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by Ron Forthofer
Originally published in the Colorado Daily Weekend Edition, May 14-17, 1999.
Take action. Ask the U.S. Congress to honor its Indian treaties.
No white person or persons shall be permitted to settle upon or occupy any portion of the territory, or without the consent of the Indians to pass through the same. - Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 between the U.S. government and Red Cloud, the chief Oglala Sioux leader and other chiefs. Unfortunately, it did not take long for the U.S. to violate this treaty and to take the lands promised to the Indians. The whites’ lust for the gold in the Black Hills in South Dakota proved to be far stronger than honor or integrity.
The mistreatment of the Sioux and violation of treaties by the U.S. government continues today. The latest shameful act in this ongoing tragedy features Senate Minority leader Tom Daschle and South Dakota Governor William Janklow. These two villains have conspired to take ‘federal’ land belonging to the Great Sioux Nation, land promised to the Sioux in treaties of 1851 and 1868 and again in the 1940s.
In what has become all too typical, Senator Daschle attached a rider to the budget reconciliation bill in the last minutes of the 105th Congress. Attaching the rider without any discussion of it was the only way Senator Daschle could get this legislation through Congress as it had previously been defeated in the House of Representatives. This rider, called the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe and State of South Dakota Wildlife Restoration Act, was passed as Title VI of the 1999 Omnibus Appropriations Act. This legislation gives 200,000 acres to the state of South Dakota to be used for hydro-electric power, wildlife protection and recreational development.
Besides Daschle’s shameful maneuvering in Congress, the Act was drafted and passed without proper consultation with all of the tribal leaders or bands of the Great Sioux Nation. The Fort Laramie Treaty states that 3/4 of all males in the Great Sioux Nation must agree to any changes in the Treaty. More recently, in the early 1980s, the United States Supreme Court decided that the Treaty of 1868 is still valid, and still reserves land to the Great Sioux Nation. In addition, a 1994 Executive Order by President Clinton requires consultation to be made with the different tribes before the passage of such legislation. Thus, the legality of Congressional action giving this land to South Dakota is certainly in question.
The Sioux Tribes are concerned that cultural, historical and environmental sites included in the 200,000 acres will not be administered as effectively by the state as by the federal government or themselves. They are concerned that the state will develop areas that have been, until now, pristine and abundant in wildlife.
Because of this egregious treaty violation, seven young Sioux have maintained the "First Fire of the Oceti Sakowin" (Seven Council Fires) camp, a peaceful presence in a tipi on La Framboise Island, across from the South Dakota state capitol in Pierre, since Monday, March 22nd. These Sioux will maintain their peaceful witness until three things are done:
- The legality of the Act which transfers this land to South Dakota is examined.
- The Army Corps of Engineers are required to do an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the land. On 29 March, the Army Corps of Engineers, which administers the land, released a press bulletin that it would begin an EIS on the Missouri River, scheduled to be completed in nine months.
- Congressional hearings on the Act are held.
This travesty will go forward unless Congress hears from concerned citizens. At the same time that we are bombing Serbia, supposedly to protect the rights of a minority group of Serbian citizens, the U.S. continues to abuse the rights of Native Americans. It is past time to stop this abuse!
Please contact Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Chairman, U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs at
828 Hart Senate Office Buildingand request that he hold hearings on this shameful theft.
Washington, DC 20510
attn: Patricia Zell
Tel: 202-224-5852
Fax: 202-224-1933
E-mail: administrator@campbell.senate.gov
For more information see
- A Christian Peacemaker Teams site, CPT in South Dakota
- A Lakota site, Fire on the Prarie, Treaty rights and human rights on the northern plains
- The New American Indian Movement: the Occupation of LaFramboise Island from Conflict in Chiapas: Understanding the Modern Mayan World by Worth Weller