Presorted standard u. S. Postage paid ortonville, mn permit no. 3 Sota Per Copy

“Wo’okiye was’te qa wico zani o’wacin yuhapo”

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Page 3

Sota Iya Ye Yapi

Sota Iya Ye Yapi Staff

C.D. Floro .....................................Managing Editor

John Heminger ..................................Photographer

Christy Floro ...............Office/Distribution Manager

Earth and Sky Enterprises .......................Production

Annual Subscription Rates

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Notice to Contributors

Submit news and advertising copy, as well as subscription 

orders, to: Sota Iya Ye Yapi, P.O. Box 5, Wilmot, 

SD 57279. Deadline for receipt of all copy to be 

considered for publication is 12:00 noon on Friday 

prior to the week of publication (with the exception 

of letters to the editor/Oyate, or “opinion” letters, 

which are to be submitted by 10:00 a.m. Thursday.)

Notice to subscribers: A handy clip-out form is available 

for your convenience.

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Policy regarding open letters to the Oyate

If you are writing an opinion letter, please note that it 

must be signed and the author’s name will appear 

in print, it must not contain libelous statements, 

and it should be brief, ideally 500 words or less, in 

order to be considered for publication.

Views expressed are those of the authors and do not 

necessarily reflect opinions of the staff or the 

Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe of the Lake 

Traverse Reservation. Editorials by the staff do not 

necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Tribe.

Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the 

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news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and 

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Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the 

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Official newspaper of the

Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe

Of the Lake Traverse Reservation

Since 1968

On September 24, 2018 – The Sisseton-Wahpeton 

Oyate Tribe received a notice of award for a grant 

from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service 

Administration (SAMHSA) last Tuesday, September 

24th.

A Tribal Opioid Response grant has been funded 

in the amount of $406,188 ($203,094 per year) for two 

years.

SAMHSA is the agency within the U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services that leads 

public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of 

the nation.

SAMHSA’s mission is to reduce the impact 

of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s 

communities.

TOR aims to respond to the national opioid 

abuse and overdose crisis and build SWO’s public 

health capacity to address the Tribal Council’s declared 

behavioral health crisis, enacted Controlled Substance 

Act of 2017, and SWO Health Plan 2016-2020 priority 

initiatives.

The goal is to develop and implement collaborative 

prevention, treatment, and recovery support services for 

Tribal citizens diagnosed with Opioid Use Disorder.

The project will engage 50 participants during the 

two-year period from the following subpopulations of 

focus:

1) criminal justice clientele.

2) substance use disorder treatment programs 

clients with diagnosed Opioid Use Disorder.

3) patients diagnosed with Opioid Use Disorder 

receiving medication-assisted therapy but no 

psychosocial services.

3) pregnant women using/abusing opioids.

4) persons with suicidal behavior.

5) those at risk for overdose.

The Tribe intends for Project TOR to be integrated 

within its current TAP (2016-2020) implementation 

efforts, rater tha as a freestanding plan on its own, 

independent of Tribal Health.

Project TOR staff are expected to join the active 

stakeholders’ work group, participate in regularly 

scheduled meetings, study the TAP, prepare an annex 

to the implementation plan for Priority #6, coordinate 

efforts with other stakeholders, and report as part of the 

TAP at the end of 2019 and 2020.

The TOR proposal was authorized by Tribal 

Resolution No. 18-08 on July 18, 2018.

SWO Health Plan (2016-2020) grant writer 

consultant Lise Erdrich completed the grant application 

with input and support from a project development 

team comprised of representatives from SWO programs: 

Health Administration, Dakotah Pride Center, 

Mayuteca Day Treatment Program, Community Health 

Education, and the offices of the Tribal Secretary and 

Tribal Chairman.

Valuable input was also provided by Aliive Roberts 

County, the Human Services Agency, and Indian Health 

Service Pharmacists.

TOR will start during October and, after a three-

month development period, services will begin by 

February 1, 2019.

The grant will employ a Nurse Care Connector 

and part-time Project Coordinator/Data Specialist.

The project promotes implementation of evidence-

based practices for treatment of opioid use disorder, not 

yet available to Lake Traverse Reservation citizens, in a 

safe and efficient manner.

An objective is to create awareness through 

community education about available services and how 

to access them.

TOR will also network with outside agencies and 

coalitions to mobilize resources and foster changes to 

reduce unmet treatment need and opioid overdose 

related deaths and combat the opioid crisis for American 

Indian citizens of the Lake Traverse Reservation.

Sota guest editorials –

Lindsey Graham’s meltdown gives away the 

GOP game on Kavanaugh

By Greg Sargent

Washington Post editorial – Sept. 27, 2018 – Christine Blasey Ford has finished testifying, and judging by 

Twitter and cable, the widespread consensus among neutral observers and even some Republicans has been that she 

was entirely credible. Ford was endearingly convincing in declaring that her only true motive in coming forward 

was to help the assembled senators — and the country — by informing them of what she personally experienced at 

the hands of Brett M. Kavanaugh.

Ford erred on the side of caution when navigating the perils of memory, and struck an oddly compelling 

balance by airing her own emotions while explaining them in the clinical language of a psychology professor.

As many have pointed out, Rachel Mitchell — the prosecutor who questioned Ford so GOP senators didn’t 

have to — seemed to burn up her time on meaningless trivialities, asking Ford questions about her fear of flying, 

making opaque points about the layout of the neighborhood and floating impenetrable arguments about who paid 

for Ford’s polygraph test.

Why did Mitchell do this? Did she just screw up?

I think the answer lies in the meltdown that Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) just displayed to reporters 

moments ago. Referring to Democrats, Graham said:

“I’m really upset that they knew about this in August and never told anybody. … All I can say is that we’re 40 

days away from the election, and their goal — not Ms. Ford’s goal — is to lay this past the midterms so they can 

win the Senate and never allow Trump to fill this seat…I don’t know who paid for her polygraph but somebody did. 

… I feel ambushed.”

“As the majority, we’re going to hear from Judge Kavanaugh. … When it comes to where it happened, I still 

don’t know. I don’t know when it happened. She said she’s 100 percent certain it did happen. I bet you Judge 

Kavanaugh will say ‘I’m 100 percent sure I didn’t do it.’ … She can’t tell us how she got home and how she got 

there. That’s the facts I’m left with. A nice lady who has come forward to tell a hard story … if this is enough, God 

help anybody else that gets nominated.”

My guess is that the Republican game going into this was for Mitchell to make as few waves as possible, 

because they expect that Kavanaugh will be able to deny the allegations with sufficient conviction to allow the 

handful of wavering GOP senators to decide they have just enough cover to confirm him, on the idea that at its 

core, this is fundamentally unresolvable. Given that expectation, it was fine for Mitchell not to go hard at Ford to 

undermine her credibility, because at the end of the day, all that matters to keep those undecideds in the fold is for 

them to be able to say they have no grounds for saying that Kavanaugh was less credible than Ford was.

In other words, Republicans went into this counting on it to be a wash. That’s what Graham basically tried to 

say when he framed this as a “nice lady who has come forward to tell a hard story,” while adding that she couldn’t 

provide sufficient chronological and geographical details to furnish grounds for disbelieving Kavanaugh when he 

says “I’m 100 percent sure I didn’t do it.”

At the same time, as Graham’s tirade shows (note his reference to the mystery of who paid for the polygraph), 

the specifics of Mitchell’s questioning did appear designed to feed right-wing media material to run with all sorts of 

weird conspiracy theorizing about how this is all a Democratic plot. As Jeet Heer put it:

“One problem with Mitchell’s questioning is that it only made sense if you are fluent in wingnut and only 

27% of America speaks wingnut. To everyone else, it’s gibberish.” – Jeet Heer tweet

Right-wing media can tell the base that the proceedings were a secret success, even as Republicans avoided 

going hard at Ford in a way that might have alienated millions of suburban and college-educated white women who 

will decide the midterms.

But what they did not count on was that Ford’s performance might have a force all its own, independent of 

whatever Republicans did or did not do to frame the day’s events. In this sense, Graham — and Republicans — 

really were ambushed. No wonder Graham is so ticked off.

I don’t know if the force of Ford’s performance will be enough to get two Republicans to oppose Kavanaugh’s 

confirmation, so in this sense, the Republican gamble going in could still pay off. But after Ford’s showing, it seems 

even clearer today that Republicans will indeed pay a big political price if they do confirm him.

(Editor’s note: If we pay attention to our Oyate, to our Indigenous women relatives, we see exposed the elite 

white patriarchy that runs things in this country – a patriarchal system which, unfortunately, has its parallel in our 

Indian communities.)

We hope for a good turnout at the District centers 

this Tuesday, where Tribal members are making their 

selections in the primary races.

The polls are open from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. 

in all seven Districts.

Tribal Council will call a meeting afterwards in the 

admin building rotunda, where the Reservation Election 

Board will count ballots.

See next week’s Sota for official results.

*****

Watch for a report from Veterans Service Officer 

Geri Opsal, and photographer John Heminger, on 

the Tribe’s observance of POW/MIA Day on Friday, 

September 21st.

We hope to share that report next week in the Sota.

*****

The Tribal Elderly Board hosted an Executive 

candidates forum last week, on Wednesday evening, 

September 26th.

We believed that the event was to be broadcast live 

by KXSW and available over the internet live, and for 

watching later.

But on Wednesday Tom informed us that there still 

is no wifi signal available at Agency Village.

It’s nearly unbelievable that the Tribe cannot access 

bandwidth for live news coverage.

Also, videotaped content could be taken and made 

available later, on demand, by Oyate with internet 

access. That would be especially good for those who are 

working when the live event is happening.

We should assist our Tribal radio station in getting 

the access required.

*****

The KXSW live broadcast from the North Dakota 

field where the industrial hemp demonstration project is 

underway, worked out very well.

Anyone with internet access can watch it on 

Facebook; just check out the radio station or Tom 

Wilson.

Please see our coverage of hemp day in this issue.

Our thanks to Tom Wilson and photographer John 

Heminger for coverage of the event.

*****

Our thanks to SWO Tribal Health Coordinator 

Sara DeCoteau for sharing information about the TOR 

grant awarded to the Tribe from SAMHSA.

Please read about the grant, and what it will mean 

to have the TOR project become integrated with other 

programs aimed at bringing healing to Oyate struggling 

with addictions.

*****

We invite all candidates for SWO office in this 

year’s elections, to submit an open letter.

Please write down, up to 500 words, your reasons 

for running and reasons why the Oyate should vote for 

you.

We also offer discounted rates for political 

advertising. This discount is to encourage you to use the 

Sota to advertise your campaign.

These discounted ads, however, must be paid for in 

advance.

Please read the notice in our legal section.

*****

Elder’s Meditation:

“Love is something that you can leave behind you 

when you die. It’s that powerful.”

–John (Fire) Lame Deer, ROSEBUD LAKOTA

The Old Ones say, love is all anyone needs. Love 

doesn’t go away nor can love be divided. Once you 

commit an act of love, you’ll find it continues. Love is 

like setting up dominos one behind the other. Once 

you hit the first domino, it will touch the second one 

which will touch the third one and so on. Every love act 

or love thought has an affect on each person as well as 

touching the whole world. If you live a life filled with 

love, the results will affect your friends, relatives, and 

other people, even after you go to the other side. So… 

Love.

*****

Words to consider (or, perhaps not!):

Everyone’s a hero in their own way, in their own 

not that heroic way. - Joss Whedon, Zack Whedon, 

Maurissa Tancharoen, and Jed Whedon, Dr. Horrible’s 

Sing Along Blog, 2008

In democracy it’s your vote that counts; In 

feudalism it’s your count that votes. - Mogens Jallberg

There art two cardinal sins from which all others 

spring: Impatience and Laziness. - Franz Kafka (1883 - 

1924)

When a thing is funny, search it carefully for a 

hidden truth. - George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

It is a good morning exercise for a research scientist 

to discard a pet hypothesis every day before breakfast. It 

keeps him young. - Konrad Lorenz (1903 - 1989)

There will always be a part, and always a very 

large part of every community, that have no care but 

for themselves, and whose care for themselves reaches 

little further than impatience of immediate pain, and 

eagerness for the nearest good. - Samuel Johnson (1709 

- 1784), Taxation No Tyranny

*****

The Sota is always looking for news of the Oyate.

If you have information and/or photos of 

newsworthy happenings in your family or community, 

please consider sharing with your Sota staff.

For submission deadlines and other information, 

see below:

Except for holidays copy to be considered for 

publication – news, advertising, editorial opinion letters, 

etc. – is to be submitted to: Sota, P.O. Box 5, Wilmot, 

SD 57279 by 10:00 a.m. on Thursday. FAX and e-mail 

submissions will be accepted until 12:00 noon on 

Friday (with the exception of letters to the editor/open 

letters to the Oyate, or “opinion” letters, which must be 

received by 10:00 a.m. Thursday).

If you are writing an opinion letter, please note 

that it must be signed and the author’s name will appear 

in print. Letters must not contain libel and must be 

brief, ideally 500 words or less. Letters may be edited 

for content. Omissions will be identified with periods 

. . . editor’s explanations will be provided in [brackets]. 

Readers who want access to unedited versions will need 

to contact the authors.

Earlier receipt of copy is always appreciated. So, 

if you are aware of a date or message that needs to be 

publicized or advertised, please let us know about it in 

advance of the weekly deadline.

The preferred way to submit typed articles and ads, 

art and photos, is by e-mail.

The editor can be reached at the following e-mail 

address:

[e-mail]

For more information, leave a message on the Sota 

production office voicemail [phone], or send a 

fax to the 24-hour dedicated line [phone].

CDF

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