Native Sun News Today Correspondent
PIERRE - A Rosebud man wants to revive an old tradition of governance which is made up of a council of leaders, which would maintain the language, history and culture of the tribe.
Phil Two Eagle (Sicangu Lakota) is the Executive Director of the Sicangu Lakota Treaty Council and is working to revive the Tokala Akicita Okolakiciye on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation in Rosebud, South Dakota. He plans to work on these efforts from the perspective of inherent, sovereign rights. These types of societies existed long before the establishment of the IRA governments, which were founded with the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. He feels a formal tribal motion or resolution is not needed, as these societies have existed for thousands of years.
“Our tribe adopted the IRA Constitution, as did all of our Oceti Sakowin Oyate. It literally ripped our Oyate in half,” he said. Two Eagle claims tribes chose to follow the democratic election process to choose its leaders. “Before the IRA, the leadership of the Oyate was selected by the Akicita Societies with the approval of the Tiospaye.”
Following the change to the IRA government, the chiefs and headmen continued in the traditional manner and formed treaty councils, which continue today. These treaty councils continue to maintain the traditional lifestyle and fight for sovereign treaty rights, according to Two Eagle.
“The IRA elected leadership resembles a government of the U.S. Congress where there is much debate and voting," he said. "I look at the IRA as a business card, as a way to do business with the federal government."
— Philimon Two Eagle (@pd2eagle) September 3, 2019Two Eagle feels the current form of tribal governance provides direct access to federal funding, but tribes have a unique position in inherent powers. Powers which existed prior to European contact. This was traditional, tribal government, not practiced today. Tribes maintained their own land, language, history, and culture, he said. An important component of these traditional systems was economics. He refers to these economies as Buffalo Economics, as it was the buffalo which provided much of the tribe’s needs. “Today, we are seeing a lot of dysfunction by our people trying to adapt to the wasicu way of life, we call this kiwasicu, or assimilation and colonization. We know that the tiwahe (tribe) is the very first form of Lakota traditional government. This is the beginning of life for many families,” he said. “The first born and last born hold a special position in every tiwahe. The tiwahe is where the children get their beginning leadership training on how to become a productive member of Lakota society.” Understanding of structure, and understanding of male and female roles in the society was a key component in this traditional. Sons and daughters were prepared at a young age to provide their contributions to the group, or tribe. “This is the beginning of the akicita societies, the ate’ (father) trained his son to hunt, provide and protect the tiwahe. The son is also prepared to join one or more of the Akicita Okolakiciye. As you can see, the Lakota way of life was highly structured and organized,” he said. Two Eagle explained the akicita (warrior) societies were the law enforcement arm of the traditional Lakota government. These warriors defended the camps and people. The less glamorous tasks of these groups were the hauling of wood, getting food and meat to the needy families, and chores like cleaning and maintenance of the camps. The akicita societies were formed at a critical time when they were needed. This was the time when grueling migrations to the plains and warfare with the tribes required their services. Two Eagle feels the Sicangu Nation is in need for a return to some semblance of traditional practice. He said the time has arrived where the akicita okolakiciye, the warrior societies are needed once again. “There is too much disorder among the Lakota oyate, including the alcohol, drugs, gangs, suicides, domestic violence, missing and murdered women, as well as the exploitation of our ceremonies,” he said. For more information regarding the reviving of the Tokala Akicita on the Rosebud Reservation, contact Phil Eagle at phil.twoeagle@rst-nsn.gov.
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