it's time to return to my ranty roots

as I'm sure many of you are aware, South Dakota banned abortion (pretty much wholesale) this March. Just to be clear, this law would not go into effect until July according to the legislation, but because it is being brought forth as a ballot initiative it will not be brought into effect unless it is affirmed by voters. even then, planned parenthood will inevitably challenge it on the grounds of it being totally unconstitutional (as outlined in Roe v. Wade and PP v. Casey, etc) and an injucntion will prevent it from going into effect until the matter has been resolved in federal court (potentially the SCotUS). the point being, abortion is still legal in South Dakota (just an fyi before we get to the issue I actually want to discuss).

so in the wake of the media insanity that this ill advised legislation brought about, Cecilia Fire Thunder, president of the Pine Ridge Reservation made the following statement:

“To me, it is now a question of sovereignty,” she said to me last week. “I will personally establish a Planned Parenthood clinic on my own land which is within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Reservation where the State of South Dakota has absolutely no jurisdiction.”

the statement did a lot of things. first, it drew a great deal of attention to the Oglala tribe and Pine Ridge. second, it sparked a large number of unsolicited donations from reproductive rights activists, from the US and internationally. third, it got Fire Thunder in a whole lot of trouble.

Fire Thunder had been unseated from her position in 05 over a variety of charges. these charged were later dismissed and she was reinstated. everything I've read on this situation in the (very limited, online) Native press suggests that it was political maneuvering.  I've gotten the impression thatFire Thunder is a very controversial leader with a strong will and a great deal of dissatisfaction for the running of Pine Ridge before her appointment.  I am ill-equipped to get into the deep, complex and still tense issues of Pine Ridge, but it is one of the most impoverished areas in the country, home to a great deal of violence toward tribe members (both on the part of our government and pro-government/pro-white -- for lack of a better term-- forces on the reservation) and was the site of the hotly contested events which led to Leonard Peltier's (wrongful, in my estimation) imprisonment. Pine Ridge has a lot of problems and the tribal council is not always unified on those problems. Fire Thunder has gained a great deal of press for, among other things, looking to reaffirm the dignity of a people undercut by government, marginalization, racism and betrayal withing the tribe. tribal politics are extremely complex in many places, and Pine Ridge was probably best known for their controversies up until this march.  (anyone who can flesh out Pine Ridge's politics is welcome to help me out -- obviously my understanding is piecemeal at best).

so, in response to the unsolicited donations and Fire Thunder's controversial statement, she was suspended again. I am less clear on whether this is an effort of the same detractors she has always had or a serious issue of misrepresenting her constituents. There has been some outcry regarding feelings that abortion is outside the traditional  values of the tribe. Some members of the council that supported her in the first challenge to her presidency are apparently not with her on this issue. Pamphlets have been circulated referring to her as "Cecilia Babykiller" a play on the name of Wilma Mankiller, the first female chief of the Cherokee nation. needless to say, it's a complicated issue. The council also voted to ban abortion on the reservation. It is unclear if abortions could be performed under the protection of sovereignty in the event the South Dakota ban was upheld. It is also unclear how the Pine Ridge ban might be challenged, also due to the complexities of sovereignty.

but none of this is the point, exactly. the point is this

when Fire Thunder made her statement, she was flooded with donations. pro-choicers started throwing money at her immediately, in spite of her never having publicly solicited any funds. advocates with little to no understanding of tribal sovereignty, tribal politics or Pine Ridge rallied on every single feminist and choice community I am on (and countless other venues) posting Fire Thunder's contact information and encouraging support. whether or not they intended to, they fueled the fire that put Fire Thunder in the position of impeachment.

but it doesn't end there.

since news of Fire Thunder's suspension has spread, the communities are ablaze again. advocates are decrying the tribal council and demanding answers as to where their money will go. money they sent off to strangers unsolicited. money they apparently foolishly assumed they could earmark. and you know, if it was just griping, maybe I could let their foolishness go.

but it doesn't end there either.

today, this post appeared on ljforchoice. (please don't comment if you're not a member) as I'm sure you can see from my comment, I'm pretty frustrated with the whole thing. in case something has changed and you can't see my comments, here they are:

I'm not trying to be mean here, but what exactly is this intended for? you're going to call up the tribal council of a sovereign native american nation and say "hey guys, I know I'm not Oglala Sioux or a member of any nation and this decision has nothing to do with me and I don't know anything about the politics of your reservation, but I think it's shitty that you banned abortion."

has it occurred to anyone that a bunch of nosey, non-native pro-choicers calling and sending mail to shame the council may very well solidify their stance? pine ridge's politics are extremely complicated and the interviews I've read with tribal council members point directly to the fact that some members feel that Fire Thunder's move to provide abortions on the reservation (though she says now that she never meant they'd build an abortion clinic) was out of step with their traditional values.

has it ever occurred to anyone that getting involved in native politics on a reservation you know little about and sending unsolicited donations and interfering in all this might be doing more harm than good?

and

p.s. I'd love to hear how many of the non-natives looking to fight this matter had any idea that Pine Ridge existed before this all happened. it's one of the most famous reservations in the country and still virtually no non-natives no anything about it. frankly it comes off as more than a bit patronizing, the way there's suddenly all this concern for one of the single most impoverished areas in the country, an area that just happened to be the sight of some appalling crimes against native people only a few decades ago, over abortion. is anyone else given pause by this extremely selective concern for the Oglala Sioux?

which I feel sufficiently sums up my frustration with this. it's all just a bit too "white man's burden" for me to stomach. who the hell are these pro-choicers (most of whom I assume from past posts and comments know little to nothing about Pine Ridge) to contact the tribal council and attack their decisions? why are we entitled to interfere in the politics of a tribe already repeatedly assailed by white interference in awful ways, in order to further our own interests? am I completely off base for thinking "couldn't you all just mind your own fucking backyards?"

I'm just so frustrated with the attitude of entitlement that this whole thing smacks of. not to mention, as I pointed out in my comment, few (if any) of these people gave two shits for Pine Ridge, in spite of serious problems put upon its occupants for the past... oh... forever, until they made abortion related headlines.

I dunno, it's just kind of burning my ass. maybe I'm wrong. what do you all think? (I'd especially love to hear from comrades I know are active in anti-racism activism, as well as my pro-choice comrades who were a bit boggled by the unsolicited craziness that started all of this)