Inila-Wakan Janis

Stronghold patrols/defender of our Lakota Oyate, Occupied the Stronghold for three years, helped build many national coalitions, World changer, local,state,nat., Int for the Green Party USA, keeper of a childrens prayer staff. Many, many other causes Friends Of The EarthAs many of you know myself and several Tokala brothers occupied the Stronghold in the South Unit of Badlands National Park in defiance of the National Park Service that has wrongfully controlled our sacred white wilderness for more than thirty-four-years. I have been a member of the Oglala Lakota's core negotiation team for eight-years at a negotiation table with the NPS in attempts to terminate the easement --1976 Memorandum of Agreement--which granted management over reservation lands within our exterior boundaries. Many of you have heard me speak at about this extremely important issue in great detail with a historical overview. At the moment we are engaged in a scoping process for public comments with the NPS which is a matter of time and Justice for our beautiful Lakota Oyate. The comment period ends on the 2nd of November. There are several alternatives in the GMP that have been developed over these past eight-years and not without much disappointment I might add. One of the alternatives has been consistently ignored and given little attention. Mandated by our tradition people, elders, treaty council and other bands of the Tetuwan Oyate I have steadfastly pushed for the alternative that represents justice for thousands of heirs forcefully displaced from their Tiospaye’s original allottments -- option 6-- “Deauthorization.” The stories, the pain, the oral history of now deceased elders and more than sixty-seven years of destruction by the defense department and National Park Service to our beautiful White Wilderness has had horrible consequences on our nations community self esteem. Our tribe stays on high-risk economic status as a result of the easement. Someone has to carry the huge economic burden of sustaining so many thousands of heirs who have absolutely nothing. As a result, the tribe cannot create jobs or raise the standards of living for most because of this arrangement with the NPS who raises tens of millions off our land for government employment. The solution is clear, alternative 6 is our job creation program. There are a handful of people within our ranks that are for keeping this bad relationship going with the NPS--the Oglala Sioux Parks and Recreation Authori