Opinion

Editorial: Yankton Sioux protest fails to keep peace

Friday, April 25, 2008

"Members of the Yankton Sioux Tribe are in the midst of a passionate protest this week over a hog farm near Marty, which tribal members say will despoil the environment, ruin water resources and, in short, stink.

The protest has been under way for more than a week and has consistently been in the state’s headlines, partially thanks to a quiet standoff that occurred last week between more than 40 members of the Highway Patrol and fewer than 100 protesters.

Tuesday, the situation escalated, and 17 protesters were arrested for impeding the progress of crews working on the beginning phases of construction on the hog farm, located near tribal land. Members of the Highway Patrol and Charles Mix County Sheriff’s Department made the arrests.

It should be noted that the number of Highway Patrol vehicles on the scene that day was seven, well below the estimates of the previous week, when some figured as many as 50 were on site.

This is a disappointing turn of events, and especially so after promises have been made by tribal members that the protest will remain peaceful.

“Peaceful,” to us, is non-negotiable and impeding highway traffic and the progress of the crews hired to work on the hog farm does not fall under the definition."

Get the Story:
Our View: Protesters' peace promise not being kept (The Mitchell Daily Republic 4/25)
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