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MONDAY, MAY 5, 2003

The Sioux Falls Argus Leader ran a special Sunday section on the Sioux Nation's claim to the Black Hills in South Dakota.

'It Is Not For Sale'
The 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie set aside what is now western South Dakota for the Sioux Nation. But less than 10 years later, the U.S. government declared ownership of the land -- and the sacred Black Hills.

Sioux tribes took their claim to the land to the U.S. Indian Claims Commission. Upon realizing they would not get their land returned, they refused a $17.1 million, plus interest, judgment for the Black Hills. But the Supreme Court, while acknowledging the wholesale theft of the land, affirmed the award.

The money sits undisbursed in a Department of Interior trust fund accounts, its value now at least $600 million. Sioux people they won't take the money and want the land returned.

"There is no legal bar, no law set by the Supreme Court or act of Congress that prohibits the land from being returned," University of South Dakota law professor Frank Pommersheimm told the paper. "So it is possible."
Get the Story:
Visions of a new future (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 5/4)

Tribal youth know treaty rights
Treaty rights are common knowledge to even the youngest of tribal members "My mom and dad teach me. It's important to them, and they want me to know," Byron Bearrobe, 11, told the paper.

But don't count on the public schools to educate about treaties. Leona White Hat, assistant director of Indian Studies at Black Hills State University, analyzed textbooks and found that most dedicated just one chapter about Indian history.

Some, however, are working to change that. Lydia Whirlwind Soldier is the Lakota studies curriculum director for Todd County Schools. She tries to incorporate as much cultural, history and other Lakota knowledge into everyday learning.

Even those who grow up far from their homeland have taken the lead. Shane Thin Elk is only a third year law student at the University of South Dakota but he's teaching an Indian Law and Justice class.
Get the Story:
Youths aim to rewrite history (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 5/4)
Preserving a people's identity (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 5/4)
Out to change the world (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 5/4)

Lower Brule Tribe develops economy
Michael Jandreau has led the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe for 24 years. Some say that has helped bring stability and economic development to the reservation.

The tribe uses interest from a $39 million trust fund for community projects. There is also a casino, a bank branch and a large farm.
Get the Story:
Lower Brule Tribe plants seeds for economic success (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 5/4)

Competing sovereigns
Crime on the reservation is sorted out by the race of the offender and sometimes the victims. At any one point, the tribe, state and federal government have jurisdiction.

But that doesn't always help, according to state attorney general Larry Long. "[Y]ou either have too much law enforcement or none at all," he told the paper. "That's when the victim suffers."
Get the Story:
Justice sometimes becomes victim of sovereignty (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 5/4)

Reconciliation
Of the history of broken treaties, the paper in an editorial says South Dakotans have to accept it. "It's easier to dismiss the history as myth and legend, sweep the other point of view under the rug as disgruntled whining," the paper says.

The paper says Indians and non-Indians must work together to find understanding.
Get the Story:
Racial reconciliation (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 5/4)

Get the Story:
Broken treaties and the Black Hills (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 5/4)