Statement Regarding the Land Transfer of Lakota Treaty Lands by the US Army Corp of Engineers to the State of South Dakota known as PL 106-53 (Title VI)
On August 17, 1999, Public Law 106-53 (Title VI) known as the controversial "Mitigation Act" was passed with many intentions to violate existing treaties between the Great Sioux Nation (Lakota Confederacy) and the United States. The US Army Corps of Engineers, Presidents of both the Cheyenne River and Lower Brule Sioux tribal councils, the controversial governor of South Dakota William "Wild Bill" Janklow, and an ambitious US Senator Tom Daschle introduced injustice known as the "Mitigation Act", into national history.
Historical Antecedents
The United States constitution was enacted in 1787. Article 6 of this international document declared, "…all treaties made…shall be the supreme law of the land."
In 1851 & 1868, the Ft. Laramie Treaties were established as a signal of strength for the Lakota people of the Great Sioux Nation and its allies. Article 2 of the 1868 treaty established mutually adhered to boundaries, "…commencing on the East Bank of the Missouri River…and in addition thereto, all existing reservations on the east bank of said river shall be, and the same is, set apart for the absolute and undisturbed possession of the Indians herein named. (15 Stat. 635). Article 12, requires 3/4 of the adult male population of the Great Sioux Nation to be consulted prior to any cession or conveyance of title.
1868-Present: Violations of the initial law (Treaty) resulted in the passage of numerous acts of Congress, including but not limited to the Flood Control Act of 1944 (Section 4. 58 Stat. 887); The Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934 (25 USC 461); The Homestead Acts of 1910 (30 USC 83); The General Allotment/Dawes Act of Feb. 8 1887 (24 Stat. 388); The forced reduction of the Great Sioux Nation in 1877;The Abrogation of Indian Treaties (Mar. 3, 1871, ch. 120, Sec. 1, 16 Stat. 566). The list goes on. Included in this sordid list will be Public Law 106-53--Title VI, (herein after the "Mitigation Act") as the transfer of Great Sioux Nation land title to the state of South Dakota…
In March 22 of 1999, members of our Lakota Student Alliance risked our livelihoods, our liberties, our home and families, in order to maintain a spiritual fire at an encampment on Laframbois Island, a plot of federal land scheduled to be transferred to South Dakota. We opposed the land transfer, as we still do now, which was legislated without the consultation of 3/4 of the adult male population.
That same day, South Dakota Governor Janklow told Lakota elders that he "didn't sign" any treaty, so his hands were clean. PL 106-53 Title VI overshadows the potential loss of cultural dignity, which would only amount to nothing less than Cultural Genocide.
Call for the Repeal of Public Law PL 106-53!
Public Law 106-53 ("Mitigation Act") ignores future ramifications of the preservation of Indigenous cultures of the national heritage. In its passage as law, PL 106-53 ignores the concerns of tribal nations that will feel socio economic impacts resulting from the activities of this law. The Mitigation Act fails to provide adequate reason to allow for future generations of Lakota people to freely roam on its own territories.
Public Law 106-53 shakes the unseen world toward the realization that ancestral struggles fought to protect the encroachment of these guaranteed lands from exploitation. The ancestors, Arickara, Ree, Mandan, Lakota, Hidatsa, whose remains lay buried along the shores of the Missouri River, are watching to see if we fail them or continue the fight. Tasunke Witko, our ancestor once said, "My lands are where my dead lay buried." We feel this was his prophecy of the upcoming disputes arising from the graves along the rivers, along the hills, and in every creek and gully of the Great Sioux Reservation.
We often fail to realize that a major injustice has occurred when we hear the enemy telling us that this land transfer is a "complex" issue. This Is not the case. The foundation of this complex issue rests inside the various articles of the historical treaties, particularly the 1851 & 1868 Ft. Laramie Treaties between the United States Government and the Great Sioux Nation. As the ongoing violation of these guaranteed treaty rights are being ignored, we as a cultural and ethnic group face ethnocide and cultural genocide, at the expense of state sponsored greed for the ownership of stolen lands.
Cultural resources will not be preserved as they have you believing. Evidence exists where some states totally ignored Native American Graves Protections and allowed for looting to continue. States often fail to comprehend the importance of protecting Indigenous graves and remains.
PL 106-53 has the potential of conveyance of rights to water resources and aboriginal treaty occupancy rights to the state of South Dakota. This will impact or undermine the rights of certain tribes, namely those tribal nations who were not signatory to the initial Mitigation Act.
We Request Hearings!
We Request Senate oversight hearings to investigate all activities including but not limited to PL 106-53. We think it’s a dishonorable act on the part of the US governmental Congress to not hold hearings. There rings an air of conspiracy in this land transfer. Lakota people are witnessing a new millennium of dishonorable dealings in a nation's history. SD Governor William Janklow, in the early 1990s ridiculously claimed the Lakota nation was "conspiring" to buy back all of Western South Dakota. All the while working diligently to intercept land restorations to the Lakota Nation.
Understanding the foundation of historical mistreatment reveals the possibility that Lakota people cannot embrace any right to liberty or security. In fact, the US Civil Rights commission heard the testimonies from Indigenous people across South Dakota about racial tensions. "Although tension has been exacerbated by the perception of racial injustice surrounding these cases, for some it reflects “a vast cultural divide and a gulf of suspicion and mistrust between Indians and whites in a State that historically was one of the bloodiest battlegrounds between the races during the great westward expansion.” (William Clayborne, "A River of Indian Anger", Washington Post, Oct. 23, 1999,p. A3)
Recent reports indicate that Water is becoming an instrument in the Ongoing Indian Wars. Water is becoming the most important natural resource to the survival of Lakota people. Especially displaced native people in arid regions like badlands tribes.
Water is an important source for ceremonial use. At the Laframbois Island, camp members used to hold prayers and ceremonies with the water. Please urge your political constituents to pursue Hearings into all land activities including but not limited to PL 106-53.
Thank you.
What You can do:
LSA Statements opposing the Title VI Land Transfer
Related Articles
The New AIM: the occupation of Laframbois Island Story by Worth Weller (Journalist)
A Life or Death Last Stand by Jon Lurie (Journalist)