Oceti Sakowin Treaty Conference agrees to draft life plan for the self-sufficiency of the Oyate

HE SAPA – The Oceti Sakowin Treaty Conference convened this week with a theme centered on the importance of listening to the elders. For three days, members of the Lakota Oyate met to discuss many themes related to sovereignty and self-sufficiency, and to agree on new actions that must be undertaken to strengthen the Oceti Sakowin.

The most concrete product to emerge from the conference is an agreement to convene representatives from all Oceti Sakowin treaty councils virtually in the first half of 2025 in order to initiate the process to draft a Lakota Life Plan for Self-Sufficiency.

This agreement stems from a consensus recognition among participants that treaty councils must embody the hopes and aspirations of the treaty signers when they signed the treaties, especially the desire for their descendants to live self-sufficiently with dignity and sovereignty. Attendees agreed that these councils must also embody the hopes and aspirations of the treaty signers when they signed the treaties, especially the desire for their descendants to live self-sufficiently with dignity and sovereignty.

Phil Two Eagle, the Executive Director of the Sicangu Lakota Treaty council frequently spoke on inherent sovereignty and the need for greater self-sufficiency. “We cannot wait for the government of the United States to give us permission to be sovereign and self-sufficient,” he said. “We must initiate this journey on our own – gradually at first, in the hopes that one day our efforts will result in accelerated and substantial change.”

Other Indigenous Nations have drafted life plans. One life plan that the Oceti Sakowin will consider, as they initiate the drafting of their own, is that of the Yawanawa People in Brazil’s Western Amazon.

In August 2024, Chief Tashka Yawanawa visited the He Sápa as a speaker for the 12th World Wilderness Congress which was hosted by the Sicangu Lakota Treaty Council on behalf of the Oceti Sakowin. In 2000, he led his people in the drafting of a life plan. The Yawanawa life plan helped strengthen consensus, mobilize action, and create a shared understanding of the resources available to achieve immediate priorities. Since then the Yawanawa population has more than tripled and they have doubled the amount of land in their territory.

The next steps proposed for developing an Oceti Sakowin life plan include defining self-sufficiency while simultaneously taking stock of the resources treaty councils possess to initiate such a plan. Participants acknowledged it is necessary to take a phased approach to self-sufficiency, recognizing that decades of colonial dependency does not disappear overnight, especially given the current limitation on financial resources.

Prior to colonization, the Oceti Sakowin were self-sufficient even though they did not possess a single dollar. They drew from other resources – collective commitment, strength, spiritual knowledge, and a unique relationship with the land – in order to achieve the security of the Oyate. The treaty councils will draw on these and other resources to achieve the Life Plan. They will also rely on important allies including Honor the Earth and WILD.org.

The goal is to have the life plan completed before the end of 2025.

Other outcomes of the Treaty Conference include a stronger Oceti Sakowin Oyate that is better informed on current challenges, opportunities, and ongoing activities within the Nation.

Some of the topics included: land stewardship, climate change response, data sovereignty, educating the youth, the Lakota language, preservation of spiritual traditions and ceremony, and the women’s influence on society and decision-making.

By sharing on a broad swath of topics, the Treaty Conference helps lay the building blocks for greater unity and consensus within the Oyate.

Treaty Councils are important organizations that remind the members of Indigenous Nations of their treaty rights, educates Indigenous Peoples and non-natives on the history of treaties, and helps to preserve cultural knowledge and identity. For the past 6 years the Sicangu Lakota Treaty Council for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe has convened the Oceti Sakowin Treaty Conference.

In addition to Rosebud Sioux Tribe sponsors of the Oceti Sakowin Treaty Conference include: Honor the Earth, the International Indian Treaty Council, Sitting Bull College, and WILD.org.

For more information about this event and the Oceti Sakowin Life Plan for Self-Sufficiency please contact phil.twoeagle@rst-nsn.

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