Homeland Security
Presidents of the Great Sioux Council
1956-1970: Benjamin Lone Feather (Authentic Sioux Congress)
Known as "Iron Ben" by his admirers and "The Kraut" by his detractors, Ben Lone Feather presided over a relatively stable period belied by serious internal problems. The son of a Lakota mother and a German father, Lone Feather overcame the prejudice he faced in his youth to become a diligent officer within the Department of Public Safety. Though he harbored few political ambitions, Lone Feather eventually rose to the post of Commissioner, and by 1956 was an ideal candidate to appease all factions upon the death of President Red Cloud in a tragic plane crash.
Lone Feather was the first Sioux president to not also be a tribal leader; his ascent signaled a shift in the nature of the nation's elite. Early in his rule, Lone Feather consolidated his power by intimidating and in some cases removing rival council members, agitators, and potential coup plotters. Later accounts of torture and extralegal executions carried out under his administration have not been supported by material evidence. Lone Feather's foremost public concerns were financial support for Sioux farmers, expansion of homeland defense, and the "localization" of public utilities. More often than not the friends and families of his partisans benefited from projects carried out during his term. Lone Feather's nepotism eventually led to his downfall. In 1971 he was removed in a "quiet coup" by a clique of young reformers.
On the whole, few who remember the Lone Feather years look back on them with fondness. His banal personal style and rigid leadership did little to inspire a positive legacy. Perhaps the most iconic remnant of his presidency are his monthly public broadcasts, which are accessible in various archives. Contrasting boundless optimism with his stale, bespectacled gaze and low, monotone voice, Lone Feather informed his people on the state of crop health, infrastructure, and international developments, including the occasional pardon or condemnation of his enemies. Few Sioux owned televisions at the time, but the footage itself remains as an enduring symbol of a different, simpler if not necessarily better era.
1970-1990: Richard A. Wilson (Authentic Sioux Congress)
Dick Wilson inherited a nation weakened by corruption and neglect. Hundreds of thousands of dollars earmarked for infrastructure development had vanished over the years and basic public services were unavailable in great swathes of the reserve. A respected community leader who had previously worked as a plumber and a film consultant for Ronald Reagan, Wilson entered into office determined to rebuild the Sioux Nation on his own terms, without interference from the federal government or liberal carpetbaggers. To streamline the administration, he reduced major decision-making capacities to himself and a council of seven executive chairmen, representing the original seven tribes. Over the course of twenty years, Wilson transformed the Sioux from a people riven by clan-based favoritism to an exceptional state built on public order and traditional values.
During the first years of his presidency, Wilson faced a challenge from the Indian Freedom Party, a militant leftist group calling for unilateral independence from the United States. Though Wilson attempted to treat the agitators with magnanimity, negotiations soon turned violent and Wilson was forced to deputize his own supporters to prevent further bloodshed. During his term, Wilson pursued a policy of enthusiastic natalism, repeating many times to the press and his colleagues, "There is no greater hero than the Indian mother." He also promoted liberation through education and procured funding for vocational schools. He stepped down in 1990 but remained active in council politics.
In the present, Wilson's reputation among the Sioux is mixed. While many point to the great improvements he made to the Sioux homeland and setting a precedent of proactive tribal government, others decry his volatile nature and long collaboration with successive U.S. presidents to root out dissenters. In 1994, Wilson along with five other Sioux officials were indicted by the federal government on charges of conspiracy in the 1973 murder of Floyd Red Crow; Wilson denied complicity but passed away before he could refute the charges.
1990-2003: Joseph M. Marshall (Authentic Sioux Congress)
1995 def. Arlo Looking Cloud (Lakotah Independence Party)
1999 def. Theresa Two Bulls (Lakotah Citizens' Front), Arlo Looking Cloud (Lakotah Independence Party)
The 1980s and 90s were a time of great change for the American Indian, particularly in how he came to be perceived in wider American society. While previously most White Americans had paid little mind to the woes and triumphs of the Red man beyond jurisdictional disputes, several major upheavals soon put an end to that. First there was the Red Summer of 1988 in the Navajo Nation, where young men and women bedecked in red armbands and bandanas faced off against the Navajo Self-Policing Force with Pedersens and nail bombs, demanding equal access to water wells. Then came the Blackfeet Emergency the following year, when an abortive civil war between rival elites almost necessitated military intervention. 1990 saw the brutal murder of Penobscot Chief Charles Shay and his family by unknown assassins. Commentators blamed the sudden outbreak of violence on causes ranging from Communist agitators to chemicals in the water. Many Americans became aware to the fact that perhaps the root of the problem lay in the reserves themselves. The Great Liberal Joseph Kennedy himself commented: "For generations we have been letting these people live as they please. Perhaps it is time to correct that historical error." While his words attracted controversy, the sentiment behind them was widely felt. On the other hand, no party wanted the Indians to leave their homelands, or worse, move into white constituencies.
For the Sioux Nation, these developments meant little at first. Wilson protégé Joseph Marshall succeeded him and seemed dedicated to continuing his political program. Two things happened to change this: the U.S. Bureau of Indian Relations opening a new branch called the Office of Democratic Process, and Dick Wilson's sudden downfall and death. Realizing that his position was no longer unassailable, Marshall decided to accept the inevitable. On the 50th anniversary of the Authentic Sioux Congress's foundation, Marshall shocked everyone by proposing a resolution to the Council for the direct election of future presidents, with the first taking place in October.
Marshall had hoped to catch his opponents off guard, and he did. With only one credible opposition candidate (a dubious independentist no less) and the power of the Congress machine behind him, Marshall easily won in an election that BIR observers declared "almost too clean". 1999 proved to be a far more difficult race, with the anti-Congress forces having coalesced around Theresa Two Bulls, a former Congress councilor and outspoken critic of the Marshall administration. While there were few irregularities reported regarding the election itself (sans a couple missing ballot boxes, but not enough to account for the difference), clashes between rival party paramilitaries in the weeks leading up to Election Day received strong condemnation from both the BIR chief and President Humphrey himself. Four years later, Marshall would finally be ousted by Two Bulls in a stunning reversal of their previous matchup, ending fifty-eight years of Congress dominance.
2003-0000: Theresa Two Bulls (Lakotah Citizens' Front)
2003 def. Joseph M. Marshall (Authentic Sioux Congress), Arlo Looking Cloud (Lakotah Independence Party)
