News & Commentary

A letter to the South Dakota House of Representatives

This week, the ACLU won an important battle on the road toward protecting the rights of American Indian children and their parents and tribes. Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken of South Dakota's federal District Court ruled that a lawsuit filed by the ACLU in March of 2013 can go forward, rejecting motions filed by the defendants that sought to have the case dismissed.

Justified. That’s how the Pierre Police Department described an incident several days ago where an officer fired his Taser at an 8-year-old girl after receiving a report that she had stabbed herself in the leg and appeared suicidal.

Every election, South Dakota voters have 46 days when they can vote early, which makes it easier for people to take part in our democracy. But the rules appear to be different for American Indian voters living on reservations in the state—at least according to recent actions by the South Dakota's Secretary of State, who is stonewalling a request for early voting sites in three American Indian communities.

hree Indian parents and two tribes in South Dakota today stood up against these unlawful and disgraceful practices by filing a class-action lawsuit in Rapid City, South Dakota. The ACLU filed the complaint on their behalf in order to put an end to this unconstitutional process, which has unfortunately become standard practice in the state.