"The death of a 2-year-old girl has brought attention to a real problem on tribal lands — drug use and the lack of adequate enforcement.

Without RieLee Lovell’s death in July while in the care of two people charged with meth and marijuana possession, it might not have come to light that the Yankton Sioux Tribe never got around to using a federal grant to hire a methamphetamine detective.

Now, that failure to use a 2010 C.O.P.S. grant has triggered outrage among people in the tribe who have complained about the meth problem in Charles Mix County and people across the state who are sickened by what happened to RieLee Lovell. The child lived in a tribal housing unit in rural Wagner, and her death went unreported for almost two days because the adults who were supposed to care for her were partying, according to prosecutors."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Stand up and fight drugs in Yankton Sioux tribe (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 8/5)

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