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The Yankton Sioux Tribe has run out of time and protection for their ancestors' remains. Federal Judge Lawrence Piersol, rendered his opinion Tuesday morning, extending the temporary restraining order until January 13, 2000. The TRO prevented the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from raising the waters of Lake Francis Case and submerging the Inhanktonwan remains. The Ihanktonwan people feel that the judge was fair and rendered the best opinion he could, under the circumstances of the law.

Court-ordered negotiations between the Corps and the tribe broke down early Monday evening. "The tribal negotiators were standing on spiritual ground and the Corps' arguments were based on economic concerns. There is a great distance between these two ways of thinking," said spokeswoman Faith Spotted Eagle, who is related to many of those buried in the White Swan Community.

"We did not come to an agreement. We remain deadlocked," said tribal attorney Mary Wynne.

Other options for settlement of the matter are under consideration. Elected officials Glen Drapeau and Willard Bruguier are in Washington, D.C., to enlist the help of officials there.

Because reburial was not a traditional practice and with the time pressures, the Ihanktonwan are working under extreme duress to fulfill their spiritual responsibilities to their ancestors.

Trying to maintain their time-tempered dignity, the Ihanktonwan are now faced with less than two days and uncertainty, for final disposition of not just the material remains, but the spirits of those that were before them.