Copyright © 2000 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

Take a casual stroll along the Missouri River and you'll see the the eery eyesockets of the skulls of the grandfathers staring up at you through the mud. You'll see bones lying in the sand as the water laps quietly on the shore. You'll see old tombstones and grave markers. You'll see wooden boards and handles from old coffins. You'll see a tiny ribcage. You'll hear the spirits on the wind. Then you'll see the Fort Randall dam across the water.

Then imagine a 90 year old grandmother, a respected tribal elder and the oldest surviving White Swan community member, tears streaming down her beautiful time-worn face as she says, "My baby sister is there. They didn't move all of her bones." She then wants to know where her baby sister's bones are, so that she can go and get them. She goes into mourning all over again and doesn't want to talk about it any more.

The remains of a sacred burial site are under attack by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who in violation of a long-standing federal law, are seeking to destroy newly discovered Indian remains on the Yankton Sioux Reservation.

Without shame or hesitation the Corps is in violation of federal law, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) of 1990 by actively seeking to destroy a sacred site. Today the Corps is entering into court ordered mediation to try to justify breaking that law.

In 1950 the Corps promised Indian families that they would remove the remains of their relatives from St. Philip's Episcopal Church cemetery in the White Swan community of the Yankton Sioux Tribe. Elders recall being rushed to move their homes and belongings and being afraid that their loved ones in the cemetery would be left behind. A survey of the site at that time listed 438 graves, of which approximately 30 have been recently uncovered by low water conditions along the river. Tribal Elders remember one grave that was only partially removed; leaving bones sticking out of the ground and another body that broke apart upon removal.

Even though the Corps had a contract to remove the bodies and told the people that they were moved, obviously they were not, because human remains, including complete skulls, lie in the sand, a watery grave their destiny for the past fifty years.

The gravesites are now exposed and in danger of being covered by water in the reservoir and winds carrying silt. In the desperate David and Goliath battle waged by a small tribe versus the huge resources of the U.S. Army, the first rock from David's sling consists of a temporary restraining order. With one touch of his pen, a federal judge has stopped the waters from flooding the graves of the elders, the relatives, and the children. The temporary restraining order requires the Corps to refrain from raising the water level, but unless more time is granted for tribal reburial, the graves will be lost.

In order for a traditional burial to be conducted, a minimum of eight days of spiritual ceremony is required before the remains may be touched. Only then may the remains be gathered for reburial.

In the meantime, the ancient medicine societies of the Yankton Sioux began their time-honored traditions of prayer and ceremony to honor the remains of their relatives. Both traditional and Christian services are being conducted.

Do Indians have the same civil rights as others? This question has to be answered before any further decisions can be made regarding these ancient remains. What if it was your mother, your grandfather, your child? Would you want them to be at the mercy of a rising river at the whim of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers? What if the government wanted to build a road through Arlington National Cemetery, leave the graves untouched, and then argued that it was no big deal? Would this be okay?

The Freedom of Religion Act protects all people from persecution because of religious beliefs. Burial of tribal remains is a religious ceremony, which cannot be completed in the three days offered initially by the Corps. Since hundreds of thousands of square feet encompass the burial site, it is not possible to complete such a mammoth effort in such a short time.

The federal judge overseeing the case, when granting a temporary restraining order requested by the Tribe, said, "The Court is cognizant of recent media reports of the enormous effort and expense the United States Government is rightfully expending to retrieve the remains of American soldiers killed during the Vietnam War. These human remains at White Swan Church are no less precious to us."

Anxiety in the Yankton Sioux community is widespread since federal agencies have routinely skirted the NAGPRA throughout recent history.

"Protection of our sacred sites is one of the most important and heartfelt priorities for Indian communities," said strict traditionalist, tribal member Faith Spotted Eagle, who has many relatives originally buried at the site. She is also an active member of the Braveheart Women's Society, whose role in traditional society was the tending of the wounded and dead from the battlefield.

Based upon oral histories of the Yankton Sioux people, the Tribe has buried its dead in the area of White Swan Church since at least 1838, and the Tribe may have used the site since prehistoric times.

The Yankton Sioux Tribe will be going before a federal mediator today to protect the site from destruction by the Corps.

In the meantime, the Yankton Sioux community plans to defend the site with an encampment. Prayers will be offered over this David and Goliath struggle, said Yankton Sioux Tribal Chairwoman Madonna Archambeau. "The prayers of the elders, the medicine people and the people is our stone to tip the process." In the ultimate irony, the tribe asked permission of the Corps to go to the remains of their relatives to have the encampment.

We ask for your prayers and your support. Call your congressman. Call the Corps of Engineers. Stop the water and allow our people to rebury our dead who walk among us.