Brandon Ecoffey

A note from the editor’s desk
By Brandon Ecoffey
Lakota Country Times Editor

On Thursday, November 19, Oglala Lakota College President Tom Short Bull issued a complaint with one of LCT’s writers over the headline “Council votes to suspend Shortbull Until all complaints resolved.”. The following day, President Shortbull, along with a number of supportive Trustees held a press conference supposedly to address what he felt was an erroneous headline.

Shortbull opened the press conference by saying that the headline “basically” said “that tribal council had suspended Tom Short Bull as President of Oglala Lakota College,” and he would clarify that “the tribal council only recommended that the board of trustees of Oglala Lakota College suspend me if I did not resolve complaints by former employees.” His version of the headline and the actual headline in my view basically imply the same thing.

Mr. Shortbull would go on to confirm that he had no problem with the actual story but the headline was “erroneous”. A direct line from the story written by Tom Crash reads that the council voted “15-0 to recommend that the college’s Board of Trustees suspend OLC President Tom Shortbull until all complaints are resolved.” If the article is accurate it would seem to me that our headline was not “erroneous” and was an accurate portrayal of what actually took place.

I have been in this game long enough to recognize those who have an acute awareness of the power of the media: Tom Shortbull is one of these people. My team at LCT is comprised of capable journalists and reliable employees. Nearly every person writing for LCT has been recognized by their peers for their talent and expertise in the field of Native media and as the editor I stand by their work.

KILI Radio: Oglala Lakota College Press Conference to Clarify Erroneous News Report

Mr. Shortbull did not host a press conference to address an erroneous headline. He used a headline to draw the attention of barrel scraping journalists who had failed to follow this story from the start like we have and to ingeniously deflect attention away from the real issues that had him in trouble with the council in the first place. During the press conference he paid no attention to allegations made against him that included “intimidation, forced resignations, favoritism, harassment, lack of support, degree offerings discontinued, discrimination against veterans…” nor did Mr. Shortbull mention the 11 former employees who had also filed complaints against him. I wonder if Mr. Shortbull is going to address those topics in a different press conference.

I had to appreciate the cunningness of this man who has somehow managed to navigate tribal politics for the better part of the last forty years. He is kind of like that 45 year old guy who shows up at open gym and somehow manages to hold the court with his “old man” game. We are not really sure how he does it, but somehow he gets it done.

To be fair to the college –as I always have been- they have stated that it “has revised their policies and procedures and have put together a special review panel to review all complaints filed on the college with the tribal council – the panel would include the personnel directors of South Dakota State University, the School of Mines and Ft. Peck College.”

It would seem right and proper for me to go ahead and call for the removal of Tom Shortbull as President of Oglala Lakota College but despite the fact that he attempted to intimidate one of my writers and then tried to slander my product in this faux press conference, I’m above that petty game playing and I understand that OLC is producing graduates and improving access to opportunity for our people all across western South Dakota.

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I have always been an advocate for Oglala Lakota College. I look at the product it produces year in and year out and the proof is in the pudding. Our people have without a doubt gained better access to education and opportunity as a result of the efforts of Oglala Lakota College while under the direction of Tom Short Bull. The Oglala Sioux Tribe does not have a solid record of creating and sustaining successful institutions. Personally, I would like to see tribal government let the one functioning institution we have continue to produce graduates like it has.

Would it be the end of the world if Mr. Shortbull was replaced? It is not uncommon for a college to change presidents. Since 1970 Dartmouth has had 7 presidents, Harvard 4, and Stanford 5. OLC on the other hand has had 1.

The problem is that Mr. Shortbull is using the wrong strategy in this fight. The success of the Oglala Lakota College is demonstrated not only by the graduates it has produced and the lives that have been changed as a result of our people being provided with access to a college education, but also in the economic impact that the college has had on the region as demonstrated by an article that I wrote just a few weeks back. Mr. Shortbull must have missed that one.

Brandon Ecoffey is an award winning journalist who was born and raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and earned his education at Dartmouth College. He can be reached at editor@lakotacountrytimes.com

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