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Interview: Tribal Council Mismanagement and Millions Missing
Photo © 2004 Rolf Blauert, Wikimedia Commons
On South Dakota’s impoverished Lower Brule Sioux reservation, $1.2 million of US government funding dedicated to providing the tribe with drinking water has disappeared. Roughly $2.6 million in federal money earmarked for education and other social programs went missing – after which the reservation’s school system performed so poorly it had to be overhauled. Then there was the scandal involving the Tribal Government’s purchase of a nearly insolvent Wall Street firm, a federally backed loan, and about $20 million that hasn’t been accounted for.
At the center of this financial chaos is the reservation’s Tribal Council, a group of six elected officials, some of whom have held their position for a decade or longer. Three are still in office, while three others lost their seats to reform candidates in September 2014.
For years now, the council has only released select information about its actions. Since 2007, it has refused to share any documentation about its spending with members of the tribe, including some members of the council itself, despite repeated requests. In 2007, tribe members began writing their senators and the Bureau of Indian Affairs requesting a formal investigation, to no avail.
Two years ago, the Human Rights Watch business division director, Arvind Ganesan, began probing allegations of abuse on the reservation, helping unravel the tale of the council’s shady dealings. He talks with Amy Braunschweiger about the new report, “Secret and Unaccountable,” and about how last fall’s elections have turned the tribe upside down. share on:   |
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Dispatches: What Really Happened in Baga, Nigeria?
by Mausi Segun
Since January 3, Boko Haram militants have attacked – almost on a daily basis – the area surrounding Baga, a fishing settlement in Nigeria’s northeast Borno State. Satellite imagery acquired by Human Rights Watch reveals evidence of large-scale destruction, particularly in the town of Doro Gowon, a few kilometers from Baga. The exact death toll in Baga and 16 surrounding villages is unknown, with estimates ranging from “dozens” to 2000 or more. “No one stayed back to count bodies,” one local resident told Human Rights Watch.
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In Cambodia, 30 Years of Hun Sen Violence, Repression
For three decades, Hun Sen has repeatedly used political violence, repression, and corruption to remain in power. Cambodia urgently needs reforms so that its people can finally exercise their basic human rights without fear of arrest, torture, and execution. The role of international donors is crucial in making this happen.
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Dispatches: After Charlie Hebdo, Tackling Intolerance Against Jews and Muslims
by Izza Leghtas
Last Sunday people filled the streets of Paris and other French cities and towns in an overwhelming expression of solidarity with the victims of the brutal attacks last week that left 17 people dead. People of all ages and all backgrounds walked together, holding up signs with the words “I am Charlie,” “I am Jewish,” and “I am Ahmed,” the name of a policeman killed following the attack on Charlie Hebdo. But in contrast with this feeling of unity and solidarity, a wave of Islamophobic attacks has seized France.
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Saudi Blogger's Flogging Should Outrage US
by Sarah Leah Whitson
Where are some Muslims getting the idea that violence against journalists who offend them is OK? Why do they see beheadings as a fitting punishment? A good place to look for answers would be to examine Saudi Arabia's policies of intolerance and extremism. Last Friday, Saudi Arabia carried out round one of a public flogging – 50 lashes – against Raif Badawi, a young blogger, in front of the al-Jafali mosque in Jeddah.
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| SATELLITE IMAGES | | |  | | Satellite-detected areas of fire burn scars and building destruction in Doro Gowon, Borno State, Nigeria (as on January 10, 2015).
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| TWEET of the WEEK |  | The sign says it all: "Girls Don't Hitchhike. Killer on the Loose." http://bit.ly/14ZI1Ry #HighwayOfTears
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