[source: NativeNews; Fri, 07 Jul 2000 12:27:09 -0400] Published Friday July 07, 2000 Progress Slow on Pine Ridge Reservation BY DAVID HENDEE WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER When President Clinton left the poverty-stricken Pine Ridge Indian Reservation a year ago today, he told Oglala Sioux President Harold Salway: "Now it's up to you. It's up to you." Clinton visited Pine Ridge, S.D., to introduce private business to the untapped potential of some of the nation's poorest people and to offer millions of dollars in federal aid. In the 12 months since Clinton's visit, several federal projects to build housing, roads and water and sewer systems are moving forward, but the Oglala people have stumbled in taking control of Clinton's farewell charge to determine their economic destiny. The tribe is in turmoil. Salway, the elected tribal leader who was at Clinton's side throughout the daylong visit, has been suspended by the Tribal Council amid allegations of mismanaging funds. Protesters have peacefully occupied the tribal headquarters since January. Most private investors, who federal and tribal officials hoped would take advantage of economic incentives to create jobs and new markets on the reservation, remain on the sidelines. A recent Bureau of Indian Affairs audit of the tribe's finances indicated that some tribal leaders were skirting established accounting procedures, said Bob Ecoffey, the BIA superintendent at Pine Ridge. The audit also indicated that the tribe was using an undetermined amount of federal money to balance its general fund account. Such use of federal money is prohibited and must be reimbursed, Ecoffey said. BIA officials are working with the tribe to help rewrite financial, procurement and personnel policies. "We want to put things in place for tighter controls over funding and basic improvement of tribal operations," Ecoffey said. "We're making a lot of headway. Once we get off dead center, I think we'll get the investors back to the table. They're still interested, but they don't want to be here while we've got these internal disputes." Salway said he realized during Clinton's visit that the tribe didn't have the financial structure it needed to take advantage of economic initiatives. He said he was starting to clean up the tribe's finances when he split with factions on the Tribal Council. "By cleaning it up we'd be accountable," Salway said. "That's my buzzword." A few months after Clinton's visit, Salway presented the administration with a nearly $1 billion wish list of projects to improve the reservation's housing, roads, utilities, telephone service and airport and to attract businesses, a bank and tourism. The Pine Ridge reservation is home to some of nation's most miserable living conditions. An estimated 4,000 families need homes. Unemployment hovers around 70 percent. Shannon County, which includes much of the reservation, is the poorest in the country with a poverty rate of nearly 63 percent. More than 40 percent of adults haven't graduated from high school. Yet the reservation commands $60 million in retail buying power, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Most of that money is spent off the reservation because there is so little commercial activity in Pine Ridge and other villages. Setting the groundwork for Clinton's initiatives to improve housing, increase homeownership, create jobs and educational opportunities and spark economic development on Pine Ridge and other reservations has been slow work, said Brian Sullivan, an HUD spokesman in Washington, D.C. "We're dealing with a situation where home ownership is the lowest in the nation and so we're trying to create a culture of home ownership," he said. However, progress has been made. Sullivan said houses continue to be built, a home-loan system is being developed from scratch, tribal courts are wrestling with land ownership and title questions, and home fairs are popular and well-attended. Stacy Phelps, technology director at Oglala Lakota College on the reservation, said Gateway has provided 44 computers for the four-year school to use in developing a information technology degree program expected to start next year. "If we can get a trainable workforce under our belt and use the federal incentives to get companies to look at what we're doing, maybe we can get some technology-oriented jobs here," he said. Although private businesses haven't accepted Clinton's invitation to set up shop on the Pine Ridge reservation, federally funded projects are making millions of dollars worth of important infrastructure improvements, Ecoffey said. Among them: * U.S. military personnel plan to build a dozen houses during a twoweek blitz-build this month similar to new structures Clinton visited last year. * An office park for government offices and private business is expected to be built east of Pine Ridge next year. Groundbreaking for a nearby youth activities center is expected this month. * Funding for a $16 million Oglala cultural and heritage center at nearby Badlands National Park is on the fast track through Congress and could be built in 2002. Salway said that although he is not recognized as president by the Tribal Council, he continues to work with federal officials on realizing the opportunities offered by Clinton. He said he plans to seek re-election to the presidency in September's scheduled primary election. "Right now we need to fight corruption, push for accountability and stabilize the tribe," he said.