RAPID CITY— When New Mexico Congresswoman Deb Haaland was tapped as President-elect Biden’s new Secretary of the Interior, most of Indian Country responded with celebratory praise, and little print was devoted to the nuts-and-bolts reality facing Haaland in a cabinet position historically averse to tribal interest. Now, the first opportunity presents itself for the Biden Administration to undo an unprecedented […]
2021-01-06
Gossip bumps into reality
Tribes have less than a month to respond to Trump’s Converse County ruling
‘We are not feminists: We are the law’
BROOKINGS – “My grandmother would say, “We’re not feminists, we’re the law.” So began a film screening and discussion Dec. 15 on indigenous women’s roles in cementing universal suffrage in the United States. It would conclude after a battery of thought-provoking reflections on gender roles in governance. The event was the kickoff of the “Voting: Why It Matters” series of […]
Chief Dull Knife College receives one million – No strings attached
Dr. Richard Littlebear, President, Chief Dull Knife College (CDKC) on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, MT still doesn’t know exactly why his tribal college was selected as one of six in the western area to receive one million dollars from philanthropist” Mackenzie Scott. Scott, reported to be the 4th richest woman in the United States recently gifted over 4 billion dollars […]
Ten remarkable decisions by the SD Supreme Court in 2020
By Roger Baron, Professor Emeritus The observations contained herein are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of the University of South Dakota. The order of presentation is chronological. Preliminary Comments: Both the criminal and civil dockets are included. Five of the Top Ten cases are purely civil matters and are both diverse and interesting. Four […]
Out with the old, and hopefully, in with the New
This is our first editorial of the New Year and it comes at a time when all of the things that will tear down or uplift America are in the balance. It is problematic that some of the things that can tear America apart are happening the day after we go to press. Mike Pence will officiate over the […]
South Dakota’s media needs to examine itself
The Kansas City Star’s top editor apologized last week for the newspaper having “disenfranchised, ignored and scorned generations of Black Kansas Citians.” Mike Fannin, who has worked at The Star since 1997 and served as its top editor since 2008, wrote in a letter to readers titled “the truth in Black and white” that the Star had “robbed an entire […]
Identifying our true allies
Why tribes fail to recognize their enemiesThere are a number of conservative Sky News pundits down in Australia who are reasonably intelligent, insightful and articulate, but still read the tea leaves all wrong when it comes to the political Left. This misreading seems obvious when expressed by people from another country but it remains unrecognized in broad daylight in the US, where even people who vote […]
The amended Indian Reorganization Act
The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934, was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. IRA proponents, then and now, contend the law’s intent was to decrease federal control of “Indian” affairs and to increase “Indian” self-government and responsibility. Eight decades later, the Pine Ridge Reservation shares its boundaries with one of several “poorest counties in the United States.” […]
Huge win for White River girls over West Central
White River Boys struggling at 2-3RAPID CITY— Sometimes you read a basketball score and you can’t readily assess the significance. A textbook case happened Saturday night in Hartford, where the visiting White River Lady Tigers stunned the undefeated Trojans, 62-60. First, let’s look at the Lady Tigers. They are unbeaten at 5-0 under first year coach Jared Bouman. For the past fifteen years Bouman has […]
