“What is happening here is an attempt to capitalize on another way to make money fast while destroying and disrespecting Mother Earth. This is an environmental issue. The whole plan for construction is a direct intrusion upon Yankton Nakota sovereignty!”

My Ihanktowan friend Glenn Drapeau tells me all this, responding to my question as I, alarmed, try to find out why there were 44 state troopers and two snipers in the small South Dakota community last Tuesday. It is probably the third or fourth time since I was on the Yankton Sioux reservation last December that I have heard something to do with disrupting the traditional territory and ignoring tribal jurisdiction there. Of course none of this made any major news outlets.

I’m really fed up with these blatant displays of racism that we aren’t hearing about over here in Canada. Borders have clearly accomplished their purpose of separation and division.

Yankton Sioux is currently facing the attempted construction of a hog farm by Long View Valley Farms from Hull, Iowa on their tribal land just yards away from schools and community centres. Hog farms notoriously pose numerous health and environmental dangers with the large amounts of waste and other harmful chemicals that pollute the land, air, and water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated that concentrated animal feeding operations are one of the primary causes of water pollution in the United States.

“We found out about the hog farm and that they never consulted with the tribe. They did not have any permits, being that we own the road they were going to use to enter their hog farm. And with our constitution, we will not allow any business to build anything if it’s going to harm the future and health of our nation, women, children, elders, and the people of the Ihanktowan nation,” explains Glenn’s brother Gary Drapeau, a Yankton Sioux councilman.

So members of the community gathered last Tuesday to peacefully protest the construction of this farm as Long View ignored a tribal court order to cease building and came in with their equipment to start construction.


Gary then recounted to me his arrest:

“As we were standing there, the state troopers came and told us to move back and we didn’t move. They asked again if we would move and we refused again, so they arrested nine of our warriors and as they took them away, another group of warriors stood up and were also arrested. As I’m on the council I was taking phone calls, but after I turned around I noticed they had arrested 18 of my people, I ran over and jumped in line, so they arrested me and a few women and children. They cited all of us with public nuisance and obstruction of justice.”

This is sadly an all-too-familiar story about the government’s sheer disrespect for Native autonomy and rights. However, when people you actually know are getting arrested for doing what’s right, the political becomes much more personal. We in Canada sometimes write off the U.S., often without thinking about the sovereign peoples that reside in the tumultuous country and who have to live with its extreme oppressive policies.

The entire population of Yankton Sioux is around 3800 people and, with approximately 40,000 acres of land, they have been a continuous target for corporate gain and state intrusion. In 2002, human remains from a traditional ancestral burial ground were discovered during construction of a projected state campground along the Missouri River. The remains were then moved by officials who, appallingly, waited a week before notifying the Yankton Sioux of the unearthing. The incident came just months after the failure of a legal challenge to the federal law that placed the site in the hands of the South Dakota government. This is just one example of the many discriminatory acts that have hindered the Nakota people from asserting their full lawful rights to care for and govern their own territory.

But my Ihanktowan brothers are not alone in their struggle against Corporate America. Glenn explains: “There is unification and solidarity here of all the Great Sioux Nations, local communities and many other interested parties. There are the Ihanktonwan, Rosebud Sioux, Oglala Sioux, Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux, Lower Brule Sioux, Santee Sioux, Cheyenne River Sioux, Standing Rock Sioux, Crow Creek Sioux Nations, Winnebago, local farmers, community members, priests, and university students.”

In reality this is really not even about race. It is about action for the good of humanity and the wellness of the entire community who must live on Mother Earth. We need to learn and reach out more across these borders that we did not create, and which we, as Indigenous peoples, do not recognize.

Nakota literally translates to “friend” or “ally,” which means we have a responsibility to each other, especially in times of need. I stand in solidarity with Yankton Sioux and heed these words of Gary’s:

“This is a message to all our Nations that we need to start using one mind as a people and stand together. I would like to thank everyone who took part in protecting the land and people, because when it comes down it, it will be a victory for all.”