Lawmaker: Native American issues lost in State of State address

Bradford: 'He was pretty much riding a white horse'

By Kevin Woster, Journal staff | Wednesday, January 09, 2008

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Rep. Jim Bradford, D-Pine Ridge,  is happy that Gov. Mike Rounds included his plan to preserve land around Bear Butte in his State of the State message Tuesday.

But other than that, Native American struggles were ignored in the governor's exhortations about state successes in economic development, employment options and educational advancements, Bradford, D-Pine Ridge, said.

"He was pretty much riding a white horse, as far as I'm concerned," he said. "And I didn't see any red in the real presentation."

Bradford, a tribal member and rancher on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, said the governor's good news about educational test scores, low unemployment rates and economic growth across South Dakota avoided mention of the ongoing troubles in those areas faced by Native Americans.

Bradford said Rounds is right to help protect and preserve the integrity of Bear Butte, which is sacred to many Nativess. The governor's plan would spend more than $1 million in state, federal and private funds to create perpetual easements preventing development on certain lands near Bear Butte, northeast of Sturgis.

But there are mountains of problems on reservations going unaddressed by the governor, Bradford said.

"I appreciate the fact that he's beginning to show some concern about Bear Butte. But it's a Band-Aid," Bradford said. "That's not going to affect the fact that my children and my neighbors' children don't have jobs and aren't getting a fair shot at the educational process, or not getting the same community-development emphasis that's being put in other areas."

Although South Dakota students overall do well on education achievement tests, many Native American students don't fare as well. South Dakota and its executive branch shouldn't forget those students as elected officials celebrate elevated test scores among non-Native students, Bradford said.

Bradford hopes to use his spot on the House Education Committee to highlight that issue.

Sen. Tom Katus, D-Rapid City, who was born and raised in McIntosh on the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation and has worked for years with Native Americans and their issues, said the governor's speech showed that "we live in two different worlds" in South Dakota.

Katus was disappointed that the governor didn't mention the value and role of tribal colleges as he discussed education. The reservation-based schools provide crucial higher-education options for reservation residents, including non-Natives, Katus said.

Last year, he pushed legislation to provide up to $500,000 in funding for the tribal colleges, in part as compensation for the costs of educating both Native Americans who are not enrolled in the tribes and non-Native students.

The bill failed last year, but Katus intends to introduce it again, even though the governor is unlikely to support it.

"The tribal colleges aren't going to turn anybody away," Katus said. "All they're asking for is some reimbursement."

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@raidcityjournal.com