Cecilia Fire Thunder
Encyclopedia
Cecilia Fire Thunder is a nurse, community health planner and tribal leader of the Oglala Sioux. On November 2, 2004, she was the first woman elected as president of the Tribe. She served until being impeached
on June 29, 2006, several months short of the two-year term. The major controversy was over her effort to provide for women on the reservation needing family planning services after the South Dakota legislature banned most abortions throughout the state. The tribal council impeached her for proceeding without gaining their consensus.
A founder of community-based health clinics while living and working in California for two decades, Fire Thunder was among founders of the Oglala Lakota Women's Society after her return to the reservation in 1986. She serves on the National Advisory Board of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
(NOFAS) and has worked at a shelter for domestic abuse. She is the coordinator of the Native Women's Society of the Great Plains.
When Cecilia went to the Catholic Red Cloud Indian School, she had to speak English in class. In 1963 her family moved from the reservation to Los Angeles, California
in a Bureau of Indian Affairs
-sponsored move. The BIA encouraged Native American migration to cities to take advantage of educational and job opportunities.
and the University of California Los Angeles to donate time to the clinic.
After more than 20 years away, in 1986 Fire Thunder returned to the Pine Ridge Reservation and started work at the Bennett County Hospital. She was among the founders of the Oglala Lakota Women's Society. From her years working as a nurse, she had learned of the physical, developmental and learning problems for children born to alcoholic mothers, and encouraged women to get preventive treatment. She serves on the National Advisory Board of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
(NOFAS), founded in 1990. In her work for Cangleska, Inc., a domestic violence
shelter, she also dealt with women who suffered from abuse related to poverty and alcoholism on the reservation.
A Lakota native speaker, Fire Thunder has also been active in tribal efforts to recover and revive use of the Lakota language
among its young people and adults. She sees use of the language as integral to their culture.
, notable as an activist in the American Indian Movement
(AIM), and the incumbent John Yellow Bird Steele. In 2005 the tribal council suspended her, initially for 20 days, in an action that ran to 66 days. They began impeachment proceedings related to allegations that she used tribal land as collateral for a US$38 million loan from the Shakopee Tribe in Minnesota to help pay off short-term debt of the Oglala tribe that totaled $20 million; the remainder of the loan was invested for casino expansion to generate revenue. Fire Thunder said the allegations were false, and she had openly negotiated the loan as part of straightening out the tribe's financial status. After the complaint was dismissed by the council on December 30, Fire Thunder returned to her position.
In March 2006 Fire Thunder announced her intent to create a Planned Parenthood
clinic on her own land, within the reservation. She was responding to the state legislature's passage of a law
banning virtually all abortion
s within South Dakota. From her years of working on women's issues, she believed that her constituents needed full family planning services, and that the reservation as a sovereign entity would not be subject to state laws. In 2004 public opinion polls had shown that 68% of people surveyed in South Dakota supported options for abortions in some cases, so the new law generated controversy across the state.
Fire Thunder's plan attracted widespread media coverage and controversy within the reservation. Some tribal members marched in protest to the tribal council in May 2006 against the planned clinic; others objected to the way Fire Thunder had proceeded. Opponents noted that she was one of 16 leaders of the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families, which circulated petitions to put the abortion ban to a statewide vote. At their council meeting on May 31, 2006, the Oglala Sioux tribal Council suspended Fire Thunder from her duties as president, saying she had not gained their consensus for her actions related to inviting Planned Parenthood to establish a clinic within the reservation. In addition, the Council issued a ban on all abortions on tribal land.
A month after the suspension, the tribal council voted on June 29, 2006 to impeach Fire Thunder from her duties as Tribal President. They had made six charges against her, notably related to the Planned Parenthood clinic, for which they said she had not gained tribal council consensus. Other charges were that Fire Thunder used the media, the U.S. Post Office and the Oglala Sioux Tribe to solicit funds for the clinic. On June 30, 2006, Alex White Plume
, tribal vice-president, assumed the role of President Pro Tem, which he held until the November 2006 election.
Fire Thunder said that she would challenge the impeachment decision.
As of 2010, she is the coordinator of the Native Women's Society of the Great Plains.
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
on June 29, 2006, several months short of the two-year term. The major controversy was over her effort to provide for women on the reservation needing family planning services after the South Dakota legislature banned most abortions throughout the state. The tribal council impeached her for proceeding without gaining their consensus.
A founder of community-based health clinics while living and working in California for two decades, Fire Thunder was among founders of the Oglala Lakota Women's Society after her return to the reservation in 1986. She serves on the National Advisory Board of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Fetal alcohol syndrome
Fetal alcohol syndrome is a pattern of mental and physical defects that can develop in a fetus in association with high levels of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Current research also implicates other lifestyle choices made by the prospective mother...
(NOFAS) and has worked at a shelter for domestic abuse. She is the coordinator of the Native Women's Society of the Great Plains.
Early life and education
Born Cecilia Apple on October 24, 1946 on the Pine Ridge Reservation, she is the third of seven daughters of the late Stephen and Lollie (Featherman) Apple. Her father was a traditional singer and her mother a culture-keeper; the family spoke Lakota at home. Her grandparents are Frank and Theresa (Garcia) Apple and John and Mary (Ice) Featherman. Her sisters are Shirley Murphy, Mary Hawk, Dinah Apple, Carmine Red Eagle, Joanne Apple, and Wanda Apple (Wanda is deceased).When Cecilia went to the Catholic Red Cloud Indian School, she had to speak English in class. In 1963 her family moved from the reservation to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in a Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
-sponsored move. The BIA encouraged Native American migration to cities to take advantage of educational and job opportunities.
Marriage and family
Apple married Ben Fire Thunder while living in Los Angeles, and they had two sons, James and John Fire Thunder. She has two granddaughters from her son John, Katie and Hannah Fire Thunder.Organizations and affiliations
As a young nurse in California, Fire Thunder started community-based health clinics in Los Angeles and San Diego, learning to work in a different culture and to seek resources locally. She was able to persuade doctors from the University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
and the University of California Los Angeles to donate time to the clinic.
After more than 20 years away, in 1986 Fire Thunder returned to the Pine Ridge Reservation and started work at the Bennett County Hospital. She was among the founders of the Oglala Lakota Women's Society. From her years working as a nurse, she had learned of the physical, developmental and learning problems for children born to alcoholic mothers, and encouraged women to get preventive treatment. She serves on the National Advisory Board of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Fetal alcohol syndrome
Fetal alcohol syndrome is a pattern of mental and physical defects that can develop in a fetus in association with high levels of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Current research also implicates other lifestyle choices made by the prospective mother...
(NOFAS), founded in 1990. In her work for Cangleska, Inc., a domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
shelter, she also dealt with women who suffered from abuse related to poverty and alcoholism on the reservation.
A Lakota native speaker, Fire Thunder has also been active in tribal efforts to recover and revive use of the Lakota language
Lakota language
Lakota is a Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of the Sioux tribes. While generally taught and considered by speakers as a separate language, Lakota is mutually understandable with the other two languages , and is considered by most linguists one of the three major varieties of the Sioux...
among its young people and adults. She sees use of the language as integral to their culture.
Tribal presidency
On November 2, 2004, Cecilia Fire Thunder was elected as the first female president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation to serve the two-year term. She defeated both Russell MeansRussell Means
Russell Charles Means is an Oglala Sioux activist for the rights of Native American people. He became a prominent member of the American Indian Movement after joining the organisation in 1968, and helped organize notable events that attracted national and international media coverage...
, notable as an activist in the American Indian Movement
American Indian Movement
The American Indian Movement is a Native American activist organization in the United States, founded in 1968 in Minneapolis, Minnesota by urban Native Americans. The national AIM agenda focuses on spirituality, leadership, and sovereignty...
(AIM), and the incumbent John Yellow Bird Steele. In 2005 the tribal council suspended her, initially for 20 days, in an action that ran to 66 days. They began impeachment proceedings related to allegations that she used tribal land as collateral for a US$38 million loan from the Shakopee Tribe in Minnesota to help pay off short-term debt of the Oglala tribe that totaled $20 million; the remainder of the loan was invested for casino expansion to generate revenue. Fire Thunder said the allegations were false, and she had openly negotiated the loan as part of straightening out the tribe's financial status. After the complaint was dismissed by the council on December 30, Fire Thunder returned to her position.
In March 2006 Fire Thunder announced her intent to create a Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...
clinic on her own land, within the reservation. She was responding to the state legislature's passage of a law
Women's Health and Human Life Protection Act
The Women's Health and Human Life Protection Act was a state law passed by the South Dakota State Legislature in early 2006. It emerged as an effort to overturn Roe v. Wade via enacting a ban on abortion in the state of South Dakota...
banning virtually all abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
s within South Dakota. From her years of working on women's issues, she believed that her constituents needed full family planning services, and that the reservation as a sovereign entity would not be subject to state laws. In 2004 public opinion polls had shown that 68% of people surveyed in South Dakota supported options for abortions in some cases, so the new law generated controversy across the state.
Fire Thunder's plan attracted widespread media coverage and controversy within the reservation. Some tribal members marched in protest to the tribal council in May 2006 against the planned clinic; others objected to the way Fire Thunder had proceeded. Opponents noted that she was one of 16 leaders of the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families, which circulated petitions to put the abortion ban to a statewide vote. At their council meeting on May 31, 2006, the Oglala Sioux tribal Council suspended Fire Thunder from her duties as president, saying she had not gained their consensus for her actions related to inviting Planned Parenthood to establish a clinic within the reservation. In addition, the Council issued a ban on all abortions on tribal land.
A month after the suspension, the tribal council voted on June 29, 2006 to impeach Fire Thunder from her duties as Tribal President. They had made six charges against her, notably related to the Planned Parenthood clinic, for which they said she had not gained tribal council consensus. Other charges were that Fire Thunder used the media, the U.S. Post Office and the Oglala Sioux Tribe to solicit funds for the clinic. On June 30, 2006, Alex White Plume
Alex White Plume
Alex White Plume is the former Vice-President and Tribal President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation, located in South Dakota of the United States...
, tribal vice-president, assumed the role of President Pro Tem, which he held until the November 2006 election.
Fire Thunder said that she would challenge the impeachment decision.
As of 2010, she is the coordinator of the Native Women's Society of the Great Plains.
Legacy and honors
Because of her groundbreaking election as president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and work on women's issues, Fire Hunter has frequently been invited to speak at universities and groups about Lakota women and her experiences, as seen in the following:- March 2010, Women's History Month, New York University, Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality
- September 2010, Tribal Leaders Summit, Bismarck, North Dakota - speaking on issues of domestic violence and concentrating resources for children