Copyright © 2000 NLThomas
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KYLE, SD - Two million dollars a year for ten years, did Pine Ridge win the lottery? No, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture took a gamble on the Oglala Sioux Tribe by making it a Round II Rural Empowerment Zone community, one of the five designated empowerment zones in the nation this year.

President Clinton announced the designation of Pine Ridge as one of he 20 national empowerment zones when he visited the reservations in the summer of 1998, after the devastating Oglala tornado.

The zone includes the most densely populated areas of the reservation, covering approximately 1000 of the reservation's 7000 square miles. It encompasses all of Shannon County, which is the poorest county in the nation, and parts of Jackson and Bennett Counties.

Herb Wounded Head II, Executive director of the Oglala Oyate Woitancan (OOW) Empowerment Zone, a private non-profit organization, is happy, nervous and excited. He and his board of Directors are organized, the financial system is operational and they are poised to take advantage of the federal money promised. The money is to encourage projects that attract businesses, create jobs and improve neighborhoods.

The OOW Empowerment zone was created to promote economomic independence of individuals and families, create and strengthen a vital and diverse economy, ensure a desirable quality of life and a safe and healthy living environment.

It is also intended to strengthen communities and the reservation capacity to build families.

This presents an excellent opportunity for the people of hte Oglala Lakota Nation to direct thier own recovery and move toward long-term self-sufficiency.

"There's some excitement about this whole process", Wounded Head said. "One of the things I am working on is making sure the public information is available at each step. People need to know what's happening with the program."

Forthcoming will be a comprehensive report listing completed projects as well as those pending, such as the Suanne Big Crow Boys and Girls club.

Wounded Head wants to thank "all the players and key personnel for making this a reality. There were a lot of players and participants that helped in materializing the strategic plan, which was the basis for obtaining our designation as an empowerment zone. There were five zones designated in the nation this year and we were the only Indian tribe to be so designated."

There are nine task forces, each representing a district of the reservation. One person was selected from each task force to represent their specific district on the OOW Empowerment Zone Board of Directors.

The Board Officers are Terry Mills of Pine Ridge as chairman, Ron "Beef" Randall of Eagle Nest as vice chairman, Corrine Brave from Oglala serving as secretary, and Floyd White Eyes of Porcupine, treasurer.

Also sitting on the board are Charles Bettelyoun, LaCreek District; John Her Many Horses, Wounded Knee District; Mona Patton, Medicine Root District; Albert Sharp Jr., Pass Creek District; and Sandy Two Lance, Wakpamni District.

There are always to be three Tribal Council representatives on the board, too. At present they are G. Wayne Tapio, Chairman of the Economic and Business Development Commission for the tribe, Mike Her Many Horses, and an additional member acting as OST President's Repsresentative, but a specific person has not been designated.