Summit set between S.D., tribal leaders

By Denise Ross, Journal Staff Writer | Friday, September 10, 2004

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RAPID CITY - A meeting planned for Saturday, Sept. 25, of South Dakota's nine tribal presidents, Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and most or all of South Dakota's other top elected leaders will make history, according to Tim Giago, longtime newspaper publisher and brief U.S. Senate candidate.

The five-hour invitation- only meeting, which Giago says should be dubbed the "Sioux Summit," will be at Crazy Horse Memorial near Custer. Members of the public and the media will not be allowed in, according to organizers.

"In my time here, 25 years as a reporter, editor and publisher, there has never been a meeting like this held," Giago said. "This goes back to the days of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. They are coming with open hearts to lay all the problems they think need to be solved on the table."

He said it is his understanding that invitations will be sent to Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., Rep. Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D., and Gov. Mike Rounds, a Republican. Members of each tribal council also will attend, as will Giago. Giago said he would support inviting Republican Senate candidate John Thune and Republican House candidate Larry Diedrich.

"The more, the merrier," he said.

Thune said he would like to attend. "I would hope the tribes and people on the reservations would allow us an opportunity to be heard on the issues," Thune said.

Having all the state's tribal leaders, the congressional delegation and the governor together in a room should be more productive than a pair or a handful of those same people meeting, Giago said.

The meeting stems from a discussion Giago had with Daschle in April, a day before the former publisher of the Lakota Journal announced he would withdraw as an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate. Daschle is in a close re-election race against Thune. Had Giago followed through with his announcement to run as an independent, he may have siphoned thousands of key American Indian votes from Daschle.

The Sept. 25 meeting is being organized by Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Charlie Colombe, whom Giago said he recommended to Daschle at their April meeting.

"Charlie's a businessman, and I knew he would follow through," Giago said. "He took the ball and ran with it."

According to a news release from Colombe's office, the meeting will cover a host of complex issues, including federal trust reform, reorganization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian Health Service, economic development on reservations, natural resources/land management and the federal judiciary.

Giago said the tribes have been busy drafting papers on the issues and will appoint spokesmen to be sure the topics are covered during the 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. meeting.

When Giago announced he would not be on the ballot, the meeting — then set for August — was touted as a promise Daschle made to address the American Indian concerns Giago had.

Thursday, Daschle campaign manager Steve Hildebrand downplayed the idea that the meeting was taking place because Daschle had promised it to Giago.

"This is one in a series of meetings that Tom is doing with tribal leaders. Earlier this year, during the National Congress of American Indians annual meeting, he had a couple of different opportunities to sit down with tribal leaders," Hildebrand said. "That same week, he will be meeting with the tribal chairmen in Washington. They'll be there for the opening of the (National Museum of the American Indian). This summer, Tom has visited all the reservations with the possible exception of maybe the Flandreau headquarters."

Hildebrand said the meeting was Giago's idea but that the two men did not strike a deal.

"There was never a deal struck with Giago. The dinner Tom had with Giago was Giago telling Tom he's not going to run," Hildebrand said. "This was Giago's idea ... to get everybody together with the delegation. His point is a very good one. His point was that the South Dakota congressional delegation ought to do more sitting down and talking and planning out and figuring out better ways to take care of what is a huge number of concerns and needs."

Giago said the two have an agreement not just on the meeting but on hiring an experienced American Indian to promote economic development on reservations. Daschle is about to hire an "extremely good" candidate, he said.

"I don't know why Steve would say something like that. After we talked for over an hour, he said he would follow through on everything we talked about. We shook hands on it. To me, that is a gentleman's agreement," Giago said.

Contact Denise Ross at 394-8438 or denise.ross@rapidcityjournal.com