Copyright © 2001 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

Washington, D.C. - On December 11, 2001, in U.S. Federal District Court, Judge Paul Friedman heard oral arguments in Crow Creek Tribe's lawsuit against the Corps of Engineers. The tribe seeks to stop transfer to the State of South Dakota of Missouri River shore land which was reserved for the Great Sioux Nation under the Fort Laramie Treaty.

The transfer is mandated under what has been popularly referred to as "the Mitigation Act" (Title VI of the Water Resources Development Act of 1999, as amended in 2000). The tribe alleges that Title VI is unconstitutional, as well as confused and self-contradictory, and that it violates several other federal laws. The Corps of Engineers contends that the suit is without merit and should be dismissed.

It ain't over, not by any means. What happened today, however, looks positive for the tribe. After hearing oral arguments from both sides, the judge stated:

1) He's disinclined to agree with the government that the tribe's lawsuit can be dismissed.

2) There may, indeed, be constitutional problems with Title VI.

3) He wants more briefing on the subject, including material on the final environmental impact statement about the land transfer. [More briefs would mean an additional hearing in about 60-90 days. The problem is that the Corps and the State have planned to effect the transfer NEXT WEEK!]

4) He asked the Corps and the Tribe to negotiate a postponement of the transfer to allow time for the additional briefing.

5) He said that if there was not a negotiated postponement, he could declare one anyway, though he'd rather have it be a matter of mutual agreement.

There you have it, friends. With the outlook positive, Tribal Chairwoman Roxanne Sazue and tribal elders must be feeling very encouraged as they head in their van back to Fort Thompson.

Postponing the transfer is fine with the tribe, of course. If the government refuses to negotiate a postponement, the tribe's attorney, Peter Capossela, will file a motion this Friday for preliminary injunction against the transfer, asking for a hearing by December 21.

South Dakota Peace & Justice Center strongly affirms the stand of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe in this legal action.