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http://www.yankton.net/stories/012900/new_0129000009.html
Web posted Saturday, January 29, 2000

Janklow: Federal Action Needed For Reservations

By CHET BROKAW
Associated Press Writer

PIERRE -- Federal officials should start working with Indian
tribes to bring economic prosperity to poverty-stricken Indian
reservations,  Gov. Bill Janklow said Friday.

President Clinton and other federal officials often talk about the
problem, but not much gets done, Janklow said. ''It's time to do
something. It's time to get off the dime and do something,'' the
governor said.

In the State of the Union message, Clinton on Thursday said his
proposed federal budget will include $1 billion to boost economic
opportunities, health care, education and law enforcement for
Indian communities.

Clinton visited the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwestern
South Dakota last July to promote his plans for encouraging
private companies to invest in the reservation. The president also
announced programs to improve housing on the reservation.
Janklow said Clinton got a lot of publicity when he visited Pine
Ridge, but nothing has happened since then. ''The time has
come for action,'' the governor said.

State government cannot do much to help deal with economic
development and other problems on Indian reservations because
the state has no legal jurisdiction on the reservations, Janklow
said. But if the United States was able to rebuild Europe after WWII,
it should be capable of solving problems on Indian reservations,
he said. ''This is a matter where tribal government and the federal
government have to stand up to the plate, and clearly the federal
government has a responsibility here,'' Janklow said. The governor
said his remarks, given in answer to a question, are not intended
to be racist. He said he spent a lot of time living and working on
a reservation when he was a young lawyer, and he has great
memories of those days. But he said much must be done to
improve education, housing, roads, law enforcement and health
programs on reservations. And many Indian families live in poverty
with no hope of finding jobs on the reservations.

''There's no greater tragedy in America than the economic deprivation
that takes place on many of the Indian reservation,'' Janklow said.
Many people suffer because of conditions on reservations, he
said. ''It breaks your heart." Reservations could become more
prosperous if officials decide to make real changes in the way
things are done, the governor said.
 

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