|
Thanks to Interior
Secretary Dirk Kempthorne for agreeing to meet with tribal leaders
before he was scheduled to appear at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
And
congratulations to Oglala Sioux Tribe President Alex White Plume, who
told Kempthorne what everyone in Indian Country knows.
"Your whole
Bureau of Indian Affairs is a worthless organization that just
siphons money from the tribes," White Plume said.
That might be a
slight exaggeration - but not much.
Kempthorne agreed
to the meeting, sought by White Plume, on short notice. It's to his
credit that he accepted. Kempthorne, former U.S. senator and governor
of Idaho, only was confirmed by the Senate in May, so he's still new
to the position. He's got a lot to learn, and he obviously
understands that.
Tribal leaders had
a whole range of issues to discuss but necessarily limited themselves
- the BIA and how it administers programs, shortage of law
enforcement officers, education funding, the growth of
methamphetamine use, protection of sacred sites, drought.
Kempthorne said he
plans to travel around the country next month to listen to other concerns.
No problems were
solved, nor did anyone expect them to be.
But this
discussion was good. Native Americans don't often have the
opportunity to take issues directly to someone at Kempthorne's level.
This might at least help him understand.
And that can't hurt.
|
