Reznet

Making History

By Elena Azul Cisneros

KYLE, S.D. —Lydia Bear Killer represents part of history on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

The representative of the Pass Creek District of Pine Ridge is one of nine women elected to the tribal council in a vote that brought an equal number of men and women to the governing body.

"In the last administration, there were four of us," Bear Killer said.

Bear Killer said she researched past elections and found that "the most ever were three to four (women) at a time. It's historic. It's the first time since 1934 that there were nine women ever on the council."

It wasn't easy getting there, though. The election was beset by problems, and it was held three times. The results of polling on Oct. 1 and Nov. 5 were thrown out.

The third and final election was held Nov. 15. Bear Killer was declared the winner in the Pass Creek District, but it did not end there for her. Her opponent, Donna Solomon, challenged the results.

The challenge "was thrown out" in court, Bear Killer said.

Tribal Council Issues

With the election behind her, Bear Killer can focus on tribal council issues.

"I can see there's going to be a lot of focus on the home life and families," she said. "We have a lot of women (on the council) from the legal field and social and health field and some from the education field.

"We are basically trying to set up a social service program immediately so we can meet the basic needs, like propane needs, light bill needs and food needs."

"Some (tribal members) really need help" with those basic survival needs, Bear Killer said.

Bear Killer herself worked in the health field for years. She was a state-certified counselor at the treatment center Anpetu Luta Otipi here in Kyle for 18 years. She left the job in 2000 to seek a seat on the tribal council.

"It seemed like there was no representation on the tribal body with the needs that basically all these programs are offering, and it seemed like we were always stuck," Bear Killer said, referring to the treatment program.

"The (tribal) council, being political, I don't think really understands the process of the (treatment) programs, and one of the reasons why I ran for office is to promote and bring forth the needs of those programs," she said.

Under director Terryl White Eyes, the Anpetu Luta Otipi treatment center combined the adult and adolescent programs "for better servicing (of) families" and is working to create a model program to "treat the whole family," Bear Killer said.

Elena Azul Cisneros, Oglala Lakota, attends Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn. She is a 2002 graduate of The Freedom Forum's American Indian Journalism Institute.