NEW: Pine Ridge tribal president pushing for reinstatement

By Carson Walker, Associated Press Writer | Monday, July 17, 2006

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PINE RIDGE -- Cecelia Fire Thunder, ousted last month as the Oglala Sioux tribal president after she proposed an abortion clinic on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, says that she wants to argue in court that she should be reinstated because the tribal council violated the rules.

Council members voted June 29 to impeach Fire Thunder, who has survived two impeachment complaints since being elected in November 2004 as the tribe's first female president.

Fire Thunder said Monday that she was on her way to file an injunction in tribal court. Her complaint states that council members didn't follow procedure when they suspended her May 29 and impeached her a month later.

Fire Thunder said she wants the court to declare the council's actions invalid and reinstate her as tribal president.

"My point is that no matter what the issue, you should always follow the procedures," she said. "No matter how emotional the issue is, you still have to follow the process."

Fire Thunder said her complaint alleges several violations of tribal ordinance. Among them:

-- Nine of the 18 tribal council members voted to impeach, but the rules require the support of 12, or two-thirds of the full council.

-- The complaint filed against her should have been in writing, then notarized and sent the tribal secretary, who is supposed to take it to the entire council.

"That didn't happen. They voted to suspend me from the floor," Fire Thunder said.

She also said the council violated her First Amendment rights by trying to keep her from talking to the news media and attempted to remove reporters from the June 29 public meeting.

The AP left messages Monday for newly appointed tribal President Alex White Plume, secretary Rhonda Two Eagle and Will Peters, the council member who brought the impeachment complaint. The AP also tried unsuccessfully to reach the tribal court.

Fire Thunder's most recent conflict with the tribal council arose after Gov. Mike Rounds signed a law that bans abortions in South Dakota. She then vowed to work to open a clinic on the reservation, beyond the reach of state law.

Opponents of the ban have since gathered enough signatures to put it to a statewide vote Nov. 7.

Fire Thunder scheduled a news conference for this morning in Rapid City to discuss her injunction.