UNITED STATES NEWS

US has treaty duty to fund policing on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, judge rules

May 26, 2023, 3:20 PM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. government has a treaty obligation to support law enforcement on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, but declined for now to determine whether the Oglala Sioux Tribe is entitled to as much funding as it’s seeking.

Tribal leaders depicted the ruling as a victory, saying the important point is that the court confirmed that the federal government has a duty to fund policing on the reservation and ordered U.S. officials to meet with Oglala Sioux leaders “to work together promptly to figure out how to more fairly fund tribal law enforcement.”

The outcome of the case could affect other reservations, including some where Native women are killed at a rate more than 10 times the national average. The Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Montana has filed a similar lawsuit.

Oglala Sioux officials contend the tribe is entitled to federal funding for 120 fully equipped officers for the sprawling Pine Ridge Reservation, something the federal government has disputed.

“This Court concludes that the United States has a treaty duty unique to the Tribe to provide protection and law enforcement cooperation and support on the Reservation. … However, the Tribe has not shown at this stage that a duty extends to entitle the Tribe to the level of funding or support that it sought,” U.S. District Judge Roberto Lange said in an order filed Tuesday.

The tribe sued the Bureau of Indian Affairs and some high-level officials last July. The court held a two-day hearing in February.

The government denied having any such obligation and asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuit.

Lange directed the Bureau of Indian Affairs to help the tribe refine its funding requests “as soon as practicable” to reflect its treaty obligations. He also told the federal government to reevaluate its census-based population estimates for the reservation of 19,800 to 32,000, which are lower than the tribe’s figure of 40,000. The judge said the federal estimates likely represent an undercount.

Oglala Sioux President Frank Star Comes Out and Public Safety Chief Algin Young called on the government in separate statements to provide the tribe with the resources it needs to tackle the public safety and humanitarian crisis on the reservation. If the government fails, Star Comes Out said, the tribe “will look forward to proving at trial that the United States has violated its treaty obligations.”

Officials from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

Lange’s ruling gave a dire depiction of crime on the more than 5,400-square-mile (14,000-square-kilometer) Pine Ridge Reservation, which is about the size of Connecticut. He noted that it’s among the most impoverished places in the country.

“In recent years, communities on the Reservation have struggled with dangerous and highly addictive drugs and experienced unprecedented levels of violence and threats to public safety,” he wrote. “In the Tribe’s view, a lack of competent and effective law enforcement on the Reservation is a big reason for the crisis.”

At any given time over the last several years, Lange wrote, the tribe has only had funding to employ roughly 33 police officers and seven criminal investigators to cover all of its 911 calls. In 2021 alone, nearly 134,000 calls were made to 911 on the reservation, But at any given time, he said, only six to eight, and sometimes fewer, tribal police officers are on duty to respond. So many calls are abandoned or not properly investigated, he said, that many crimes go unprosecuted.

While neither side disputes that crime is “very high” on the reservation and that its police are underfunded, the judge wrote, the federal government insists “that the funding is fair given budget constraints and Congress’s decision to underfund law enforcement services in Indian country generally.”

Across the country, Native American tribes have increasingly advocated through the courts for treaty rights, including hunting, fishing and education, with some success.

Lange concluded that the “express language” of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, when read in conjunction with other treaties and federal laws, “imposes some duty on the United States to provide law enforcement support on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The contours of that duty is a more difficult question.”

___

Associated Press reporter Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this story.

United States News

This photo provided by Mattel shows a Barbie doll of Wilma Mankiller. Toy maker Mattel is honoring ...

Associated Press

Barbie doll honoring Cherokee Nation leader is met with mixed emotions

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An iconic chief of the Cherokee Nation, Wilma Mankiller, inspired countless Native American children as a powerful but humble leader who expanded early education and rural healthcare. Her reach is now broadening with a quintessential American honor: a Barbie doll in the late Mankiller’s likeness as part of toymaker Mattel’s “Inspiring […]

3 hours ago

Notes from students expressing support and sharing coping strategies paper a wall, as members of th...

Associated Press

Lacking counselors, US schools turn to the booming business of online therapy

Trouble with playground bullies started for Maria Ishoo’s daughter in elementary school. Girls ganged up, calling her “fat” and “ugly.” Boys tripped and pushed her. The California mother watched her typically bubbly second-grader retreat into her bedroom and spend afternoons curled up in bed. For Valerie Aguirre’s daughter in Hawaii, a spate of middle school […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

Authorities identify suspect in killing of 3 homeless men in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles man already in custody in connection with another shooting investigation has been identified as the suspect in three recent killings of homeless men, police said Saturday. Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33, was identified as the suspect in the three killings after authorities […]

9 hours ago

Associated Press

Report: Contaminants being removed from vacant Chicago lot where migrant housing is planned

CHICAGO (AP) — High levels of mercury and other contaminants are being removed from a vacant Chicago lot where a tent camp housing 2,000 migrants is planned, a report from a consultant hired by the city said. The Chicago Tribune reported that the nearly 800-page assessment by Terracon Consultants released Friday night said high levels […]

9 hours ago

Associated Press

Winter weather in Pacific Northwest cuts power to thousands in Seattle, dumps snow on Cascades

SEATTLE (AP) — Winter weather brought high winds and snow to parts of the Pacific Northwest, knocking out power in some areas and dumping fresh snow across the Cascade Range. Thousands of households were without power Saturday morning in the greater Seattle area after a night of rain and wind, the Seattle Times reported. Seattle […]

12 hours ago

Associated Press

Group of swing state Muslims vows to ditch Biden in 2024 over his war stance

CHICAGO (AP) — Muslim community leaders from several swing states pledged to withdraw support for U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday at a conference in suburban Detroit, citing his refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Democrats in Michigan have warned the White House that Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war could cost him […]

12 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

Follow @KTAR923...

The best ways to honor our heroes on Veterans Day and give back to the community

Veterans Day is fast approaching and there's no better way to support our veterans than to donate to the Military Assistance Mission.

...

Desert Institute for Spine Care

Desert Institute for Spine Care (DISC) wants to help Valley residents address back, neck issues through awake spine surgery

As the weather begins to change, those with back issues can no longer rely on the dry heat to aid their backs. That's where DISC comes in.

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Importance of AC maintenance after Arizona’s excruciating heat wave

An air conditioning unit in Phoenix is vital to living a comfortable life inside, away from triple-digit heat.

US has treaty duty to fund policing on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, judge rules