Almost half of the Rosebud Sioux tribal council flew to Washington, D.C., during the recent Tribal Nations Conference hosted by President Barack Obama, though only its chairman was invited to the one-day summit between tribal leaders and U.S. cabinet secretaries. That has prompted one former Rosebud council member to question the tribe’s travel budget decisions.

Ten RST officials -- Chairman Rodney Bordeaux and nine council members -- made the trip to D.C. One representative from each of the 564 federally recognized tribes got an invitation to the Nov. 5 summit itself, which was opened and closed by Obama.

The leaders of six of South Dakota’s nine tribes attended. Three did not make the trip: Mike Jandreau, chairman of Lower Brule, Brandon Sazue of Crow Creek, and Michael Selvage of Sisseton Wahpeton. Each of them sent other representatives.

Five people from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe made the trip, including Chairman Joseph Brings Plenty, two council members and two staff. Oglala Sioux Tribe President Theresa Two Bulls attended the conference, but neither she nor OST officials answered questions on the size of the OST delegation. The Lower Brule Tribe sent only one delegate, Vice Chairman Boyd Gourneau. Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Ron His Horse Is Thunder also attended

Former Rosebud council member Ron Valandra questioned the travel budget for the trip.

“It is kind of a shock to see that 10 of our elected officials traveled to Washington, D.C., when tribal paychecks were bouncing on the 30th of October, 2009,” Valandra said. “It makes me, as a previous tribal council member, wonder where the travel funds came from.”

Bordeaux said the cost of the trip, which he estimated at $10,000 or more, was money well spent. All of it came from the tribe’s general fund. RST has a 20-member tribal council.

“It was an investment well worth the effort and cost, an opportunity to move forward our agenda and see how Washington works and how active we need to be because of our government-to-government relationship,” he said.

President Obama promised that the summit, the first since 1994, would not simply pay “lip service” to tribal needs.

Bordeaux said this trip to D.C. felt more like a “conversation between equals” because he spoke directly to cabinet-level officials.

“I was very impressed,” Bordeaux said of the conference and Obama’s promise to make it an annual event. He also signed a presidential order telling cabinet agencies to send him a report within 90 days on how they will improve tribal consultation within their departments.

“It’s the first time that I can recall in my lifetime of any president or presidential candidate promising such a thing and following through on it.”

During a question-and-answer session with Obama, Two Bulls was the only South Dakota tribal leader to address the president directly. She introduced herself and said: “Thank you for meeting with us today, for opening up your heart.  It's good to hear your words.  They're dear to our hearts.  I come on two issues: Honor the treaties.  Too long they have been not honored by the federal government.  And you talk about a change; now is the change.  Allow us and work with us to exercise our sovereignty, our self-determination.

“And the second issue is our children. Our children are sacred.  We want the best for them.  And we ask that you help us to ensure a better education, a better life, well-being for our children, because they're going to be the future leaders. And I say thank you, and we love you.”

Brings Plenty called the summit a “glimmer of hope for the tribe” on treaty obligations. “A meeting with the president of the United States is something that my tribe hasn’t been involved in since Clinton was in office,” he said.

While in D.C., CRST officials also dealt with rural development issues at the Department of Agriculture and Department of Labor, Brings Plenty said.

Most of the tribal representatives met with South Dakota’s congressional delegation, as well as Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the chairmen said.