Lakota Oyate Topa Treaty Council from CRST addresses Regional Treaty Summit, receives special recognition

The Lakota Oyate Topa Treaty Council (LOTTC) from Wakpa Waste’ (Cheyenne River) gathered with Native treaty activists from several states and Canada for a regional Treaty Summit in Rapid City on May 17 – 19, 2023. The Oglala Sioux Tribe hosted the Summit with assistance from Philimon Two Eagle, (Philimon Wanbli Nunpa), Executive Director of the Sicangu Lakota Treaty Council centered in Rosebud, SD.

LOTTC members Manny Iron Hawk (Titunway Okowozu), Ivan Looking Horse (Siha Sapa), and Harry Little Thunder (Itazipco), along with LOTTC treasurer Renee Iron Hawk (Tituwan Oohenumpa) all attended and reported they learned valuable information at the event.

Manny Iron Hawk said, “Hopefully, we are setting a positive precedent for other Lakota bands.”

The LOTTC requested in advance an opportunity to address the Summit and the organizers granted their request. On Thursday, May 18, 2023, Renee Iron Hawk read to the Summit participants the entire text of a March 10, 2023, letter the LOTTC had written, signed, and delivered to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) Tribal Council. The letter formally requested an opportunity to discuss mutual concerns with the Tribal Council in addition to requesting operating funds.

Manny Iron Hawk said there was total silence and respectful attention from the Summit attendees as Renee read the letter. Later those presiding at the Summit invited the LOTTC members to the podium and blessed them with unexpected ceremony including smudging, sacred food, and traditional choke cherry juice.

The LOTTC has not received any written or formal response from the CRST to their March 10 letter. Little Thunder said, “The Treaty Council is still waiting at the middle of the bridge (for a response from the Chairman and the Tribal Council.)”

However, LOTTC members expressed appreciation for partial funding from the CRST for travel expenses to the Summit for two of the three members who attended. The third member had received funding from another source by the time the CRST funding was approved.

CRST Chairman Ryman LeBeau and CRST District 2 Tribal Council representative Bryce In the Woods also attended the Summit. At press time Chairman LeBeau had not responded to requests for comment about the Summit or about the Treaty Council.

Little Thunder noted a presentation by Two Eagle, who serves as a consultant, mentor, and partner to the LOTTC. His presentation to the Summit focused on the Stockholm Syndrome, also known as “trauma bonding.”

Two Eagle believes that IRA tribal councils in Indian Country often display characteristics of Stockholm Syndrome, a desperate survival strategy used by abuse victims as a coping mechanism. It is characterized by a strong bond of loyalty that sometimes forms between victims and abusers despite the fact that the bond is damaging and can even be life-threatening to the victim. This toxic bonding sometimes develops between children and adult victims of domestic violence and between others such as kidnap victims, hostages, those entrapped in sex trafficking, and others in seemingly hopeless abusive situations.

According to Parents Against Child Exploitation (PACE), conditions necessary for Stockholm Syndrome or trauma bonding to occur include:

-The victim must be threatened with and must believe that there is real danger;

-Harsh treatment is interspersed with very small kindnesses;

-The victim is isolated from other people’s perspectives;

-A victim must believe that there is no escape.

The symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome/trauma bonding include:

-Victims develop positive feelings towards their captors/abusers;

-Victims develop negative feelings for potential rescuers;

-Victims develop support for abusers’ reasons and behaviors;

-Victims become unable or unwilling to engage in behaviors that will assist in their release or detachment from abusers.

Two Eagle sees symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome/trauma bonding in the relationship between IRA tribal councils and the colonizing U.S. Government operating through the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

Renee Iron Hawk gathered valuable information at the Summit from meeting and talking with Paula Antone, who is active in the Pine Ridge Reservation Women’s Society in partnership with the Pine Ridge Treaty Council. Renee believes the LOTTC needs to have a Women’s Society organized on Cheyenne River similar to the one on Pine Ridge.

Renee says she came away from the Summit more convinced than ever that “when we (Lakota) start healing and come back to ourselves (from colonization), we have something valuable to teach all peoples, so that (all) children can live a better life.”

Manny Iron Hawk came away from the Summit with a renewed conviction that the Cheyenne River Lakota needs a climate change plan, similar to the plan adopted by the Rose Bud Sioux Reservation after three years of intensive research. Manny Iron Hawk noted that the Cheyenne River Reservation with the Missouri River running through it has the most shoreline. He says that a plan to clean up the river is long overdue.

Little Thunder also noted a talk given by Anpotowin Jensen (Pine Ridge Lakota) who worked with the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance to do water testing along the Cheyenne River. They found dangerous levels of uranium in the water which is a health threat needing immediate attention.

Little Thunder reported a concept he heard at the Summit: “The terms ‘Tribal Council’ and ‘Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST)’ are misleading. These are designations of the colonizing U.S. government enforced by the BIA, which owns our lands, buildings, schools, roads …everything.

“The true tribe includes the seven bands of the Oceti Sakowin and was recognized by the Treaties of Ft. Laramie. Article 6 of the 1851 Treaty of Ft. Laramie recognized the role of the ‘Headsmen,’ who signed the treaty, also called ‘selected principles’ or ‘head-chiefs.’ Article 6 clearly states, ‘The parties…having selected principles or head-chiefs for their respective nations through whom all national business hereafter be conducted, do hereby bind themselves to sustain said chiefs and their successors during good behavior.’”

Manny also appreciated an address by Frank Star Comes Out, Oglala Sioux Tribe President, who attended the Summit and spoke as an advocate for the establishment of traditional Treaty Councils to work side-by-side with IRA tribal councils. Manny said, “Hearing President Star Comes Out gave me hope for our kids and grandkids. …We have to think ahead for the children.”

After the Summit Ivan Looking Horse emphasized, “Our people need to learn our true history, educate, and build skills. We still face an ongoing, long process of organizing. The Treaty Council is looking for input and solutions. …We need better communications with the Tribal Council … We need to stop fighting among ourselves, forgive, and work together so we can move forward. We need to set a good standard for our young people.”

After the Summit, Manny Iron Hawk repeated for emphasis a point he made in an earlier interview, saying “We (members of the Treaty Council) always come in the Wolakota way (the way of peace, harmony, respect, and working together for the common good) according to natural laws and spiritual laws and customs.”

The LOTTC is planning a public hearing about treaty issues, possibly in August, 2023. At press time, details had not been confirmed but will be published as soon as available.

(Contact Grace Terry at grace@angelsabide.com)

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