The Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Pine Ridge Agency, Anthony Whirlwind Horse, is being transferred to the Aberdeen, South Dakota area office to avoid real or apparent conflict of interest situations on the Pine Ridge Reservation where his brother, Elijah, was recently elected President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard said that "the decision to reassign Mr. Whirlwind Horse was based on the opinions and advice of the Solicitor and the Department's Ethics Counselor."
Whirlwind Horse will be Tribal Government and Indian Rights Officer in the area office, effective September 24. His grade and pay will not be changed by the transfer.
A former teacher and school principal on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Whirling Horse was appointed Superintendent in November, 1976. A Navy veteran, he is a graduate of the Black Hills State College at Spearfish, South Dakota and has a Master's degree in education from Northern State College, Aberdeen.
Gerrard said that tribal officials had requested that Whirlwind Horse be kept in his position at Pine Ridge but this was not considered possible because, as bother of the tribal president, he would be placed in positions which would at least apparently, if not actually, conflict with Federal regulations.
Gerard said that Whirlwind Horse in his new position, "would be a forceful advocate for all of the tribes served by the Aberdeen Area Office."
