The Strong Heart Civil Rights Movement and the Black Hills Sioux Treaty Council plan to file a lawsuit against the federal government in hopes of stopping the sale of liquor in Whiteclay, Nebraska.

The lawsuit will cite the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty. A provision in the treaty says the federal government must protect the Sioux Nation from "bad men."

Duane Martin Sr., a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, says four liquor stores in Whiteclay are "bad men" and are guilty of bringing "sickness and death to the Oglala Band of the Lakota Nation."

The provision was used in a recent case. Lavetta Elk, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, received a $650,000 settlement when she said the government failed to protect her from a military recruiter who sexually assaulted her on the reservation.

Get the Story:
Native activists protesting "bad man" clause violation Friday in Whiteclay (The Rapid City Journal 1/15)

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