"When it comes to improving child protection on the Spirit Lake Sioux reservation, this much is clear:

Partisanship doesn’t help.

It’s an understandable reflex for lawmakers, whose lives in the Legislature are consumed by political alliances and quarrels.

But it may not add much to North Dakotans’ understanding of the child-protection crisis, whose origins and timeline cross years or maybe decades of legislative and executive party lines.

Furthermore, partisan shots serve only to hurt the targeted party and make them defensive. That pushes any kind of broad and bipartisan solution to the crisis — the only kind of solution that will work — even further out of reach."

Get the Story:
OUR OPINION: Crisis at Spirit Lake transcends partisanship (The Grand Forks Herald 8/24)

Related Stories:
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Editorial: Spirit Lake Nation defensive in wake of abuse cases (8/13)
IHS rescinds reprimand of employee in Spirit Lake controversy (8/3)
Editorial: IHS should explain reprimand of tribal whistleblower (7/31)
IHS reprimands employee who warned about Spirit Lake children (7/30)
Man charged for murders of Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation children (7/24)
Editorial: Children's safety at risk on Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation (7/18)
Toddler who died on Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation being laid to rest (7/13)
BIA investigates death of baby girl on Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation (7/11)
Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation faces scrutiny over child welfare woes (7/9)
HHS official blames Spirit Lake Nation for child abuse problems (6/22)
Sen. Hoeven seeks answers on Spirit Lake social services (04/25)
Editorial: A free press is essential, even in a tribal society (4/17)
Deaths of Spirit Lake Dakotah children treated as homicide (05/26)
Spirit Lake mother confirms identities of two slain children (5/25)
Father suspected for deaths of two children at Spirit Lake (5/24)