President of Oglala Sioux Tribe arrested and jailed on Pine Ridge Reservation

President Julian Bear Runner of the Oglala Sioux Tribe admitted to being arrested this weekend, though he declined to say what charges he is facing.

“First and foremost, thank you to everyone for the overwhelming show of support through the tough time,” Bear Runner said in a statement released on Sunday night.

“As a tribal member I am afforded due process through the courts that every one of us is entitled to,” he continued. “At this time I am not able to comment on anything alleged against me.”

Bear Runner acknowledged being arrested on Saturday by Oglala Sioux Tribal Police.

“As of today I have not been arraigned and so I am not able to speak to any charges made against me,” he said in the statement the following day.

“I want to assure the Oyate that I remain committed to the work that I have taken on to keep the Oglala Oyate safe and prosperous,” Bear Runner said.

A May 2, 2020, screen shot of the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Corrections and Department of Public Safety website showed Julian Bear Runner in the system on that day. His name no longer appears in the online portal.

This weekend, social media was abuzz with reports of Bear Runner’s arrest. Facebook pages all over the Pine Ridge Reservation had mixed feelings and comments about the arrest. Most assumed the arrest was for driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Officials at the tribe’s jail and police department declined to comment about his arrest, however. A man who answered the phone at the tribe’s Justice Center on Saturday and declined to identify himself confirmed Bear Runner was at the jail but wouldn’t say why he was incarcerated. “I can’t release that information,” he said. “At this time, he is awaiting to be arraigned or bonded out.”

Clem Crazy Thunder, an Oglala Sioux tribal citizen and former drug and alcohol counselor who lives on the Pine Ridge Reservation, said Bear Runner deserves a second chance.

“People make mistakes,” he told Indianz.Com. “This coronavirus epidemic has made everybody live on the edge. Before you make any assumptions, let the process play out.”

“Everybody is entitled to a fair and just legal system,” Crazy Thunder said. “Some jobs are stressful and there aren’t a lot of options to cope in a healthy manner. Pray for those who are suffering, including those in our leadership.”

But Oglala Sioux artist Patrick Joel Pulliam, who lives in Pine Ridge, said the tribe must hold its leaders to a higher standard. He said the lack of accountability within the tribe’s leadership impedes any real social and economic progress on the reservation.

“It’s very, very disturbing and even heartbreaking,” he said. “There’s a moral standard we have to have for our leaders, and a legal one, too.”

(Article was published on Indianz.com)

 

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