Chairman Frazier addressed the
2006 Legislative Priorities set by the Cheyenne
River Sioux Tribe before our Congressional
leaders and the Administration. There are
many critical issues that face Cheyenne River
that we are all aware of and the following
is a brief summary account of what was expressed
on April 18-22, 2005.
In regards to the Water Crisis, concentration
was on the Preliminary Investigation Report
(PIR) pertaining to the tribes water intake
system. In this report, the US Army Corps
of Engineers (USACE) indicated their commitment
to providing the tribe with a short term
solution which will leave the current water
intake system embedded in the Cheyenne River.
Chairman Frazier still plans to push the
USACE to move the intake out of the Cheyenne
River and into the Missouri River for a permanent
fix. Meetings were held with our Congressional
Delegation and they remain supportive of
our efforts.
To amend the
restrictions in the Food Stamp Act of 1977
resulting in Federal regulations that require
local median area income guidelines to
determine eligibility. This affects many
applicants who are in need of food assistance
identifying them as ineligible. Given that
the Tribal Commodity Program evolved from
Treaty Rights guaranteeing rations for
all Tribal members for “as long as
you need them.” CRST requested an amendment
which would permit the Tribe to start a pilot
program for Food Distribution and to set
its own eligibility guidelines for program
participants based upon need. This would
improve the nutritional status for residents.
The amount of General Assistance
(GA) received per person is decreasing alarmingly.
Under the current funding system for the
BIA, GA payments to individuals in need without
children are funded from the Tribal Priority
Allocations (TPAs) after a base level of
minimum funding is set aside for all tribes
for government operations. The CRST proposes
to remove such appropriations from under
the TPA system and to re-instate a funding
system based on need of eligible families,
consistent with federal trust responsibilities.
Roads and streets are deteriorating
at an accelerated pace and this has caused
an increase in expenditure of construction
funds to take care of maintenance problems.
Chairman Frazier is determined to see positive
results and has requested additional funding
to our Roads Maintenance program.
Many of our children are placed in
foster homes off of the Reservation, far
away from their extended families. The Tribe
is unable to develop a Tribal foster care
program because the Title IV-E Foster Care
funds come to the State, who oversees foster
care for the Reservations. In 1980, when
this statute was written, Tribal governments
were left out of the list of entities eligible
to receive funds under this federal entitlement
program. As a result, only 50 of the 550
federally-recognized Tribes have been able
to implement Tribal foster care programs.
Chairman Frazier requested that Congress
sponsor a bill to allow these funds to come
directly to Tribal Social Services so the
Tribes can directly access federal foster
care funds and to implement their own foster
care programs.
Chairman Frazier tackled the Tribe
Equitable Compensation Act in discussions
with Members of Congress. Under current law,
only the Tribe is to receive compensation,
even though much of the land taken for the
Dam was owned by individual allottees. The
proposed legislation would accomplish three
purposes. First, the bill provides that the
interest on the CRST Recovery Trust Fund
would be available to the Tribe sooner than
2011. Second, the bill would provide monies
in the Fund that could be used to compensate
tribal member allottees who lost their lands
due to the Oahe Dam (or their heirs). Third,
the draft amendment solves this problem by
tying the interest to the Lehman Government
Bond Index, an index of Treasury and agency
bonds that would leave no ambiguity.
The Native American
Housing Advancement Act (NAHASDA) statute
requires HUD to distribute funds through
a formula that “shall
be based on factors that reflect the need
of the Tribes and the Indian areas of tribes
for assistance for affordable housing activities.” Our
reservation population continues to increase
each year, but the funds for housing services
is decreasing. The last piece of legislation
that the Housing Authority has pushed for
is to eliminate the 30% of income rule and
allow for program reserves. The suggested
legislation would allow and support Tribes
with the opportunity to establish, manage
and administer a reasonable reserve account
to insure the professional operation of the
necessary housing programs.
Another on going concern set by the
Tribe in their Legislative Priorities and
addressed by the Chairman with Congress and
the Administration was the CRST Health Issues
and the need for quality care. The current
resources including Personnel, Budget, Ambulances,
Building, Staff Housing and Dispatch were
all areas that are in need of funding. Additionally,
the Chairman pushed for the Cheyenne River
Service Unit Recruitment and Retention Program
Demonstration Project Reauthorization Request.
Chairman Frazier sought amendments
to the Indian Financing Act that would direct
the Secretary of the Interior to promulgate
guidelines, under which, Non-conventional
lenders would be able to participate in the
Indian Financing Act programs. He also proposed
an amendment to the Indian Financing Act,
to allow for the implementation of the Indian
Financing Act programs in Tribe to Tribe
lending.
Last but not least, the Legislative
Priority the Chairman addressed with Congress
and the Administration was the Veterans Program
Funding. CRST recently acquired grant funds
to build a Veterans Service Center to assist
over 300 Veterans living on the Reservation.
The Tribe has over four million invested
in the implementation of this program. The
Tribe now needs educational opportunities,
medical coverage, and military retirement
information. The Veterans Program staff would
also assist approximately 100 Tribal members
currently on active duty in all branches
of the Armed Services.
In conclusion,
Chairman Frazier stated, “The
2006 Legislative Priorities were established
by Tribal Committee and passed by Tribal
Council. I presented these goals for 2006
in the State of the CRST Address in a published
document. These Priorities became our marching
orders to address with Members of Congress
and the Administration. If, the Tribe is
not in the ‘arena’ educating
and pushing for our needs, we will surely
fail and we cannot risk any less for our
People. In my meetings in Washington DC,
I am inviting Congressional Members and the
Administration to visit CRST so they see
our conditions for themselves. “
