Oglala Sioux Tribe members say they want change. Tuesday, they'll choose between change that comes from outside government and change that comes from within.

Russell Means, an activist and actor, is running for tribal president against Theresa Two Bulls, a current South Dakota state senator who has served as tribal secretary and council vice president.

Means - who was born on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, raised in California and later returned to Porcupine - still shows the passion and anger that made him a leader of the American Indian Movement. A key figure in the early days of AIM, he took part in numerous protests and demonstrations and was a leader during the 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee, which drew international attention to the plight and rights of Native people.

He has appeared in numerous films and lectured throughout the world, making high-profile international contacts along the way. What he hasn't done is serve in tribal government.

Means - whose Lakota name, Oyate Wacinyapin, means "Works for the People" - was the top vote-getter in the primary elections in 2002, but ultimately lost to current president John Yellow Bird Steele. Means also won the 2004 primary, but lost the general election to Cecilia Fire Thunder. In 1974, Means also lost the presidential race to Dick Wilson.

Meanwhile, Two Bulls served as tribal secretary from 1990 to 1998 and as vice president from 2000 to 2002. She ran for president in 1998, finishing third.

In 2004 she won the District 27 seat in the South Dakota state Senate and is seeking re-election this year.

Two Bulls, originally from Oglala and now of Pine Ridge, emphasizes her people skills and experience in tribal and state government.

"I'm a people person. I can work with anybody," said Two Bulls, who is the tribal prosecutor. "I think I've always proven my respect and my caring for the people, no matter what position I'm holding."

She says her experience in tribal and state government and the relationships she has developed at the state level, would be assets in getting things done for the tribe.

"I had no intentions of running for the tribal election," she said, explaining that she filed her tribal petitions at the last minute. "I only did it because a lot of people came to me and asked me to run. … Honestly, I never thought I'd make it in the (primary)."

Means pulled in 933 votes in the primary to Two Bulls' 804. Yellow Bird Steele finished third with 721 votes.

Means is challenging Two Bulls' candidacy, citing tribal regulations that prohibit anyone from holding tribal and state office at the same time. The Oglala Sioux Supreme Court is expected to rule by Tuesday.

"I've got to win them both before it becomes an issue," is Two Bulls' response to the question. "I'm just a candidate right now."

Two Bulls has said, if she were to win both elections, she would accept the tribal president position. She also would give up her job as tribal prosecutor.

At a Tuesday debate at Piya Wiconi, the candidates talked about their views on the following areas of concern:

Economy/economic development

Means said border towns such as Rapid City make millions off the tribes and tribal members who spend their money there.

"I mean, after all, that (federal) money doesn't really come to us," he said, because there are few businesses and services on the reservation. The money "makes a temporary stop (in our back pockets) and then immediately goes off the reservation."

Means said one of his main goals is to stabilize politics on the reservation so that economic development can happen. He believes he can do that by creating a "climate of hope," strengthening people's self-dignity and self-pride, and making visible improvements in people's lives.

That means making sure people have food and heat. Means would also like to beautify Pine Ridge Village, "so that we are proud of our nation's capital."

He supports developing wind and geothermal energy. He also has ideas about developing airport-related industry.

Two Bulls feels strongly that the first step toward improving the economy needs to be improving infrastructure - roads, water lines, utilities, etc.

"There's so much that needs to be done down here before we can even think about bringing in all these businesses," she said.

Unlike in past years when incoming administrations tended to scrap any projects of the previous administration, Two Bulls intends to move forward with any economic development plans that are already in the works.

She, too, supports developing wind energy.

Education

Means said high dropout rates would decline if students had more pride in being Native and if they knew they would be able to find work on the reservation.

Two Bulls said education is a treaty right and must be funded.

"We need to go to Congress and demand more money to upgrade our educational system," she said.

Fiscal responsibility

Means said another way to stabilize government is to open it up.

"I promise the people that all the money that comes into this reservation, monthly, will be reported on KILI radio and in the local newspapers, so you know which programs are receiving what amounts and why it's being spent," he said.

Means said more than 60 percent of tribal households have their electricity shut off or run out of propane during the winter. That won't happen if people know where tribal leaders are spending money, he said, and if they know where to go for help.

Means noted that in 2006, the tribe spent $750,000 on airline tickets alone. He proposed cutting that by 70 percent and using the difference to provide heat for tribal members.

Health careThe Pine Ridge Indian Health Services hospital has high-tech equipment but no money to hire people trained to operate it. Currently, 22 medical and high-tech positions are empty because there's no money to fill them, Means said.

"That's another genocidal issue that we cannot accept," he said.

Means wants to help them find more funding. One answer might be third-party billing, which would allow veterans to obtain medical care from Indian Health Services on the reservation rather than requiring them to travel to the Veterans Administration Hospital in Hot Springs for treatment.

Two Bulls also is concerned about the need for medical staff at Pine Ridge Hospital. She said it costs thousands of dollars to fly reservation patients on LifeFlight helicopters to Rapid City Regional Hospital.

Two Bulls said tribal leaders need to explore such options as trying to attract private health care to the reservation.

"We have to start looking at the big picture," she said, adding that health care is a treaty right.

Housing

Means said the reservation is in a crisis, with three or four families living together because they can't find housing.

"It's a genocidal issue and it has to be addressed immediately," he said, adding that more than half of the Housing and Urban Development homes on the reservation have black mold.

Means told about a "self-help" building project on the Rosebud Indian Reservation years ago, where the tribe provided people with materials and experts to guide them in building their own homes.

"They're a source of pride," he said. "Those people built those homes themselves."

Two Bulls knows all about the housing crisis: At one time, she had 13 relatives living in her three-bedroom trailer.

She said tribal leaders need to look for alternatives to HUD, such as trying to work with the private sector.

"We … forget that we are a government," she said, and can solve some of those problems by themselves.

Leadership

Two Bulls wants to develop a good working relationship with the tribal council in order to concentrate on a few projects they can see through to the end while in office.

She also believes in going back to the old ways, talking things over to determine what is best for the people.

"A strong leader must know how to delegate authority," Means said. "And then through that delegation of authority you create a team."

Public safety

Years ago, Means said, each reservation district was able to hire and fire its own community police officers. Crime decreased under that system.

"That's all we have to do is look to our past … and reinstitute that," he said.

Two Bulls said politics is the problem.

"We need to get politics out of public safety," she said. "We need to let the officers do their job."

Sovereignty/treaties

Both candidates agreed that the Oglala people need to start claiming their status as a sovereign nation.

To Two Bulls, that means recognizing the tribe can seek its own solutions to problems rather than relying on federal assistance or working only through established channels and the usual agencies.

"We need to start living as a sovereign nation … start standing up and speaking up for our rights," she said. "The only way we can do that is if we get our people involved.

"We're the first Americans," Two Bulls said. "We're unique, and we have to start acting like it."

Two Bulls also believes young people need to be educated about the treaties and Black Hills land issues.

To Means, sovereignty means dealing directly with the White House and the United Nations rather than federal agencies. It means reclaiming possession of the South Unit and Stronghold of Badlands National Park, which Means said he would take back by ending the memo of agreement under which the U.S. government leases the land.

"I will just end that and return all the lands that rightfully belong to individuals who were forced to move off that land, and to their families," he said. He said the government did not live up to its end of the agreement, which required improving the road system, building a tourist center and creating ranger jobs for Oglalas.

"We want to take back everything that is ours, including the bombing range," Means said.

He and others believe the U.S. government is dumping nuclear waste in the area, which they say is causing sickness and contaminating land and water on the reservation.

Means also said that when public officials take an oath of office, they exclude Article 6 of the Constitution, which states that treaties are the supreme law of the land.

"That is unconstitutional, therefore unlawful and illegal," he said. "I will live up to my oath of office."

Last December, Means and others declared independence for a "Republic of Lakotah" and delivered documents to the U.S. State Department declaring that "Lakotah" was renouncing treaties with the U.S.

Contact Heidi Bell Gease at 394-8419 or heidi.bell@rapidcityjournal.com

Two Bulls, Bradford face off again

No matter where voters stand, they have to admit this has been an interesting state Senate race in District 27.

Incumbent Theresa Two Bulls, a Democrat, is running for re-election to the position she has held since 2004. Her opponent, Jim Bradford of Pine Ridge, has served as a District 27 representative in the state House since 2000.

However, term limits forced Bradford - who was a Democrat - from the House this year. He chose to run for the Senate, saying he thought Two Bulls would be running for his House seat.

She didn't. The two faced off in the June 3 Democratic primary, which Two Bulls won by fewer than 30 votes.

Their contest didn't end there, however. Bradford switched parties and is running against Two Bulls as a Republican in the general election.

"I want to stay in," Bradford said. "I want to try to finish some of the areas I had started."

Bradford, a rancher and retired school teacher, has said the Republican Party actually is more in line with his views in many ways. At a debate Tuesday at Piya Wiconi, Bradford told voters that being in the state majority party could make him more effective in Pierre. Gov. Mike Rounds, a Republican, already has contacted him, he said.

"If I go it'll be the first time that we had a Senate Republican from the reservation," Bradford said. "And you'll be surprised what a difference that makes."

Two Bulls, who is also a candidate for president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, said as a Lakota from Pine Ridge, she has been able to educate other legislators and bring a new focus to Native American issues. She is also well aware that she represents white voters in her district who share many concerns - education funding, health care, the economy - with Native voters.

"I think my record speaks for itself," she said. "I enjoy being a (public) servant."

Both candidates said health care is a major issue the state faces.

"We need very much to get a health care system that works for everybody," Bradford said.

As for economic development, Bradford said he'd like to see the state make REDI (Revolving Economic Development and Initiative) funds available to entrepreneurs on the reservation. The REDI fund is a low-interest loan fund available to start-up companies and to businesses that are expanding or relocating.

In terms of the economy, Two Bulls said, "we have to tighten our belts" and figure out ways to use all available resources.

She said lawmakers also need to consider the future along with the dollars.

"I really want to seriously look at this uranium mining, how it's affecting the tribe and the water," she said, adding that she was the only senator to vote against the uranium-mining measure. "They're not thinking of the environment."

Bradford and Two Bulls both said they want to work to win accreditation for tribal alcohol-abuse programs, help tribal colleges get state financial support to which they are entitled, and improve nursing home options for reservation residents.

Oglala voters could change tribal constitution

Oglala Sioux Tribal members will do more than elect tribal leaders on Tuesday.

They also will vote on 27 proposed amendments to the tribal constitution.

The first question is straightforward: Whether or not to change the name of the tribe to Oglala Lakota Oyate.

Others are more complicated. According to explanations stated on the official ballot, here is what some of them would do:

* Amendment B would allow the tribal council to pass laws that could be enforced against nontribal members on the reservation.

* Amendment C would allow the tribal council to hire legal counsel without the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.

* Amendment I would allow the tribal council to adopt a Bill of Rights.

* Amendment M would allow the tribal council to "remove trespassers and exclude and banish persons from within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation."

* Amendment W would allow any child born to a tribal member to be enrolled in the tribe, regardless of where he or she is born.

* Amendment X is meant to "remove both the limitations of the United States Constitution and the laws of the United States, and to redefine the inherent powers of the Tribal Council."

Other amendments would change the oath of office for elected tribal positions, allow the tribal council to purchase land and other property for public purposes, raise the minimum age to run for tribal office from 25 to 30, and allow the tribal council to manage all economic and financial affairs and business enterprises of the tribe with no involvement by the Secretary of the Interior.

Voters also will be asked if they want to make tribal council, president and vice president four-year terms instead of two-year terms. Another amendment would separate powers of the judiciary from the executive committee and tribal council.

A few measures were on the spring ballot, but results of that election did not count because only 671 people voted, 18 people shy of the number needed to change the tribal constitution. Law requires 30 percent of the registered voters to cast a ballot.