Daugaard in Black Hills All Three Days of Tribal Summit, Still Doesn’t Show

Governor Dennis Daugaard was strangely absent from a summit of South Dakota's nine tribes held May 15 through May 17 in Rapid City to discuss South Dakota's failure to comply with the federal Indian Child Welfare Act. Given the charges that Daugaard and the state's social services have been complicit in what some call genocide against our Lakota neighbors, one would think the Governor would find it important to listen to such concerns, straighten out misconceptions, and build trust and communication with South Dakotans aggrieved by our foster care practices.

Kevin Woster thought he'd caught the Governor in a pickle—er, some salsa—when he reported that Governor Daugaard was spotted at Qdoba in Rapid City on Friday, May 17. Daugaard advisor Tony Venhuizen quickly responded that his boss was not in Rapid City at all on Friday, May 17. According to Venhuizen, Daugaard spent that Friday in Hot Springs, likely working on details for the special session of the Legislature he's had to call thanks to his people lowballing the cost estimates of building a new state veterans home there. He also met with Oglala Tribe President Bryan Brewer.

Then Woster's Qdoba tipster called back. Woster had gotten the tip wrong. The tipster saw the Governor at a Rapid City Qdoba on Wednesday, May 15, the first day of the tribal ICWA summit. Venhuizen then acknowledged that the Governor was indeed in the Black Hills, in the neighborhood, the entire three days of the summit:

The governor drove out west with staff attorney Jim Seward that day, the 15th, to spend much of the afternoon at the Star Academy near Custer, and "probably stopped at Qdoba on the way down there," according to Venhuizen.

It turns out, Venhuizen says, Double D is a big Qdoba fan.

After Star Academy business, Daugaard on Thursday hosted a meeting on the federal budget and economic outlook at the State Game Lodge with economists from the Federal Reserve and the Pew Center, Venhuizen said [Kevin Woster, "Chapter 3 of Daugaard and the Burrito: Tipster takes Offense," Mount Blogmore, 2013.05.29].

Let me repeat: Governor Dennis Daugaard was in the Black Hills every day of the tribal foster care summit. He hung around Saturday as well for the big Pennington County GOP fundraiser.

Woster reminds us that the Governor wasn't just fishing at Sylvan Lake or catching a movie at the Elks Theatre; he was busy with a string of scheduled events discussing important issues with important people.

But Dennis Daugaard is The Governor. He has more freedom to change his schedule and set priorities than anyone in South Dakota (except maybe T. Denny Sanford). If he wanted to set aside even an hour to sit in at the tribal summit, he could call just about anyone else on his calendar, say "Something important has come up; we need to move our meeting," and even I would respond, "Yes, sir! No problem, sir! I'll be happy to accommodate your schedule, sir." He didn't even have to prepare for the tribal foster care summit; by just stepping in, taking a seat, and listening for an hour, he could have erased 90% of the bad press his administration got that week for ignoring Indian foster care problems.

But in three whole days, Governor Daugaard chose not to make that time. He dashed in for his Qdoba's, then carried on with things he thought were more important. Visiting the tribal summit wouldn't have solved South Dakota's Indian foster care problems, but it would have been an important gesture to build trust for working with the tribes on solutions.