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Dear Relatives,
I write to you today from my homelands of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Nation, a sovereign Native nation. During the Covid-19 pandemic South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has failed to take the needed steps to stop the spread of the illness and so our tribal nation and the Oglala Lakota Nation have taken the needed steps to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, including adding our health checkpoints at our borders to restrict unnecessary travel and provide information pertinent in case of an outbreak in our homelands. Commerce has not been stopped and while some people may feel inconvenienced this truly is for the safety of all. Our nations lack the infrastructure and health care needed to address an outbreak within our communities so we have taken the necessary measures to ensure our people are protected.
Article 16 of the Fort Laramie Treaty clearly states
“The United States hereby agrees and stipulates that the country north of the North Platte river and east of the summits of the Big Horn mountains shall be held and considered to be unceded. Indian territory, and also stipulates and agrees that no white person or persons shall be permitted to settle upon or occupy any portion of the same; or without the consent of the Indians, first had and obtained, to pass through the same; and it is further agreed by the United States, that within ninety days after the conclusion of peace with all the bands of the Sioux nation, the military posts now established in the territory in this article named shall be abandoned, and that the road leading to them and by them to the settlements in the Territory of Montana shall be closed.”
Governor Noem has threatened to take action at the border health check points that are protecting our nations. We ask that people refrain from coming to our nation right now but rather stand with us by contacting Governor Noem and demand she allow us to protect our peoples from Covid-19.
Phone Number:
605.773.3212
Fax Number:
605.773.4711
Twitter:
@govkristinoem
@KristiNoem
Thank you for your continued support,
Joye Braun
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Established in 1990, The Indigenous Environmental Network is an international environmental justice nonprofit that works with tribal grassroots organizations to build the capacity of Indigenous communities. IEN’s activities include empowering Indigenous communities and tribal governments to develop mechanisms to protect our sacred sites, land, water, air, natural resources, the health of both our people and all living things, and to build economically sustainable communities.
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