Elders on Pine Ridge Meet to Discuss Land Issues, $38 Million Shakopee Loan, Tribal Governance

This weekend a council of elders from across the Pine Ridge Reservation converged on Billy Mills hall in downtown Pine Ridge village to express their concern for the way the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council is managing the reservation, and in particular, the use lease revenues from Tribal lands to secure a $38 million dollar loan from the Shakopee Nation.

At the meeting the group decided that: 1. they needed more information about the loan, preferably from a representative from the Shakopee Tribe; and 2. they would continue to meet every month to organize around these issues.