Native Sun News: Tribal advocate focuses on Great Plains efforts

Monday, July 25, 2016

Kingman steps down as Executive Director of COLT

By Richie Richards
Native Sun News Staff Writer
nsweekly.com

RAPID CITY –– A. Gay Kingman has done more than her share of work to bring unity and strength to the tribes of the Great Sioux Nation. This Cheyenne River lady has been in the fight for more than 40 years.

And now, as the Executive Director of the Coalition Of Large Tribes (COLT), Kingman, who also is the Executive Director of the Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Association (GTPCA), has stepped down from her position with COLT.

Kingman announced her resignation during the COLT meeting in Rapid City on July 12-14.

COLT began on April 5, 2011 and was founded “to advocate for the larger tribes”, according to Kingman. Members of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, Oglala Sioux Tribe, Crow Tribe of Montana, Navajo Nation, Sisseton Wahpeton Tribe, Black Feet Tribe of Montana, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, and the Spokane Tribe of Washington joined together to support their tribes’ needs as they are full-service nations who provide educational, medical, safety and justice, judicial and other services for their communities and tribal members.

In a press release at the time, Kingman wrote, “The Tribes who are now members of COLT plan to work together to educate the Administration, Congress, and other Tribes about these unique problems and to advocate together for a more equitable reallocation of federal dollars.”

Of the 567 current federally-recognized tribes, Kingman says, “A majority are small tribes and they get a majority of the funding from the government; while we (large tribes) have to fight for every penny we get.”

COLT is currently chaired by Chairman Darrin Old Coyote (Crow Nation), Vice Chairman is President Russell Begaye (Navajo Nation) and Marcus Colby (Shoshone Bannock) is the Secretary Treasurer.

“We are moving into a new era with Great Plains (Tribal Chairman’s Association). I just can’t do that with everything that I’m doing right now,” Kingman told Native Sun News. GTPCA has received their federal charter recently.

In next week’s issue, learn more about A. Gay Kingman’s life and career in a special feature story about her amazing contribution to Indian Country which began in the early 1960’s as a tribal school teacher in South Dakota.