Lakota culture has always honored its warriors.

American Indians have a higher rate of military service than any other ethnic group, and nearly every family on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation has had relatives in the military.

That's why an Oglala Sioux Tribal Councilman's comments about the military have created such an uproar that some residents are calling for his removal.

Jason "Jake" Little represents the Oglala/Whiteclay District on the tribal council. At a meeting earlier this month, Little opposed a motion to fund an upcoming veterans powwow, saying he would rather put the money into youth development programs.

That way, "they won't have to shot (sic) someone just to go to college," Little is quoted as saying in unofficial minutes of the meeting. "I would much rather see that you know how many of you sitting around here would honor me if I killed a child?"

He went on to say, "Thousands of children are killed everyday in wars, … perhaps hundreds of thousands in some conflict,s and these people had a hand in it, delivered bullets, delivered food, pushed buttons, called in co-ordinance, some raped, beat, murdered, it's all murder."

Little's comments didn't sit well with LaCreek District representatives Kim Clausen and Craig Dillon. According to the minutes, Clausen told Little that as a veteran, she was offended by his comments. "I didn't kill no babies," she said. "I went there to make sure that we're safe here."

Dillon's son, U.S. Marine Cpl. Dustin Cottier, served in Iraq in 2004 and earned a commendation for valor under fire.

The Lakota come from a warring society, Dillon said, and he believes it is an honor to serve in the armed forces.

According to the tribe's veterans services office, there are at least 2,900 military veterans living on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. About 12 percent of Indian people nationwide serve in the U.S. military.

"I grew up always believing that the veterans held a high place in our society," Dillon said, noting that veterans are honored at diverse events including from powwows and basketball games. "We regard our warriors with … admiration and respect."

Little's comments especially rankled Lakota veterans - many of whom would like to see Little's removal from office.

"I couldn't believe a council representative would say something like that about his own tribal veterans," said Duane Brewer, who served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam in 1968-69. "It's hard enough when you come back after serving in the war, dealing with your emotions and the traumatic experiences that you've had, and then (to) come home and be called a baby killer and a murderer. … It's caused a lot of hurt, a lot of anger on the reservation."

Brewer also took issue with Little's statement that veterans who serve in conflicts "come back deranged."

"It's not deranged. It's PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)," Brewer said. "They don't share their stories and experiences with family, and so it eats them up."

"The impact of his words, it's just terrible," said Iva Good Voice Flute, a U.S. Air Force veteran and commander of the American Legion Post in Oglala. "Especially with the conflict we're involved in. … They (servicemen) don't need this. And their families don't need this. They're under enough stress as it is."

Elizabeth Makes Good understands that. Her daughter, U.S. Army Specialist Annalissa Good Soldier, was home on leave from Iraq this month.

"She loves being there," Makes Good said. "She's proud to serve for our country."

Good Soldier was angry and hurt by Little's remarks, her mother said. "It's freedom of speech, but it wasn't the right time to say it."

Lillian Tobacco agrees. Her family's military history is long: Her great-grandfather was a military scout. Three of her children, including Good Voice Flute, are veterans.

"At a time like this, how can he say that? Even if it's his thinking, why don't he keep it inside of him instead of letting it out?" she asked.

Tobacco pointed out that many soldiers who are deployed leave children at home, and those children hear what people say about servicemen.

"I always remember the children," she said. "I want to sound positive."

Little says he is thinking of children.

"I'm opposed to all wars and conflicts because women and children die, and I don't honor that," he said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "I feel that I'm a person of high moral character. Regardless of what nation-state commits the acts of war, I do not agree. Past or present."

Little said the fact that a nation-state sanctions an invasion or war "does not absolve the individual of an act of murder. It does not give any human a license to kill indiscriminately and with impunity."

But Little's opposition to the military reflects an issue larger than how a soldier conducts himself in war. It's about whose war it is.

"Six years ago, I made the conscious decision, announced it in a local paper, that I was going to burn an American flag in protest of the colonialism and the laws the United States imposed on us as Lakota people," he said. Little did burn a U.S. flag, prompting Lakota veterans to lobby for a tribal ordinance against desecrating or burning a U.S. flag. The law passed.

"The people of Oglala District have known for years … that I detest being occupied by the United States, and I detest this colonial rule we're under," Little, who had also espoused his views on his own radio program, said. "It was no secret, yet I was voted in."

Little acknowledges that he, himself, "sadly," is a U.S. military veteran. He served 2-1/2 years with the U.S. Army in the early 1990s, followed by three years in the South Dakota National Guard.

"I learned a lot," he said. "It was a good experience."

Little said he has received "numerous" calls of support.

Veterans say they, too, have received numerous calls from people upset by the remarks.

Frank Marshall, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1959 to 1963, called Little's comments "a big slap in the face for all veterans." Only Little's constituents can remove him from office, Marshall said, but veterans can "get together and support their effort to remove him."

There will be a meeting at 6 p.m. today at Porcupine Day School. Veterans, military families and other tribal members are invited. Brewer said veterans have agreed to support what Oglala district residents decide to do.

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