(Pine Ridge Reservation, SD) — There’s a growing emergency on the Pine Ridge Reservation in southwest South Dakota. Outspoken advocates say violent crimes have become all too common, and there aren’t enough officers to respond. Oglala Sioux Tribal President Frank Star Comes Out said after issuing a state of emergency back in November that the United States government had failed in its “responsibilities to provide adequate law enforcement on the Reservation.” The proclamation cites lack of law enforcement funding, while many of the reservation’s adults are struggling with alcoholism. The Oglala Sioux Tribe took civil action against the United States in 2022 which is still ongoing today.
