The volunteer treasurer job is still open. The hours are about 2 hours a week. Or you could come in every two weeks. It is really up to you, we will work around your schedule. The last Tuesday of the month is the voting membership meeting at 7:00pm that you need to attend. Maybe 10 or 12 hours a month. You will have a key so you can come when you want. If interested please call the office. 651-452-4141.

Your Tribal Council.

Vigil on the Plains

Crow Creek Sioux chairman is ‘not going anywhere’

By Stephanie Woodard, Today correspondent

Story Published: Dec 29, 2009

Story Updated: Dec 24, 2009

FORT THOMPSON, S.D. – On Dec. 15, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe Chairman Brandon Sazue got a visit from eight horseback riders on a pilgrimage to memorialize 38 Dakota men who died in the nation’s largest mass hanging, in December 1862 in Mankato, Minn.

“The group took a detour from the main ride to fill a pipe here that will be smoked and prayed over when they get to Mankato.”

The 35-year-old chairman was camped on 7,100 acres of wind-swept, snowy land owned by Crow Creek Tribal Farms. The IRS recently seized the tract and on Dec. 3 auctioned it off for $2 million less than its $4.6 million value to pay a purported tax bill for the tribe, a separate legal entity.

The riders found Sazue holding his own in sub-zero temperatures. The chairman took up residence on the expanse shortly after the auction, intending to fast and pray for its repatriation until the crisis is resolved. “I’m not going anywhere. This land never was and never will be for sale. Not yesterday, not today, not tomorrow. As chairman, I inherited the tax problem and tried to work with the IRS. They claim they ‘consulted’ with us, but all they did was tell us ‘here’s how it’s going to go.’”

The IRS action appears to fly in the face of legal precedents as far back as a 1790 law prohibiting the transfer of Indian land without a treaty, according to a legal memorandum drawn up by the tribe’s attorneys, Mario Gonzalez, Oglala Lakota and Terry L. Pechota, Rosebud Sioux Tribe. The document was filed Dec. 2 in U.S. District Court in an effort to stop the sale. That request was denied; however, a trial will take place in March, during which the tribe will attempt to regain the site.

“It’s the Black Hills gold rush all over again,” said historian Waziyatawin, Ph.D., Wahpetowan Dakota from Upper Sioux and a University of Victoria research scholar. “Nowadays, the press is reporting on a green energy land rush and Department of the Interior efforts to free up millions of acres for wind and solar development. Open prairie land, such as that on Indian reservations in the Plains, is suitable for such enterprises. So the U.S. government is going after the poorest of the poor to find the resources it needs.”

The tribe, which has an unemployment rate of about 80 percent and lives in one of the poorest counties in the nation, had been planning a wind farm for the area, said Sazue. “If we lose this land, we miss that opportunity. We have profound connections to this place as well. Our ancestors are buried here, and tribal members come to collect sage and other traditional medicines.”

When Waziyatawin visited the site with her family Dec. 12 for a pipe ceremony, she joined Crow Creek tribal members and visitors from Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, the Yankton Sioux Reservation, and the Rosebud Sioux Reservation.

The tax problem appears to have arisen after Harold Condon, a BIA employee who became financial manager of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe in the early 2000s, advised the community not to pay federal employment taxes. According to a document that Gay Kingman, Cheyenne River Sioux, executive director of the Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Association, received from the BIA in early December, the agency claims Condon did “an excellent job.” Further, the BIA letter says, the tribe owed the taxes and Condon was “instrumental in working with the Internal Revenue Service to get the large bill paid.”

The tract, which makes up 20 percent of Crow Creek’s reservation, was originally sold off after the Allotment Act of 1889 moved it into the hands of individual Indian owners. Notably, this was done without the majority vote of the tribe required by law. “We all know the referendum never took place,” Pechota said.

The tribe repurchased the land in 1998, according to Gonzalez’s and Pechota’s legal memorandum. Crow Creek then attempted to put the acreage back into trust, said Sazue. “We started the process in 2000. It shouldn’t take a decade to accomplish this.”

Nedra Darling, Prairie Band Potawatomi and a BIA spokeswoman, refused to comment on any aspect of the situation, citing the ongoing litigation. Darling added that Hilary Tompkins, Navajo, solicitor of the Interior Department and one of the Obama administration’s high-profile Native appointees, would also not comment.

The crisis occurs against a background of economic devastation created by the building of a series of giant dams along the Missouri River in the mid-20th century. The dams flooded valuable riverside agricultural areas on Sioux reservations throughout the Dakotas. Starvation ensued in many areas. In return for giving up the richly diverse bottomland, Crow Creek was promised free electrical power, which it never received. It did get $27.5 million that has been put into trust. However, the tribe can only touch the interest, not the principal, said Sazue. “I call that living off scraps. Why couldn’t we use that money to pay the IRS?”

The tribe’s difficulties have been exacerbated by the IRS siphoning off earnings from Crow Creek’s small casino and motel, making it difficult for the tribe to meet payroll and provide public services, as well as to pay the tax bill in an orderly fashion, Sazue said. The problem has also arisen at the worst time of year, according to the chairman. Despite frigid temperatures, the local electric company has been disconnecting the only power source for many Crow Creek families, claiming non-payment of bills. This forces the tribe to shelter members at its Fort Thompson motel, thus forgoing income it might receive by renting the rooms.

This is an annual occurrence, according to the humanitarian organization Can-Do, which filmed the electric company ripping out meters throughout Crow Creek during the winter of 2008, as babies cried and mothers tried to understand mysteriously escalating bills. To see the group’s video, visit www.can-do.org and look under “Project Progress Videos.” Can-Do’s investigation found “severe increases of illness, disease and mortality” on the reservation.

Sazue’s family was affected this year as well. “A month ago, my cousin called. She just had a baby, her husband is on oxygen, and her electricity got cut off. Companies are not supposed to do that in inclement weather, but they do here. Our people are suffering.”

“The Obama administration could help solve this crisis,” Waziyatawin said. “Obama is talking the talk when it comes to Indian country, but are he and his appointees going to walk the walk?”

If you would like a new ID, please send a new picture the size of a passport. No sun glasses or other people in the picture. If you have a Dakota name, and would like that on your ID, please spell it out. The cost is $10.00. We will have the information here at the office, so we can make them anytime. There will be a tribal number on each ID.

MMDC tribal Council.

If anyone can make fry bread or other foods for the Mankato run, please let us know. Connie or Sharon 651-452-4141

Crow Creek Sioux Land is NOT For Sale

CLICK HERE to sign the demand to return of the unlawfully auctioned Crow Creek Sioux Tribal Lands to their rightful owners.

To: Dakota Oyate, friends and supporters.
Date:  December 15, 2009.
Re: Ride Itinerary and Donation Needs – on behalf of Peter Lengkeep, Crow Creek SD -2009 Eagle Staff Carrier.

The organizers who continued to fulfill the vision and commitment of the Dakota Wokiksuye Memorial Ride need your support.    The 5^th Year of the Ride is taking place and the dream of prayer, healing and forgiveness for riders, communities and nations continues.  This is a call for friends and volunteers to help in whatever way they can, such as:  Hay and feed for horses, lodging, cooks to provide meals along the route, and a final feast on December 26, 2009, when Riders and Mankato Runners arrive at Land of Memories Park in Mankato.

Changes to Schedule and Route (see * for changes)

Dec. 13-17 – Riders will support Crow Creek Dakota Oyate.  Leave Flandreau, S.D. on Dec. 17^th; Leave Pipestone, MN, on the 18^th to Russell and Milroy, MN).

Dec. 20 (Sun.)– Arrive Birch Coulee Battlefield/Morton, MN (Horses will be corralled at Strong Family Ranch/Birch Coulee).

Dec. 21 (Monday) – Rest Day.  Horses corralled at Strong Family Ranch/Birch Coulee.

Dec. 22 (Tues.) 5:30 p.m. - Opening Feast – (Morton City Hall.*) sponsored by Lower Sioux elders and families.

Dec. 23 (Wed.) 9 a.m. – Ceremony at Birch Coulee Battlefield. Riders leave Birch Coulee/Morton to Fort Ridgley.

5:30 p.m. – Return for evening meal at Morton City Hall sponsored by Upper Sioux Community, Granite Falls. Horses corralled at Strong Family Ranch/Birch Coulee.

Dec. 24 (Thurs). 9 a.m. Fort Ridgley to Courtland.  Horse corralled at Courtland/Folsum Family Ranch.

6p.m. Meal at Courtland Community Center.

Dec. 25 (Friday) 9 a.m. Courtland to Mankato, Land of Memories Park.  Horses corralled at Courtland/Folsum Family Ranch.

5:30 p.m. Memorial Feast sponsored by Cloud-Eagle Chief Family at Best Western Banquet Room, No. Mankato.

Dec. 26, a.m. – 9 a.m. Riders leave Land of Memories Park to downtown Mankato, Ceremony.  Return to Land of Memories Park to greet Mankato Runners.

Dec. 26 –Noon, approx. Final Honoring Feast for Riders and Runners, Best Western Motel, No. Mankato.  Conclude  2009 Wokiksuye Memorial Ride and Mankato Run activities.

If you can donate financially to the Dakota 38 Memorial Ride,  send donations, Dakota Wicohan, P.O. Box 7, Granite Falls, MN 56241 or through the official website:  Dakota 38 website, 2008 news/photos and updates:  http://www.smoothfeather.org/dakota38/.

If you can Volunteer, Cooks and servers are needed for the final feast.  (Menu, soup, fry bread, coffee, tea, water, fresh fruit)  Contact Info: Cooks/meal volunteers – Yvonne Leith (320-226-6994)or Fern Cloud, Granite Falls, MN 320-564-4954.

For Rider/Horse needs, MN Coordinator, Darwin Strong, 507-430-5246.  Lead Riders: Peter Lengkeep 605-730-3128 and Julian Boucher 605-268-6983.  

Mankato Run Info: Dallas Goldtooth, Minneapolis, 507-210-4679.

Wopida, thanks to the many  communities, tribal communities, organizations, churches and families who have offered help and support on this sacred, healing journey.

My understanding is that on Saturday at 1:00 there will be a gathering at the tribal hall at Fort Thompson.  We are hoping that a lot of the local people will also be there so that we can better organize support and coordinate efforts between supporters in the community and those of us who are trying to help from the outside.  Then, after that meeting, we will all head out to the encampment.

This is the info I have so far: Read the rest of this entry »

Dec 13th 2009
Eric Klein Founder, CAN-DO.org reports LIVE from Crow Creek- More reports form the field over the next week to come-

DAY 2- Dec 14,2009- Riders head to meet up with BRandon Sazue help up in protest on the auctioned land-

Dec 13th, 2009

Chief Standing Moose, Sometimes called Chief Rising Moose or more commonly as Chief Tamaha (c. 1776-1860) was a Mdewakanton Sioux. Born near Winona, Minnesota, he lost an eye in an accident as a child so he was called “Tamaha” (“One eye”) in the Dakota language, which the French called him “Le Borgne”, or “One Eye.” English picked up the name as “the One-eyed Sioux.”

In 1806 and 1807, Tamaha became a friend of U.S. Army lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike and was one of the very few Sioux leaders who supported the United States in the War of 1812. He retained his loyalty even after his capture by the British, during which he refused to divulge information about the Americans on pain of death (a threat which turned out to be a bluff). Tamaha was known as a powerful orator and a diplomat of unusual ability. Wearing his trademark stovepipe hat, he managed to maintain amicable relations between whites and Indians until his death at age eighty-five in Wabasha, Minnesota, two years before the peace was shattered by the Dakota War of 1862.

At one time he was confined in a fort called McKay, where now stands the town of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. He had just returned from St. Louis, and was suspected of exciting his people to rebel against British subjects. His life was even threatened, but to this Tamahay merely replied that he was ready to die.

Mde•wa•kan•ton

Originally pronounced (um-dē-wô’kun-tōn”, med”ē-wô’-),

Now it’s most current and usual pronounciation is
“Medawákhaŋtoŋ” or “Mid day wák eŋ tawn”

Simple Definition: A member of a North American Indian people belonging to the Santee branch of the Dakota.

Image info Dakota members of a treaty negotiation group, (1858).Minneapolis Collection, BR0583

Mdewakantonwan are one of the sub-tribes of the Isanti (Santee) Dakota (Sioux). Their ancestral home is Mille Lacs Lake in central Minnesota, which in the Dakota language was called mde wakan (mystic/spiritual lake).

The Mdewakanton are no longer a single unified Tribe but all their successors inherent ensure their Mdewakanton components survive within their respective communities. In the United States, the Mdewakanton survive in part on the Santee, Flandreau, Sisseton-Wahpehton, and Upper Sioux reservations as Dakota, and on the Mille Lacs Reservation as Ojibwe; in Canada, the Mdewakanton survives as part of the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation. Mdewakanton-only communities are Lower Sioux, Shakopee-Mdewakanton and the Prairie Island Indian Community in the United States.

The Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community is a non-federally recognized Tribe who are currently petitioning the US Department of the Interior for recognition.

URGENT message fromThe Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community. We needs grant writers. If you know of anyone please have them call the office at 651-452-4141.

CROW CREEK RESERVATION, Friday, December 11, 2009—Brandon Sazue’s camper sitting in the middle of the prairie presented a lonely but inspiring image as we drove up Wednesday afternoon.  Despite the bitter cold and wind, the young Crow Creek tribal chairman was taking a stand against the United States theft of any more Dakota lands, telling us “Crow Creek land is not for sale, and it never will be.”

Symbolically placing his camper under a wind data tower, Sazue has committed to remain on this parcel of land as long as it takes to achieve justice.  The land is part of the 7,112 acres recently stolen by the United States government in what amounts to a 21^st century land grab.  Because the land is not currently held in trust, on December 4, 2009, the Internal Revenue Service used that as an opportunity to claim it and auction it off as a means to settle what they assert is a delinquent $3,123,790 tax bill.  Though most of the Crow Creek reservation is situated within the poorest county in the United States, the land under dispute happens to contain world-class sites for the harnessing of wind power.  As the world’s fossil fuels dwindle and alternative energy sources are increasingly sought after, Crow Creek lands also become increasingly more attractive to outside interests.  Whoever develops the site for wind-energy stands to make a fortune.  This connection is not lost on Chairman Sazue.

Anyone who understands the history of the Dakota people since invasion and conquest cannot help but be stunned by this attack on the tribal lands of people who have already suffered so much.  After the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, the U.S. federal government and the State of Minnesota initiated polices of genocide and ethnic cleansing against Dakota people in our beloved homeland.  White Minnesotans hanged thirty-eight Dakota warriors, rounded-up and force-marched our populations to concentration camps in Mankato and Fort Snelling, then forcibly removed us from Minnesota to fulfill Governor Alexander Ramsey’s genocidal call for extermination or forced removal.  Dakota people were loaded onto boats that went down the Mississippi River and then up the Missouri River on a journey that was so horrendous, a missionary at the time compared it to the Middle Passage of the slaves.  Under gun and bayonet, our ancestors were brought to Crow Creek in 1863.  Thus, Crow Creek began as a concentration camp.

The trauma to Dakota people only continued there.  Within the first few months of arrival at Crow Creek, hundreds of Dakota people died from the dreadful conditions.  In fact, the missionary John P. Williamson wrote “Nearly all the small children died in 1863.”  The heartbreak from those events are still felt today.  The people of Crow Creek live with that legacy, as do the rest of us with ancestors who were subjugated on these lands.  After 1862, the United States government left our people with so little.  Now, even what little we have is under attack again.

Sazue’s stand in defense of the land is a rallying cry to the rest of the Oceti Sakowin (Seven Council Fires) of the Dakota Oyate (Nation).  Though fierce winter weather has so far kept supporters from camping out next to Sazue, a steady stream of allies offering prayers, songs, food, supplies and encouragement continues throughout each day and even more people show their solidarity through phone calls and emails.  We know more of our people will be coming.  Like Chairman Brandon Sazue, we will not allow these lands to be taken.  We will stand with him.

Waziyatawin, Ph.D.

waziyatawin@gmail.com

Crow Creek Supporters:

In addition to your presence and prayers, we need supplies at the encampment site.  The first objective at the site is staying warm.  We need people to help cut, haul or donate wood to keep a fire going, lumber for building windbreaks and shelters, sandbags, blankets, sleeping bags (especially those made for below 0 temperatures), hats, scarves, mittens, boots, tarps and tipis.

Oceti Sakowin and other Indigenous relatives, please bring flags from your communities to show solidarity with the Crow Creek Oyate.  Everyone bring banners—7,100 acres is a lot of ground on which to maintain our presence.

In addition, we need food, flashlights, cookware, tools (shovels, axes, saws), concrete blocks, matches, and water containers.

We also need people who have other gifts to encourage these resistors to U.S. land theft.  Drummers and singers, your presence and support would be most welcome.

Supporters may stay in the tribal hall.  Please bring your own bedding and linens.  Showers will be available at the motel.

Please go to the website below on highlighted area and sign the petition to support Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, the IRS auctioned off 7100 acres of land to a local rancher, this land belongs to the Hunkpati Crow Creek.  Thank you for your support

“Crow Creek Sioux Land is NOT For Sale” hosted on the web by our free online petition service, at:

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/CrowCrek/

I personally agree with what this petition says, and I think you might agree, too. If you can spare a moment, please take a look, and consider signing yourself.

Hello to all our members. There will be no voting membership meeting in Dec. Hope to see you all at the Christmas Party Dec 12,  2-4 pm. Happy New Year to all of you.

Your Tribal Council!

I just found this on the internet and thought I would share it with you. Sharon

http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/names/cinames.htm#2

By MATTHEW DALY , Associated Press

Last update: December 8, 2009 – 6:55 PM
Featured comment

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration on Tuesday proposed spending more than $3 billion to settle claims dating back more than a century that American Indian tribes were swindled out of royalties for oil, gas, grazing and other leases.

Under an agreement announced Tuesday, the Interior Department would distribute $1.4 billion to more than 300,000 Indian tribe members to compensate them for historical accounting claims, and to resolve future claims. The government also would spend $2 billion to buy back and consolidate tribal land broken up in previous generations. The program would allow individual tribe members to obtain cash payments for land interests divided among numerous family members and return the land to tribal control.

The settlement also would create a scholarship account of up to $60 million for tribal members to attend college or vocational school.

If cleared by Congress and a federal judge, the settlement would be the largest Indian claim ever approved against the U.S. government — exceeding the combined total of all previous settlements of Indian claims.

Last year, a federal judge ruled that the Indian plaintiffs are entitled to $455 million, a fraction of the $47 billion or more the tribes have said they are owed for leases that have been overseen by the Interior Department since 1887.

President Barack Obama said settlement of the case, known as Cobell v. Salazar, was an important step to reconcile decades of acrimony between Indian tribes and the federal government.

“As a candidate, I heard from many in Indian Country that the Cobell suit remained a stain on the nation-to-nation relationship I value so much,” Obama said Tuesday in a written statement. “I pledged my commitment to resolving this issue, and I am proud that my administration has taken this step today.”

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called settlement of the 13-year-old case a top priority for him and Obama and said the administration worked for many months to reach a settlement that is both honorable and responsible.

“This historic step will allow Interior to move forward and address the educational, law enforcement, and economic development challenges we face in Indian Country,” Salazar said.

Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe from Montana who was the lead plaintiff in the case, called the proposed settlement crucial for hundreds of thousand of Native Americans who have suffered for more than a century through mismanagement of the Indian trust.

“Today is a monumental day for all of the people in Indian Country that have waited so long for justice,” said Cobell, who appeared at a news conference Tuesday with Salazar, Attorney General Eric Holder and other U.S. officials.

“Did we get all the money that was due us? Probably not,” Cobell said, but added: “There’s too many individual Indian beneficiaries that are dying every single day without their money.”

The proposed settlement affects tribes across the country, including virtually every recognized tribe west of the Mississippi River. Tribes in North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma and Montana are especially affected by the breakup of Indian land into small parcels, said Keith Harper, a lawyer who represents the plaintiffs.

The settlement would give every Indian tribe member with an Interior Department account an immediate check for $1,000, with additional payments to be determined later under a complicated formula that takes into account a variety of factors. Many tribe members also would receive payments for parcels of land that are held in some cases by up to 100 family members, in an effort to consolidate tribal land and make it more useful and easier to manage.

The settlement does not include a formal apology for any wrongdoing by the U.S. government, but does contain language in which U.S. officials acknowledge a “breach of trust” on Indian land issues.

An apology “would have been nice,” Cobell said, but was less important than settling the dispute. “Actions are more important to me than apologies,” she said.

___

On the Net:

Cobell settlement Web site: http://www.cobellsettlement.com/

We need to find these 4 man who are responsible for these 15 rapes in Mpls. If you would like more information please call the MMDC office 651-452-4141.

Maybe someone should call Shakopee, they should pay the ”38″ descendents tax situation within the 180 day time period….the crow creek people should never want or need for anything, its shameful whats happened and could of been prevented with the help of the other dakota communities…

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_95aa4610-e062-11de-aa52-001cc4c03286.html