as a place of reconciliation and a place where Indian people from the nine tribes in South Dakota can research family history, seek economic-development assistance and settle conflicts in the supreme court.
Skye said tribal leaders lobbied to include the $18.6 million in funding for its construction in the federal FY 2003 budget. The Wakpa Sica Historical Society started the project more than a decade ago.
The United Sioux Tribes would like to select a site and have the cultural center open for the 2003 bicentennial celebrating the journey of explorers. Many of the region’s tribes are preparing for tourism along the Lewis and Clark Trail with tribal leaders suggesting it is a prime opportunity for improving economic development and showcasing their reservations as a place of recreation and cultural exploration.
McCaleb said he would do everything he could do to get in the appropriations budget.
While the tribal leaders have pushed for economic initiatives, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) transferred more than $6 million four years ago to the Small Business Administration (SBA) as a subcontractor to stimulate economic development, said Skye.
The SBA in turn contracted smaller centers to provide technical assistance to individuals, but few businesses grew.
If the BIA changes its approach, the tribes would receive money directly to fund and implement the programs. Some of the plains tribes already have programs, but no money to run them.
Revamping the system for training law enforcement is another issue. Tribal leaders suggested training their law enforcement officers at the state’s training center instead of sending them to Artesia, N.M., the location of a federal law enforcement training center.
Tribal chairman favored the move because it would curtail the costs associated with sending officers to training while allowing state law enforcement agencies greater contact with Native law enforcement to advance racial relations.
Doug Lake, director of the Division of Criminal Investigation in South Dakota, told McCaleb bringing officers together would help solve some of its racial tensions. Lake noted the federal Civil Right Commission’s criticism of the state because of little diversity and racial profiling.
“Some of the way to solve it is to put everybody together. It will save us money and it will save you money,” Lake said.
Skye said the tribal officers would not have to travel such a great distance for long periods away from their families and culture to complete their training.
South Dakota officials boasted state of the art facilities and were equally eager for the state to serve as a contractor for training new officers and offering continuing education for existing law enforcement.
State law enforcement training officials indicated they would integrate training by developing training programs tailored for tribal police.
McCaleb promised to help the tribes better its relationships with the Bureau by fostering networking between tribal agencies and the bureau.
“He said he would be willing to allow the superintendents to work with other agencies to create a program that will meet the needs on the reservation,” Skye said.
Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribal Chairman Thomas Ranfranz said he saw the meeting as a positive step forward.
“We taking steps forward with economic development, roads, education, law enforcement and social services,” Ranfranz said.
“We’re meeting in 90 days. That’s a huge positive,” the tribal chairman who sits as president of the Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Association, said.
“We had a good rapport and an open, candid, free-wheeling discussion about problems, opportunities and resources. We will met with them in D.C. in about a week to two weeks to narrow it down to the most important priorities,” McCaleb said.
One of the glaring issues McCaleb noted was the disparity between North Dakota and South Dakota concerning welfare payments. McCaleb said payments for Temporary Relief To Needy Families (TANF), which replaced welfare, are made based on different state formulas. South Dakota tribal members receive less than their northern neighbors do. He said a more equitable payment schedule was needed.