"I am writing regarding the coverage Wagner and the Yankton Sioux Tribe have received regarding the methamphetamine problem and what’s not being done about it. We have been working with Tribal Housing to set up a methamphetamine testing and remediation program. I will admit that progress has been slow, but not nonexistent. We have been impressed with the fact that the tribe has been very open about the problems they are facing and are willing to do something. For five years, we’ve been trying to make the point that the meth problem is much bigger than people think, not just on reservations, but in South Dakota in general. I’ve been accused of lying to make a profit by landlords who deny the problem exists even as their tenants are jailed for drug labs and the evidence sits in front of them.

Now, a young child is dead and more problems than just meth on the reservations are exposed. Problems exist in the state Child Protective Services system that repeatedly works to put children back in dangerous situations that are not in their best interests but are a cheaper solution. Problems exist when law enforcement officers, on and off the reservation, are unqualified and use their positions to break the law while communities look the other way because it doesn’t affect them personally."

Get the Story:
Cindi A. Newcomb: Meth is a problem that belongs to us all (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 8/24)

Related Stories:
Yankton Sioux house where toddler died is called a meth lab (8/23)
Couple pleads not guilty over death of Yankton Sioux toddler (8/22)
US Attorney talks drug issues on reservations in South Dakota (8/8)
Editorial: Girl's death shows problems for Yankton Sioux Tribe (8/6)
Yankton Sioux Tribe didn't use $157K methamphetamine grant (8/3)
Child abuse charges added for death of Yankton Sioux toddler (7/31)
Memorial walk planned in honor of Yankton Sioux girl who died (7/19)
Yankton Sioux leader calls methamphetamine a major problem (7/17)
Adults charged in connection to death at Yankton Sioux complex (7/13)
Adults might face charges for murder at Yankton Sioux complex (7/12)
Yankton Sioux Tribe shocked by murder of two-year-old toddler (7/11)