Tribal court rules against hog farm

By Randy Dockendorf

WAGNER, Iowa — Despite a tribal court judge's ruling in its favor, the Yankton Sioux Tribe still planned to protest at a hog farm proposed for west of Wagner.

The public was invited to join the 10 a.m. protest, said tribal councilman Gary Drapeau. The protest was postponed twice, first because of Friday's inclement weather and then because of Monday's tribal meeting.

A judge in the Yankton Sioux Tribal Court on Monday granted the tribe's petition for the exclusion and removal of the hog farm developers, said tribal attorney Charles Abourezk of Rapid City.

The farm is located 5 miles west of Wagner on Highway 46, then 1 mile south on the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) road en route to Marty. Construction had been suspended at the site Monday morning, and machinery remained parked and the gate padlocked.

The owner of the hog farm says he just wants to talk with Yankton Sioux tribal officials who have gone to court to block access to the site.

"We just want to sit down and talk with the folks," Arlan Moss of Hull, Iowa, said of tribal officials.

According to Abourezk, Monday's ruling effectively prohibits work crews from traveling across Yankton Sioux Reservation land to get to the site, which he said is surrounded by tribal land.

"To be able to get to their deeded land, they would have to cross the Yankton Sioux Reservation to get there, so they're now prohibited from being on reservation land, and that can be enforced by tribal law enforcement," Abourezk said.

The site is right on the road that leads to Marty, headquarters of the Yankton Sioux Tribe.

Moss said he's not sure what happens next. "We're disappointed that this would come up at this time, because we have not been trying to hide this project."

The land in the area is a checkerboard of private, tribal and deeded land, but state, county and tribal law enforcement know which is which, Abourezk said.

Late last week, Moss said construction at the Long View Farm site had been postponed in light of the tribe's concerns. Protesters dropped plans to barricade a road leading to the work site and said they would stage a protest Monday.

According to Moss, South Dakota state environmental officials had confirmed that his plans complied with all the regulatory requirements for the sow farm, which could house an average of 3,350 sows and produce 70,000 pigs a year.

"We've received assurances from county and state officials that what we're doing is right," Moss said Monday.

Moss said the sow farm would create 13 full-time jobs and would be good for the area's economy.

"If we thought we were an environmental hazard, we wouldn't be there. We're very conscious of that," Moss said.

Abourezk said Moss can seek a hearing to get the order reconsidered. However, the attorney said he doesn't think it would go to U.S. District Court.

"As a matter of federal Indian law, the power of a tribe to exclude people from its reservation has been absolutely upheld at all levels of the federal courts," the attorney said.

"That's one of the inherent powers of tribes that has never been taken away, the power to exclude."

Patrice Kunesh, an assistant law professor at the University of South Dakota, said it sounds like the situation has similarities to some important American Indian jurisdiction cases that have been decided in the federal court system.

She said tribes can't regulate the conduct of non-Indians on non-Indian land but that there are important exceptions.

She also said tribes generally have exclusive jurisdiction on internal tribal matters.

Charles Mix County State's Attorney Scott Podhradsky said Monday he had not seen the tribal judge's ruling. Podhradsky said he wants to learn more about the basis for the decision.
Charles Mix County does not have zoning, and the Long View hog farm is drawing attention to that fact, the state's attorney said.

Podhradsky said he is following the status of the BIA road. He spoke with BIA officials in Aberdeen about the road and any efforts by protesters to close it down.

"We started with the county owning the road and the BIA maintaining it. There is a question if maintaining the road is transferring ownership of it," the state's attorney said.

"While there may be disagreement on that point, we talked to the BIA and we agreed - this is a public road that isn't going to be closed down. This is not an end-around game to close the hog operation."

Anyone who plans to blockade a road or confiscate equipment will risk arrest, Podhradsky said.

Meanwhile, tribal members gathered Monday at the Fort Randall Casino near Pickstown to discuss the hog farm and a protest.

The meeting, which was open only to tribal members, drew the interest of more than the Yankton Sioux. A group of farmers opposed to the hog farm waited outside for word on the tribe's decision. The farmers were eventually admitted to the meeting to address the tribal members.

One farmer, who did not wish to be identified, said the hog farm has stirred emotions in the area. Neighbors hold greatly different opinions, he said, with some strongly favoring the project and others strongly opposed.

Yankton Sioux tribal chairman Robert "Bobby" Cournoyer greeted the farmers outside the meeting room. He said many tribal members were not fully aware of plans for the hog farm until construction started.

"Everyone doesn't get aware of this until it's in our backyard - and our front yard," Cournoyer said.

Moss told the Press & Dakotan on Sunday that the project was well-publicized and had met all the required legal publications. He said he was "surprised" at the recent large negative reaction among tribal members and at the plans for a protest with construction under way.

During a lunch break at Monday's tribal meeting, Twila Zephier and John Zephier said they were pleased the local farmers met with the Yankton Sioux.

"I'm glad they could get all together with us. It was comfortable for them to be here," Twila Zephier said.

Concerns about the hog farm have created common ground between tribal members and like-minded county residents, the Zephiers said.

"We recognize this is a humane problem, versus a racial problem," John Zephier said.

During the lunch break, tribal leaders expressed a variety of concerns about the hog farm.

YST vice chairman John Stone pointed to health concerns, particularly for the young children attending Head Start in Marty downhill from the hog operation.

"This is not environmentally sound. This could lead to overall community degradation," he said. "It's so close to recreational areas and other places where people gather. The communities are profoundly impacted."

Tribal councilman Dennis Rucker said he was disturbed by the hog farm's location.

"This is in the heart of the Yankton Sioux Tribe," he said, noting the proximity to the tribal hall, schools and a church.
For the long-term future, tribal elder Isadore "Izzy" Zephier said health and the environment should be overriding concerns for any local development.

"This is a wake-up call for everyone," he said, adding that he anticipates immediate action on a tribal zoning ordinance.

While the hog farm has produced controversy, Izzy Zephier said he sees benefits arising from Monday's tribal meeting.

"We have unity, which is the way it should be," he said.

He wants that unity to extend to Moss and others connected to the hog farm.

"The next step is working with them," he said. "We could sit down at the table. We want to be friends and discuss this."
In separate comments, Gary Drapeau said he welcomed the areas of common ground on the issue, and he sees long-term changes.

"The tribe is definitely going to get zoning in place," he said, noting the general tribal membership must give final approval.

For now, Drapeau welcomes the tribal judge's ruling issued Monday.

"The court ruling is a good thing, to protect the women and children of our nation as well as everyone else," he said.

"This affects our environment and the health of our land."