As a record number of Oglala Lakota elders and traditionalists from other reservations filed into the Billy Mills Hall in Pine Ridge Agency, there was an overwhelming sense of hope and determination in the air. Many traditionalists have referred to the I.R.A. as a slow, silent form of genocide of native people. Grass Roots spokespeople addressed tribal members with words of encouragement and provided a history lesson on inherent treaty rights. The BIA knows this and they continue to push this IRA system.
Traditional law dictates general consensus on major issues.
It will be the responsibility of the General Council members to take proposed issues back to their respective tiospayes for approval. Red Cloud, who has led the 93-day occupation of the Tribe s administration building, is the great, great grandson of the famous Oglala Chief Red Cloud. The only constant we know is change. The return to traditional law will take time, but this change is our destiny. We must work together and regain our trust in one another, because we are all related.