Dueling conferences show split

By Bill Harlan, Journal Staff Writer | Saturday, November 04, 2006

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The former president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe who was impeached because of her opposition to Referred Law 6 - South Dakota's proposed abortion ban - is still speaking out on the issue.

"I woke up the morning after I was impeached, and I wasn't sad," Cecelia Fire Thunder said Friday. "You know why? I spoke out for what I believed in."

Fire Thunder and two other American Indian women had a news conference Friday in Rapid City to urge "no" votes on Referred Law 6, which is on the ballot Tuesday.

Supporters of the abortion ban had a counter-demonstration at the same time and in the same hotel, the Rushmore Plaza Holiday Inn. "Our sign says 'Children are Sacred' and they are," said Bonnie Walker, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. She said Fire Thunder was not speaking for her or other members of South Dakota tribes.

The dueling news conferences illustrated the deep split in Indian country on the abortion ban - including questions of the sanctity of life, women's rights and traditional tribal values.

Last spring, after the Legislature passed the ban, Fire Thunder joined South Dakota Healthy Families, the group that gathered signatures to put the measure on the ballot. Fire Thunder also proposed a women's clinic on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation that could have provided abortions if the law took effect.

The controversy led to Fire Thunder's impeachment, and she finished third in the tribal primary last month. (The top two finishers are in Tuesday's general election on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, but a candidate's disqualification Friday may put Fire Thunder back on the ballot. See the story on Page C1.)

Fire Thunder said Christian missionaries had imposed values that sometimes were at odds with tribes' original values. "If you grow up speaking Lakota, you don't need the Bible," she said.

Abortion laws should have exceptions for rape, incest and a woman's health, said Fire Thunder, who once worked as a counselor in a women's clinic. "Indian women are raped more often than all of the other races of women in America," she said.

Supporters of Referred Law 6 said the measure still allows the so-called "morning-after pill," which can prevent a pregnancy if taken within 72 hours.

Fire Thunder said, "If a woman gets raped in the middle of the Pine Ridge reservation, we will not know about it for four days."

Author Elizabeth Cook-Lynn of Rapid City, who grew up on Crow Creek Indian Reservation, joined Fire Thunder at the news conference. She called Referred Law 6 "an attack on women's rights."

Lynn Cook's daughter, attorney Lisa Cook, criticized Republican congressional candidate Bruce Whalen, who is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and who supports the abortion ban. "Bruce Whalen is disassociated with his tribal heritage," Cook said.

Whalen campaign manager Lee Breard was at the counter-demonstration and stood quietly at the back of the room, holding a "Children are Sacred" poster while Fire Thunder spoke. "Indian country is pro-life," Breard said in an interview. He noted that, in addition to impeaching Fire Thunder, the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council banned abortions on the reservation.

Former Oglala Sioux Tribe councilman Lyman Red Cloud, now of Rapid City, also was among the counter demonstrators. "We're here for life, not death," he said.

Red Cloud opposed Fire Thunder's re-election bid but not only because of her position on abortion. "I don't vote for women," he said, adding that men should lead the tribe according to Lakota tradition. "She's a woman. She's not a leader," Red Cloud said.

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