Thomas Daschle: “Senator Johnson and I have recently been informed of two urgent matters on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota…”

“Senator Johnson and I have recently been informed of two urgent matters on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota that require immediate attention. The boundaries of the Yankton Reservation are the subject of an ongoing legal dispute. Although the final status of the case will be resolved in the coming year by the Supreme Court, lower court decisions have already transferred criminal jurisdiction over tribal members within the disputed boundaries of the reservation to the Yankton Sioux Tribe. As a result, the tribe's patrol area has increased from 38,000 acres to 400,000 acres and the number of arrests and detentions by the tribe has tripled. The cost of providing these law enforcement services has correspondingly increased from $56,000 to $308,721. We are informed the tribe is in need of $250,000 to accommodate these increased costs.”