Chief Sitting Bull
1830-1890
William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody Buffalo Bill’s Wild West program. The show's first opening was on May 19, 1883 at Omaha, Nebraska. Sitting Bill did not join the show until 1885 and performed for only one season.
http://www.sittingbull.org/
The Federal Government and the Lakota Sioux
http://users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/sed741/lakota.html
United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, 448 U.S. 371 (1980), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that: 1) the enactment by Congress of a law allowing the Sioux Nation to pursue a claim against the United States that had been previously adjudicated did not violate the doctrine of separation of powers; and 2) the taking of property that was set aside for the use of the tribe required just compensation, including interest.
On appeal the Government did not contest the Commission's holding that it had "acquired the Black Hills through a course of unfair and dishonorable dealing for which the Sioux were entitled to damages."[16] In effect the Government was disputing only whether the Sioux could collect 100 years' worth of interest.
Finally, under its new authorizing statute, the Claims Court held the Sioux had suffered a taking cognizable under the Fifth Amendment, and were entitled to the value of the land as of the 1877 taking which was $17.1 million, the value of gold prospectors illegally took out of the land computed at $450,000, and 100 years' worth of interest at 5% per year which would be an additional $88 million.[18]
Supreme Court decision
Justice Blackmun delivered the Court's opinion in which six other justices joined. Justice White concurred in part, and Justice Rehnquist dissented.[19]The first and the main issue in the case, was whether Congress transgressed against the separation of powers by directing the Claims Court to reconsider the Sioux claim, this time without regard to res judicata.[20] The Supreme Court concluded Congress could indeed waive res judicata and resurrect an adjudicated claim against the government, under its constitutionally conferred power to "pay the nation's debts," including "moral debts."[21]
The second issue was whether the Sioux had already received just compensation for their land, and the Court affirmed the Claims Court's decision that they never had.[22] The Court recognized a tension between Congress's duty to serve as a benevolent trustee for Indians, and the power to take their land.[23] "Congress can own two hats, but it cannot wear them both at the same time," said the opinion.[24] While reaffirming earlier decisions that Congress has "paramount authority over the property of the Indians," the Court concluded that Congress acts properly only if it "makes a good faith effort to give the Indians the full value of the land," which here it had failed to do.[25] In conclusion the Supreme Court ordered "just compensation to the Sioux Nation, and that obligation, including an award of interest, must now, at last, be paid."[26]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Sioux_Nation_of_Indians
Sioux refusal to accept the money awarded
The Sioux have declined to accept the money,[31] because acceptance would legally terminate Sioux demands for return of the Black Hills. The money remains in a Bureau of Indian Affairs account accruing compound interest. As of 24 August 2011 the Sioux interest on their money has compounded to over 1 billion dollars.[32]Pine Ridge: A broken system failing America’s most forgotten children
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/failing-americas-most-forgotten-children
Four of the five poorest counties in America are located on reservations. Shannon County, where Pine Ridge is located, is the second poorest with a per capita income of just $6,000-$8,000 a year. It’s also extremely difficult to attract quality teachers willing to relocate to remote outposts with limited quality housing and extreme quality of life issues.
Pine Ridge Statistics as of 2017
- Unemployment rate of 80-90%
- Per capita income of $4,000
- 8 Times the United States rate of diabetes
- 5 Times the United States rate of cervical cancer
- Twice the rate of heart disease
- 8 Times the United States rate of Tuberculosis
- Alcoholism rate estimated as high as 80%
- 1 in 4 infants born with fetal alcohol syndrome or effects
- Suicide rate more than twice the national rate
- Teen suicide rate 4 times the national rate
- Infant mortality is three times the national rate
- Life expectancy on Pine Ridge is the lowest in the United States and the 2nd lowest in the Western Hemisphere. Only Haiti has a lower rate.
Extreme Poverty
The poverty on Pine Ridge can be described in no other terms than third world. It is common to find homes overcrowded, as those with homes take in whoever needs a roof over their heads. Many homes are without running water, and without sewer.
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