Oglala Sioux Tribe Council bans abortions, suspends president

By Bill Harlan, Journal Staff Writer | Thursday, June 01, 2006

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PINE RIDGE — The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council has banned abortions on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and suspended the tribe’s embattled president for the second time in seven months — this time, for allegedly using her office to solicit money and other support for a proposed reservation abortion clinic.

The vote Tuesday was unanimous to suspend President Cecelia Fire Thunder without pay for 20 days, pending an impeachment hearing.

Tribal council member Will Peters of the Pine Ridge District said Wednesday that Fire Thunder had improperly used her title and her office, including a post office box, to solicit donations. “She acted outside the scope of her duties,” Peters said.

Fire Thunder has said that donations for the proposed private clinic have been unsolicited, though she has welcomed nationwide support. The clinic even has a name, Sacred Choices, a location, (in Kyle) and a board of directors.

Fire Thunder did not attend Tuesday’s tribal council meeting because she was in Iowa getting an annual checkup of the cochlear implants that restored her hearing.

On Wednesday, in a telephone interview from Iowa, Fire Thunder said she couldn’t comment about the suspension because she hadn’t seen the charges. “I guess I got ambushed,” she said.

Fire Thunder proposed the clinic in March, in response to South Dakota’s new law that would ban all abortions except to save the life of a pregnant woman.

That law has been referred to a statewide vote in November. Fire Thunder is one of 16 co-chairpersons of the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families, which supports the referendum to overturn the abortion ban.

Fire Thunder promised to donate her own land for the proposed clinic, saying that its reservation location would put it beyond the reach of a state law banning abortions.

Lawyers disagree whether a reservation clinic could perform abortions, but the tribe’s own abortion ban could make the question moot. Former tribal judge Patrick Lee of Rapid City said a court challenge of a tribal abortion ban could be difficult. “What court would you challenge it in?” he asked.

Fire Thunder told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader on Tuesday that she proposed the clinic to provide contraception, education and other services to women. She said she had never used the word “abortion” in connection with the proposal.

But Fire Thunder acknowledged Wednesday that her original intent was to make abortions available to women from throughout the state — especially in cases of rape or incest. “I was angry,” she said Wednesday. “When your reservation has the highest rates of unreported rapes and crimes in Indian Country, something is very wrong. So yes, I did offer my land for the clinic, and, yes, I knew it would get me in trouble. And it did.”

Peters said abortion was contrary to traditional Lakota values. “We say, ‘Wiconi kile lila Wakan,’” he said. (“This life is sacred.”)

A group has organized on the reservation to oppose the clinic.

But Peters also said he believed women should have control over their own bodies. “It breaks my heart to have to weigh in on this as a man,” he said. He also noted that many of those protesting Fire Thunder’s clinic are women. “I felt that as a Lakota man, I should support them on this issue,” he said.

Peters added that he had supported Fire Thunder during political disputes last year about a number of issues, including a controversial $38 million loan to the Oglala Sioux Tribe from the Shakopee Tribe of Minnesota. “I was strongly supportive of her, but that gal is a hard gal to watch over,” Peters said.

Fire Thunder’s 20-day suspension in October dragged on for weeks because of various delays, but the tribal council voted unanimously to reinstate her Dec. 31.

Fire Thunder, who is the first woman to serve as president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, said people who opposed her election in November 2004 were behind both suspensions. “I’m tired of it,” she said Wednesday. “I really am tired.”

Contact Bill Harlan at 394-8424 or bill.harlan@rapidcityjournal.com