(This is the first in an occasional series about the issues facing counties and American Indians.)
Even though he just made history by being elected the first American Indian county commissioner in Bennett County, S.D., Gerald Bettelyoun is ready to put the past behind him and to get to work.
“I’m eager to get to work,” Bettelyoun said. “I’m confident that the problem we had before is gone. This election woke up Bennett County, and I can guarantee you that we won’t have the same problems we had before.”
The problems Bettelyoun refers to stem from complaints within the American Indian community in Bennett accusing the sheriff of harassment, abuse and profiling by local police officers.
When the Lacreek District Civil Rights Commission felt the U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Civil Rights Commission didn’t adequately address its concerns, the commission considered business boycotts throughout the county and lawsuits. But, acting on a suggestion from the American Civil Liberties Union, the group instead undertook a great effort to register new American Indian voters and recruit American Indian candidates.
The three white incumbents, running for County Commission were defeated in the primaries by American Indian candidates. Two of those candidates later had to drop out of the race, because as federal employees, the Hatch Act prevents them from running for public office. But Bettelyoun, a 25-year employee of the federal government, decided to retire and pursue his candidacy.
“I just knew I was going to win, so I did not hesitate to resign from my job,” Bettelyoun said.
In addition to electing Bettelyoun, the county, which borders the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Reservations, also elected a new sheriff. Like Bettelyoun, sheriff-elect Charley Cummings is an Ogala Lakota.
White commissioners on the board are also ready to put the past behind them and get on with the work of the county.
“I think this is going to work out just fine,” said Commissioner Wayne Livermont. “These are two knowledgeable and upstanding guys and I’m eager to get to work with them.”
Livermont and Bettelyoun both agreed that the outgoing sheriff was the major cause for concern in the county and that much of the media hype around the story blew the race card out of proportion.
“I guess however they [The Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press] want to print things, they are going to print them,” Livermont said. “But I wasn’t too happy with how it was portrayed. No one was. This really was not a huge issue.”
Livermont commended Bettelyoun and others for getting out the American Indian vote.
“I never really saw much interest in them to get involved in the past, but they were clearly organized this election and they won,” Livermont said.
And the votes of American Indians weren’t just felt in local races. Senator-elect Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) defeated Republican Rep. John Thune by 524 votes. American Indians comprise 9 percent of the state’s population, but are the majority in several key counties. Johnson and Democratic Party leaders in the state contend that efforts to get out the vote in the American Indian community, including registering many new voters, is what made the difference. There were allegations of voter registration fraud, but the South Dakota Attorney General said there was evidence of just one contractor wrongly registering American Indians.
“On Nov. 5, 2002, the dream was realized by so many who wished there would be a day when Native Americans registered and voted in large numbers and made their effort felt,” said activist Russell Means.
Tribes and reservations from around the Great Plains are calling to find out the secret to the Bennett County success. And Bettelyoun does not see his and Cummings’ wins as just a one-time thing.
“We’re going to keep at this,” Bettelyoun said. “Every position that is coming open, we are going to try and stick someone in there.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
