Opinion

Column: Michael Jandreau was 'giant' to many in Indian Country

Monday, April 13, 2015

Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Chairman Bruce Renville, Kul Wicasa Oyate Chairman Michael Jandreau and Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II at the recent State Tribal Relations event in Pierre. Photo courtesy Kathy Aplan

Columnist Terry Woster pays tribute to Michael Jandreau, the late leader of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of South Dakota who was laid to rest last week:

Jandreau was 71, my age, when he died on Good Friday. Mourners — family, friends, leaders from many other tribes and dignitaries from across the state and nation — filled the Lower Brule Community Center for a final service. Warm words were spoken, and moving drum songs were offered for the man who served the tribe for four decades, most of that time as chairman.
Some of the speakers talked of Michael Jandreau as if he were a giant. In the sense of history, perhaps he was. In real life, although I always addressed him as "chairman,'' he usually acted like "just Mike.'' Unpretentious, dressed in blue jeans and a baseball cap, he was soft-spoken, sometimes nearly whispering as he talked of serious matters.
And he could talk of serious matters. The importance of the Missouri River to his tribe, the history of the river and its relationship to the Lakota people, those things were serious to him.
He angered some folks when he agreed to a transfer of Corps of Engineers-owned and, the so-called "take land,'' along the river from federal control to tribal responsibility.
While others fought the transfer, Jandreau decided to participate. That way, he said, the tribe would have a voice in controlling the erosion that each year tore away huge chunks of shoreline.

Get the Story:
Terry Woster: Jandreau had respect for the land, people (The Mitchell Daily Republic 4/11)

Human Rights Watch Report:
Secret and Unaccountable: The Tribal Council at Brule and Its Impact on Human Rights (January 2015)