It was certainly a grand weekend for Henry Red Cloud. He was host on Saturday night to State Representative Paula Hawks and U.S. Senate Candidate Jay Williams at the Oglala Nation Annual Powwow.
On Sunday, Henry and Jay participated in a Grand Giveaway....where various people provided things that were given away to local tribal people. In Henry's case it included distributing early harvest food from the Solar Warrior Farm that he manages. (from Richard Fox, campaign manager)
Henry Red Cloud is looking to become a member of South Dakota's Public Utility Commission. This past weekend he was joined by Representative Paula Hawks and Senate Candidate Jay Williams at the Oglala National Annual Powwow. They each were part of the Grand Procession that started the Powwow on Saturday night.
Henry was born and grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation and is a direct descendant of Chief Red Cloud (Mahpiya Luta), one of the last war chiefs of the Lakota Sioux and one of the best known and photographed Native Americans in U.S. history.
Looking at his visit Jay commented: “It was a great honor for me to participate in the beautiful evening ceremony. It was a very moving experience for me. South Dakota is fortunate to have Henry Red Cloud, with his experience and expertise running for PUC. We must all make our voices heard, and elect him!”
Henry co-manages the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center (RCREC), a one-of-a-kind educational facility where students from South Dakota and around the U.S. receive hands-on job training in renewable energy technology and sustainable building practices.
Red Cloud's campaign focuses on making sure the land and health of South Dakotan farmers, ranchers and tribes are protected from oil spills and aggressive oil companies. He is particularly concerned where pipelines bring Canadian oil through South Dakota so other states and countries can have the oil. This leaves South Dakota farmers, ranchers and tribes with unprecedented liability and health risks when the pipeline ruptures as it often does.
As of 2014, there were nine tribes in South Dakota with approximately 71,800 Native Americans living on their tribal land. Nationally, Native Americans make up about 2% of the overall population and more than ever before this Native American vote is increasingly important as efforts continue to register tribal members and get them to vote.
The message of the night at the Powwow was Standing Together in Unity.
“It is in recognizing, respecting and utilizing our diversity here in South Dakota that we can build a better future AND a thriving economy for all of us! “ Henry Red Cloud.
Jay Williams made clear his thoughts on the need for a transition from fossil fuels. “The most important challenge we face as people... is the damage we are doing to the environment from using fossil fuels as our energy source. We cannot continue along this road. It is vital that we transition from the use of fossil fuels to clean energy sources like wind and solar. It is really important that we elect leaders and who understand this and who will implement policies to make that change happen. We have the chance in South Dakota to do that by electing Henry Red Cloud onto the Public Utilities Commission."
Henry recognizes the need to move from an oil based energy system to renewable energy and wants to see investments made that build that future and believes the PUC is too narrowly focused on just oil resources.
Henry says, “South Dakota is blessed with huge solar and wind power resources. Should we use them... build them up...build our economy on a solid platform that respects the land while providing new high paying jobs? I say YES!”
"It is time we look out for all our children and show them we are smart enough to take care of our land and all our people, while also building tomorrow's strong vibrant economy. We just have to have the courage to move forward while we protect our natural heritage for our children and future generations!"
Paula Hawks — DONATE Jay Williams — DONATE
Oh yes, and of course all candidates are members of 90for90!