The South Dakota Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed by a man who said he was sexually abused at a boarding school on the Yankton Sioux Reservation.

D.Z. Iron Wing, 64, attended the St. Paul's Indian School from first through eleventh grade. But he waited too long to file his lawsuit, the court ruled, citing a state law that places a three-year statute of limitations in abuse cases.

"The evidence indisputably shows that Iron Wing never forgot the abuse and was aware that he was angry and felt hatred toward the church, the nuns, and the priests, as well as their orders since his junior year of high school," Justice John K. Konenkamp wrote for the majority.

Advocates have said the state law punishes Indian victims while rewarding the Catholic church, which ran boarding schools on reservation.

Get the Story:
SD court upholds dismissal of school abuse lawsuit (AP 12/1)

South Dakota Supreme Court Decision:
D.Z. Iron Wing v. Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls (December 1, 2011)