Yankton Sioux Tribe loses Missouri River lawsuit

Thursday, April 3, 2008  

A federal judge has rejected the Yankton Sioux Tribe's attempt to block the transfer of two federal sites to the state of South Dakota.

The tribe said the sites along the Missouri River are part of its reservation. But Judge Lawrence Piersol in South Dakota said they were not Indian Country in a decision filed March 31.

The tribe filed suit in 2002 after state workers removed tribal remains without notification. Piersol later blocked work at the sites and burial issues were eventually settled with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Get the Story:
Yankton Sioux Tribe loses court challenge (AP 4/3)

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