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Crow Creek Chairman Sazue Boycotting Chamberlain; Businesses Try Not to Notice

Remember Crow Creek Sioux tribal chairman Brandon Sazue's call to boycott Chamberlain in response to that school district's continuing refusal to allow a Lakota honor song at its high school graduation? It's on... at least for Sazue:

Crow Creek Sioux Tribe chairman Brandon Sazue is willing to drive an hour across the rolling central South Dakota grasslands that separate his reservation from Pierre, the state capital, in order to buy sneakers for his kids. He has declared a personal economic boycott of Chamberlain, the reservation border town that’s a half-hour closer to his house [Stephanie Woodard, "Crow Creek Sioux Boycott Border-town Businesses Over Banned Honor Song," Indian Country Today].

One may argue that the drive from Chamberlain to Pierre doesn't represent a quantum leap in social progressivism, but Pierre does include a Lakota honor song in its graduation.

So how big is the boycott?

...Sazue isn’t requiring anyone to join his boycott, and it’s not known how many individuals have followed his lead. But one prominent business is joining the boycott: the tribe’s Lode Star Casino, in Fort Thompson. The casino’s board of directors voted in early June to begin purchasing goods and services—from beverages to air-conditioner repair—from non-Chamberlain suppliers, Sazue said [Woodard, 2013.06.24].

The Chamberlain Chamber of Commerce's response shows more local ostrichism:

Is the boycott hurting Chamberlain? “No comment,” responded Ashley Chrisinger, assistant director of the area’s chamber of commerce. “That’s between the school board and the tribe. We don’t want any part of that” [Woodard, 2013.06.24].

I don't think you get to put your head in that sand, Ms. Chrisinger. Reread your Chamber mission and priorities: when your public school board, elected by you, harms your community's image and drives business away, you have a part of that.

Sazue's boycott has provoked some community response. Woodard reports that Winner rancher Steve Novotny wrote a letter to the editor declaring all Indians welfare queens. Yankton Sioux tribal chairman Thurman Cournoyer responded with a letter pointing out that Novotny receives oodles of farm subsidies (I find $329,154 in federal payments to Novotny on the EWG database). Woodard reports that Novotny responds that he's not racist; he thinks everyone receiving welfare is "worthless."

Against a lack of empathy* and logic like that, a good hard hit to the pocketbook may be the only way to get through to social regressives in and around Chamberlain. Turn up the heat, Chairman Sazue!

*Related: Lack of empathy... that's the fundamental flaw punter and author Chris Kluwe finds in Ayn Rand's arch-hero John Galt.

4 Comments

  1. Rorschach 2013.06.25

    There's something precious about someone who has taken over $300,000 in taxpayer money from the federal government calling anybody else a "welfare queen." Some major cognitive dissonance going on.

  2. Gerry Estes 2013.06.25

    To Steve Novotny.....$329,154 is ALOT of WELFARE for one person. Doesn't that make you feel "worthless" ?

  3. Douglas Wiken 2013.06.25

    Steve Novotny is an interesting character. He targets whatever he thinks is nonsense and praises what he thinks makes sense. Sometimes he is about 180 degrees off base and other times he is dead on the target.

    The comments that Steve made which did make sense were ignored by the Native Americans who instead responded with argument to the man.

    I still haven't gotten any figures on the gross national product of the sovereign nations.

    And more to the point of the Native American's nonsense demand, where does singing for ancestors stop. We should have Bohemian polkas, Norwegian sagas, bits of German Wagnerian opera, some Irish jigs, Scottish poetry, etc. Chamberlain should just say to hell with ALL music. Skip the graduation oratory. Pass out the diplomas with the only speech being reading of the recipient's name. Not even one Ole and Lena joke. That is not just a good idea for Chamberlain, but for all schools.

    That would shorten the interminable ceremony.

  4. Rorschach 2013.06.25

    So Douglas, you want to do away with St. Patrick's Day parades, Czech Days, the Tulip Festival and Quanzaa? Alright. Have it your way.

    But unlike those other ethnic groups you mentioned, the Indians were here first. They were singing honor songs before the Norwegians came here. We can force their kids to go to school till they turn 18, so who's to tell them they can't do an honor song at graduation? The forced assimilation process continues.

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