The Lodge of Šung'manitu-Išna...A Tribute to the Oglala Lakota People

Lakota Culture

Lakota Language

Lakota Music

Native American Law

Appendix

Lakota - In

31 December 1999 thru 2 September 1999

(These are national news stories that I have found and clipped to post here for your information. Follow the "next" image thru the archives to 11 June 1999)

9 December 1999

Treasury Kept Backup Copies of Deleted Data, Government Says

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Treasury Department kept backup copies of deleted computer files that could contain evidence in a lawsuit over American Indian trust funds, government lawyers said Thursday.

The federal lawyers notified a court-appointed investigator Tuesday that Treasury workers had deleted computerized check records more than seven years old in June 1998. The Treasury Department has been under a court order since 1996 to preserve all records related to the trust accounts for individual Indians at the core of the multibillion dollar lawsuit.

Treasury Department officials did more checking and found the backup copies of the data deleted in 1998, Justice Department lawyer Brian Ferrell wrote to the investigator, Alan Balaran.

"The initial fear that data from the system was lost was unfounded," Ferrell wrote.

The records at issue would help lawyers for the Indians find checks written to trust fund account holders during parts of 1990 and 1991.

A group of Indians is suing over mismanagement of about 300,000 trust accounts now worth about $500 million. The accounts hold the proceeds of government-approved leases on Indian lands for activities such as grazing, logging, mining or oil drilling.

8 December 1999

Treasury Admits Destroying More Indian Trust Funds Records

WASHINGTON (AP) -- After a federal judge chided the Treasury Department for covering up the shredding of 162 boxes of records, government lawyers admit the department destroyed still more potential evidence in a lawsuit over American Indian trust funds.

The destruction of computerized check records was disclosed Tuesday in a letter to a court-appointed investigator overseeing documents in the case. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter Wednesday.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth accused Treasury Department lawyers of lying to him about trust fund records. The judge released a report by the investigator saying government lawyers kept quiet about the document shredding for more than three months.

"It's just weird that a few days after the report, there's another revelation they destroyed additional information," said Keith Harper, a lawyer for Indians suing the government, claiming multibillion-dollar mismanagement of their trust accounts.

Justice Department lawyer Brian Ferrell told the investigator, Alan Balaran, in the letter that Treasury Department officials "recently discovered" the deletion of computer files. In June 1998, Ferrell wrote, Treasury workers deleted information older than seven years from the department's check payment and reconciliation system.

Information from that system could have helped track payments made to Indian trust account holders, Harper said.

In a letter to Ferrell, Treasury Department lawyer Walter Eccard said he didn't discover the June 1998 data deletions until after Nov. 23. On that day, Eccard had told Ferrell that "preliminary information" indicated no such check information had been destroyed.

The Treasury Department has since halted its routine purges of old information from that computer system, Eccard wrote to Ferrell.

Ferrell did not return a telephone message seeking comment Wednesday evening.

In his report Monday, Balaran said Treasury Department lawyers "at a minimum" violated their oaths as attorneys by waiting more than 14 weeks to tell Lamberth about the shredding of 162 boxes of files. Those files likely contained copies of checks to Indian account holders that were never cashed, Balaran's report said.

The shredding started in November 1998 on the same day Treasury Department officials were telling Lamberth about destroying microfilm. In February, Lamberth held then-Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt in contempt of court for their agencies' missteps in turning over documents.

Lamberth wrote Monday that he was "deeply disturbed" by the delay and accused government lawyers of making false assurances that the document problems had been solved.

The Indians' lawyers said last month they would seek another contempt citation after Balaran found trust fund documents dumped into a shed with used tires and other debris on a North Dakota reservation.

Sorry for the break in news coverage. I had a very demanding semester - classwork left me no time to work on personal projects.

29 September 1999

$30 Million Gift for American Indian Colleges

WASHINGTON (AP) -- American Indian tribal colleges struggling on campuses cobbled together from old Army barracks, double-wide trailers or decommissioned high schools are getting a $30 million donation to help with construction and renovation.

"We're aware of the conditions at these tribal colleges, and felt that since we had the resources, we'd like to be able to help them," said Gretchen Wolfram of the Lilly Endowment Inc., which is making the gift to the American Indian College Fund. "These are schools that are in remote places and in not very good condition."

The fund was announcing the gift today to kick off a $120 million campaign to raise money for improvements at 30 tribal colleges serving 26,000 students in 12 states. So far, the fund drive has taken in $43 million, including the Lilly gift, American Indian College Fund spokeswoman Suzette Brewer said.

Most of the 30 schools are community colleges run by one or more tribes and located on reservations. Non-Indians also can take classes at the schools, but the colleges get federal per-student funding only for their Indian students.

While a few of the colleges have newer campuses, most hold classes in aging government-issue buildings or prefab "portable" classrooms. The gift from the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment and money raised by the fund drive will help ensure "Indian students can go to schools in facilities that are as good as their white counterparts, where they don't have to worry about tiles falling on their heads," Brewer said.

"The tribal colleges are located in some of the worst facilities in the country for education," said Brewer, an Oklahoma Cherokee.

Veterinary students at the Crownpoint Institute of Technology in New Mexico work in a metal shed built for a local uranium mine. The main classroom building at Cheyenne River Community College in South Dakota was condemned by inspectors. The Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, N.M., has spent the last two decades in converted World War II barracks at another college.

IAIA, a congressionally chartered school which has trained some of the most well-known contemporary Indian artists, broke ground this year on a new, 140-acre campus. The school has raised about $8 million of the $14 million needed for the first phase of the project, said Robert Sutton, director of finance and administration.

"It's difficult to have a nice facility or one that's conducive to learning," Sutton said. "We really look forward to having our own campus, someplace where IAIA can call home."

29 September 1999

Campbell Breaks Ground on American Indian Museum

WASHINGTON Sept. 28 (States) -- Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., sat in a gray plastic chair looking out at an audience of hundreds of people witnessing the groundbreaking on a new Washington museum for American Indians. The audience, however, looked back at the 66-year-old senator dressed in a full traditional Indian warrior suit of more than 1 million colored beads and a headdress of 72 feathers. Campbell, a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe and the Senate's only American Indian, wore traditional dress to celebrate a long-awaited triumph in his 16-year political career. He turned to Richard West, the director of the new museum and a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, who simply wore a dark business suit, and asked why he was "wearing that funny looking suit?" Campbell, along with other dignitaries, broke ground on the National Museum of the American Indian today after 20 years of discussions and efforts to move legislation through Congress and $60 million in donations from the private sector. "No longer will we be bottled up," Campbell said. "No longer will the remains of our grandmothers and grandfathers be hidden in dusty boxes." The museum, scheduled for opening in 2002, will occupy the last site in the Smithsonian system on the National Mall in Washington. The 250,000 sq. ft. structure will be filled with contemporary and traditional stories of Native Americans, told through a collection of more than 800, 000 objects. The collection includes fine wood, horn and stone carvings from the Northwest coast, Navajo weavings and blankets, archaeological objects from the Caribbean, textiles from Peru and Mexico, jade of the Olmec and Maya, Aztec mosaics and painted hides and garments of North American Plains Indians. Among the historical highlights of the collection are Geronimo's hat, Chief Joseph's rifle case and Sitting Bull's drum. "Native people have made a significant contribution to what we call civilization," West said. "From a cultural standpoint, it gives native people an even greater chance to grow." Campbell introduced legislation to establish the National Museum of the American Indian back when he was in the House of Representatives in 1989. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, who joined Campbell at the podium Tuesday, did the same in the Senate and they got a signature from President George Bush a few months later. The project then went into the hands of Smithsonian officials, who launched a national campaign to raise money and consult with museum designers. The new structure will sit across from the east wing of the prestigious National Gallery of Art and in direct view from the west steps of the U.S. Capitol. The collection comes from New York's Heye Foundation, which has housed the 800,000 cultural materials in the George Gustav Heye Center since 1994. Today's ceremonial groundbreaking opened with a presentation of colors by an American Indian veterans group and the flag song by a powwow group.It was followed by traditional blessings from four tribes from the east, south, west and north. Although not part of the chanting or marching groups, Campbell could not help but shift his feet in a quiet version of a ceremonial dance. The crowd let out a quiet gasp when he was introduced as a senator. He was then mobbed by reporters and other American Indian attendees after the ceremony. His press secretary and event staff had to whisk him away to the safety of the groundbreaking's reception. "I'm feeling elation and vindication of all the people who have died in the last 500 years," Campbell said after the groundbreaking. "This is so visible and people from all over the world will share it."

By Tania Anderson

29 September 1999

Ground broken for American Indian museum

They came from the four corners of the Americas to take part in the ceremony. Among them were members of the Piscataway tribe, the original inhabitants of the present-day Washington, D.C., area.

For the remaining Piscataway and many others, the new museum, standing within sight of the Capitol, will serve as a highly visible reminder of a time when America belonged to its native peoples.

"No longer will Native American culture be bottled up in collections and hidden from so many people in the world who wish to share them," U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell said.

Colorado Republican Campbell, who wore traditional Cheyenne clothing, said the museum should mark a rebirth of confidence for Native Americans. "I think the majority of people in America know it's time for the Indians to have a re-emergence in this nation," he said.

'500 years of tragedy'

The new museum will display a collection of Native American artifacts from North, South, and Central America

"There have been 500 years of tragedy that we are still trying to live through and get over," Campbell said.

The museum will reflect all of that history, museum director Rick West, a Southern Cheyenne, said.

"There are chapters of that history that are not pleasant, and we should not shy away from that. They were tragic; they were difficult for native peoples; they were unfair."

The museum, which occupies the National Mall's last available museum site, will celebrate Native American art and culture with a huge collection of artifacts from North, South and Central America.

Construction of the building, first proposed in the 1980s, had been stalled by squabbles over what should be in it, how much it should cost and what it should look like.

Architect not in attendance

The Canadian architect who drafted the museum's original design refused an invitation to the groundbreaking, calling the modified design now being used "an artistic forgery."

The Smithsonian fired Douglas Cardinal as the project's architect in 1998 in a dispute over deadlines and money.

Current plans call for the five-story limestone structure to be opened on the summer solstice in 2002, taking its place as the last Smithsonian museum on the Mall, which stretches from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial.

23 September 1999

Native Americans Tour Israeli Parliament

JERUSALEM (AP) -- A delegation of Native Americans, some wearing feathered headdresses and others carrying drums, toured the Israeli parliament on Thursday.

Tribal leaders greeted Speaker Avraham Burg with a drum salute, accompanied by singing and dancing. Burg tried on a headdress given to him as a present and pounded a drum.

"This kind of spiritual expression has never been expressed here. You are the pioneers," said a smiling Burg, whose regular work days are filled with trying to keep unruly Israeli legislators in line.

The 100-strong delegation, which is on a tour of Israel, represented the First Nations of North America, an umbrella group of Native American tribes.

Tribal leader Will Mayo of Tanana, Alaska, gave Burg a bead necklace. He told Burg the necklaces were once used as currency by some Native Americans. The speaker said the gift was timely, noting the Knesset was in budget talks.

Other gifts included a feather headdress for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and necklaces, sculptures, beads and a blanket for Burg.

Burg presented the group with a piece of olive wood a dove of peace. As he left, Burg was once again saluted with drumming. This time, Burg joined the circle and pounded on the drum.

22 September 1999

Senator Blasts Babbitt Over Mismanagement of Indian Accounts

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate's only American Indian on Wednesday accused the Interior Department of making excuses instead of seriously trying to make amends for mismanaging more than $3 billion of American Indians' money.

Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, clashed with Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt at a hearing on the money issue, saying Babbitt's department dragged its feet and hindered efforts to correct problems with missing paperwork, lax oversight and poor investments for the Indian funds.

"Indians are owed more than promises, and enough is enough," said the Colorado Republican and member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe. "Indian Country has continued to be asked to wait for their money, and Indians still don't have their money," Campbell said.

Babbitt retorted that Campbell's own proposed solutions were "ill-advised" and "fantasy."

"It's just creating another process to quarrel over," Babbitt said.

The department's Bureau of Indian Affairs oversees trust accounts for both individual Indians and tribes: about 1,500 accounts worth more than $2.5 billion for 338 tribes and more than 300,000 accounts for individual Indians worth more than $500 million.

Babbitt and other department officials admit that both kinds of accounts have been mismanaged for decades and are plagued by incomplete, inaccurate, missing or contradictory record-keeping. Auditors could not account for billions of dollars' worth of past transactions involving the accounts.

Last week Campbell introduced legislation that would create a semi-independent "special trustee" at the department to oversee "data cleanup" -- the process of checking paper records, ensuring they are accurate and entering them into a computer database. Campbell's proposal also would create an independent commission to hear from tribal leaders and other experts about what other steps should be taken to solve the account management problems.

Tribes have criticized the handling of the trust funds for years, and a group of individual account holders is suing the department, seeking court oversight of reform efforts and billions of dollars in compensation. The judge in that case cited Babbitt and BIA head Kevin Gover for contempt of court earlier this year for repeated delays in handing over documents.

A lawyer for the Indians, Keith Harper, said Wednesday that both sides have recently been trying to negotiate a settlement to at least part of the case. Harper said his clients want the courts to have a role in overseeing reforms, whether or not Campbell's legislation requiring more independent oversight of reform efforts passes.

"I don't think anything Congress does should dissuade the court from taking a role," Harper said in an interview. "Congress can't have a hearing every day. The court can."

9 September, 1999

Despite Casinos, Indian Tribes Still Needy, Federal Report Says

WASHINGTON (AP) -- American Indian tribes get only a third of the money they need from the federal government for basic services such as child welfare and care for the elderly, the Bureau of Indian Affairs says.

While about one in 10 tribes makes casino profits worth more than $10,000 per tribal member a year, the rest need hundreds of millions of dollars more each year to provide basic services, a BIA report said. In the 1998 fiscal year, federal funding fell short by about $1.2 billion in those areas.

Of more than 550 tribes, 166 had casinos in 1996, with 28 tribes losing money and only 54 tribes making casino profits worth more than $10,000 per tribal member. The basic BIA funding to those tribes is only about $10 million a year, or about $185,000 per tribe, the report said.

"The results of shifting federal Indian policies, coupled with limited resources and investments in Indian communities and Indian people, cannot quickly be reversed by a few good years of casino revenues," said the report.

The report was obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday and was to be released at a news conference today by Kevin Gover, the head of the BIA, and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt.

Congress had asked for the report -- due in April -- amid debate over whether the BIA should shift funding from successful casino tribes to more poverty-stricken tribes. A study by Congress' General Accounting Office found that some smaller and relatively affluent tribes got much more funding per person from the BIA than larger, poorer tribes.

Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., has criticized the disparity for years and made several attempts to force the BIA to shift funding from richer tribes to poorer ones. Gorton's spokeswoman, Cynthia Bergman, said the new BIA report was disappointing because it offered few recommendations.

"It's so frustrating," Bergman said. "It sounds like they waited six months to opt for the status quo, and the rich tribes will continue getting richer and the poor tribes will continue to get poorer."

Tribes have opposed proposals to redirect the BIA funding, arguing that they do not get enough money to begin with and that such funding is part of the federal government's constitutional and treaty obligations.

"The tribes hold a firm position that it's not your money, the money was there for the benefit of our people," said Ron Allen, president of the National Congress of American Indians.

The BIA report agrees that the tribal funding should not be reallocated.

"The predominant view (among tribal leaders) is that all tribes are underfunded, and to take from one tribe and give to another is only trying to equalize the poverty," the report said.

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee will probably hold a hearing on the issue either later this year or early next year, said Chris Changery, spokesman for committee Chairman Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo.

8 September, 1999

Bureau of Indian Affairs Selects Intergraph for Nationwide Road and Site Projects

HUNTSVILLE, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 8, 1999-- Integrated road and site design software solution expands access and communication and provides standardization for regional offices Intergraph Corporation (NASDAQ: INGR) today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the U.S. Department of the Interior, has selected Intergraph to provide the road and site design software solution for various American Indian Reservations nationwide. The contract, supported by the Federal Highway Trust Funds, includes Intergraph's industry-proven SelectCAD(TM) civil engineering products and customized services for BIA. Governed by seven key regions: Juneau, AK; Aberdeen, SD; Albuquerque, NM; Phoenix, AZ; Billings, MT; Muskogee, OK; and Gallup, NM, and with offices in 14 states, BIA representatives will perform their own designs and also subcontract to consultants. The open, standards-based design and drafting functionality within the SelectCAD products makes it easy for design professionals to relocate to different offices within the region to support workload requirements. In addition, the Intergraph solution seamlessly integrates with BIA's existing CAD platform, enabling the use of legacy data with significant time and cost savings.

"The Bureau of Indian Affairs' mission is to enhance the quality of life, to promote economic opportunity, and to carry out the responsibility to protect and improve the trust assets of American Indians, Indian tribes, and Alaskan natives," said Cordell S. Ringel, Chief of Engineering, Bureau of Indian Affairs. "We accomplish this through the delivery of quality services, maintaining government-to-government relationships within the spirit of Indian self-determination and tribal sovereignty. The Bureau takes pride in its ability to successfully manage a complex, multi-faceted organization. Intergraph helps us achieve our mission and design highways based on the priorities of the Tribes, thereby improving the quality of life on Reservations."

The road and site design software solution purchased by the Bureau of Indian Affairs represents a spectrum of Intergraph technology, including InRoads(R) SelectCAD, which will shorten the learning curve of the new software, as well as insure CAD compatibility with consultants. BIA also purchased InRoads Survey, Storm & Sanitary SelectCAD and SiteWorks SelectCAD. Intergraph provides the capabilities for BIA to easily migrate from their present design system to the InRoads family of products. In addition, BIA is implementing Intergraph's Digital Print Room(TM) for plotting and storing design files which will enable personnel to share design information and enhance communication between regional offices. Intergraph Background Information Intergraph Corporation is a technical solutions and systems integration company comprised of business units that develop, market, and support customizable core software and offer services to governments and vertical industries. Certain business units deliver specialized software, hardware, and services across multiple industries. Built on 30 years of technology innovation, Intergraph is consistently ranked by industry analysts as a leading vendor in the markets it serves.

3 September, 1999

Tensions Raised by Killings in South Dakota

PINE RIDGE, S.D. (AP) -- It's been nearly three months since two Sioux men were found slain in a culvert near the Nebraska line, and many Indians doubt authorities even care whether they solve the crime.

In fact, some Indian activists say the apparent standstill in the investigation only confirms their suspicion that white Nebraska lawmen helped kill Wilson Black Elk Jr. and Ronald Hard Heart or helped cover up the crime to make it seem as if Indians were responsible.

"It's just two dead Indians to them," Tom Poor Bear, who was Black Elk's half-brother and Hard Heart's cousin, said of the FBI. "If these were two white people who were murdered, this place would be swarming with FBI agents. They'd be turning over every blade of grass."

The deaths have led to a violent protest and heightened long-standing tensions between whites and the Oglala Sioux from the poor and desolate Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

The FBI says it is doing all it can. And the sheriff's department in Sheridan County, Neb., denies having any role in the killings or discriminating against Indians. But those statements do little to diminish the distrust on the reservation.

In a measure of how deep the distrust runs, the Sioux who believe white deputies were involved in the slaying can't cite any direct evidence. They believe the men were killed in Nebraska and their bodies were dumped on the reservation to make it seem as if a tribe member did it. But investigators have not said whether the bodies were moved.

Many of the bad feelings are left over from the American Indian Movement's 1973 armed takeover of a trading post at nearby Wounded Knee in a protest over the government's handling of complaints about Indian affairs. In 71 days of unrest, two Indians were killed and a deputy marshal was wounded.

Distrust of law officers also run high on South Dakota's eight other reservations, where unemployment often is staggering and alcoholism widespread.

In Mobridge, S.D., just across the Missouri River from the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation, Indians have rallied to protest the way authorities have handled the death earlier this summer of Robert "Boo" Many Horses, 22, whose body was found face-down in a garbage can.

The autopsy found that Many Horses died of alcohol poisoning. Four white teen-agers who were drinking with him the night he died have been charged -- one with manslaughter, for allegedly stuffing him in the can.

Indians are angry that the defendants are free as they await trial, while three Indians accused of severely beating a white man near Pine Ridge in August were denied bail.

"There is deep-rooted racism in South Dakota, and it can't be denied," said Alfred Bone Shirt, who is on the Lakota Nation Human Rights Committee. Lakota is the name some Sioux call themselves.

Indians have held a series of protests over both the Pine Ridge slayings and alcohol sales in tiny Whiteclay, Neb., where a few stores do a brisk business selling beer and booze to Sioux. Alcohol is banned at Pine Ridge, just two miles from Whiteclay.

During the first march, in June, several people attacked a store, threw soda, cigarettes and other items into the street, and set fires in the building.

Before a rally the following week, the town's 22 residents were evacuated, and 100 troopers met the marchers in riot gear. Several demonstrators were arrested for crossing a police line.

Soon after, a group of Indians set up tents and tepees at "Camp Justice," near a grove of stunted elm trees on a hill overlooking the spot where the bodies were found. Poor Bear and about a dozen others have vowed to stay there until the crime is solved.

"All I want to do is have my brother rest in peace," said Edward Hard Heart. "Right now his spirit is wandering around, and he won't rest until we find out who killed him."

Few details of the investigation have emerged. The FBI has shown autopsy results to the families but said releasing the results publicly might compromise the investigation. Poor Bear, who helped identify Black Elk's body, said the man was severely beaten.

Mark Vukelich, the FBI agent overseeing the investigation, said his agency and tribal police are making every effort to find who killed the men. A $15,000 reward for information has been offered.

"Because these remain in the unsolved category, they receive the highest priority," Vukelich said. "I disagree that we're not doing all we can."

Vukelich would not say whether Sheridan County law officers are being investigated. "We are investigating all angles of this case," he said. "That includes anybody who had any involvement in the crime scene."

Sheridan County Sheriff Terry Robbins said his department played no role in the deaths. As for allegations of racism, he said: "I have no idea why that sentiment is there, other than we have a large influx of Native Americans into our county and there is a number of them arrested. We try to treat everybody as equals, no matter what race, color or creed."

2 September, 1999

Native American Filmmakers Target Hollywood

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - With America's indigenous people barely registering on Hollywood's radar, four Native-American production companies have joined forces to land more TV and film roles.

The Native Films Network "is basically a means for mutual support," said Joanelle Romero, president of Spirit World Prods. "But if we can be heard better as a group, then that's what we'll do."

In addition to Los Angeles-based Spirit World, the other companies are Bearskin Prods., Colorado-based Ravenwolf Films and Horse Prods.. They will all continue to work independently.

Although Spirit World is fine-tuning its documentary, "American Holocaust: When It's All Over I'll Still be American," for a November screening at the Screen Actors Guild, Romero sees the Native-American community largely ignored by Hollywood.

"It's our third year pitching to networks and studios, and they aren't getting it," Romero said. "Where's our image on primetime? We need more American Indians on screen that are shown as contemporary human beings."

All four Native Film Network companies have finished scripts. Bearskin is currently negotiating financing for three films and Ravenwolf has locked up 25% of its financing for "Gemini Effect," about a young Native American's discovery that he has been part of a genetic research experiment.

Reuters/Variety

2 September, 1999

Tensions Between Whites and Indians Raised by Killings in South Dakota

The deaths have led to violent protests and heightened long-standing tensions between whites and the Oglala Sioux from the poor and desolate Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Many of the bad feelings stem from the American Indian Movement's 1973 armed takeover of a trading post at nearby Wounded Knee in a protest over the government's handling of complaints about Indian affairs. In 71 days of unrest, two Indians were killed and a deputy marshal was wounded.

White-vs.-Indian tensions also run high on South Dakota's eight other reservations, where unemployment often is staggering and alcoholism widespread.

Indians are angry that the defendants are free as they await trial, while three Indians accused of severely beating a white man near Pine Ridge in August were denied bail.

"There is deep-rooted racism in South Dakota, and it can't be denied," said Alfred Bone Shirt, who is on the Lakota Nation Human Rights Committee. Lakota is the name some Sioux call themselves.

During the first march, in June, several people attacked a store, threw soda, cigarettes and other items into the street, and set fires in the building.

Before a rally the following week, the town's 22 residents were evacuated, and 100 troopers met the marchers in riot gear. Several demonstrators were arrested for crossing a police line.

"All I want to do is have my brother rest in peace," said Edward Hard Heart. "Right now his spirit is wandering around, and he won't rest until we find out who killed him."

Mark Vukelich, the FBI agent overseeing the investigation, said his agency and tribal police are making every effort to find who killed the men. A $15,000 reward for information has been offered.

"Because these remain in the unsolved category, they receive the highest priority," Vukelich said. "I disagree that we're not doing all we can."