News from the Northern Plains

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Safety &Justice

Public safety, law enforcement, tribal justice systems and court cases affecting Native communities.

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Oglala Sioux Tribe finance meeting of June 4, 2026

Oglala Sioux Tribe facing fairness questions over banishment law

The policy aims to combat crime on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, but its effectiveness and a lack of a clear appeals process are drawing questions

Tribal leaders call for urgent action on public safety crisis

On the Blackfeet Reservation, families learn to search for their own missing relatives

Nora Mabie and Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press

Federal agencies and tribe partner to clear Pine Ridge Reservation’s ballistics testing backlog

John Hult, North Dakota Monitor

Tribal leaders call for urgent action on public safety crisis

Oglala Sioux Tribe president: ‘We need results’

Janie Ducheneaux

On the Blackfeet Reservation, families learn to search for their own missing relatives

As Indigenous people go missing and are murdered at disproportionately high rates, families learn forensic skills to find their own loved ones.

Nora Mabie and Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press

Federal agencies and tribe partner to clear Pine Ridge Reservation’s ballistics testing backlog

Collaboration aims to move unsolved cases toward closure

John Hult, North Dakota Monitor

ShineThe Shine series explores limitations and solutions to government transparency in Indian Country.

For Ethan One Feather, safety and security at 150th commemoration of Little Bighorn battle is top priority

Thousands of people, many on horses, expected to attend major historical and cultural event

Tribal law enforcement academy, requested by South Dakota, will be located in North Dakota

News comes as part of new push from BIA to address violent crime in tribal areas

John Hult, North Dakota Searchlight

Camp Grafton

On national day of awareness, MMIP crisis takes center stage

Theater campaign involves dozens of Native organizations

Tribal elder convicted of threatening federal employee receives probation

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe citizen Joseph Lafferty must agree to community service, other conditions

Standing Rock boy airlifted to hospital, student athletes charged with assault

Was there a culture of tolerance among school officials that allowed it to happen?

No body, no crime? How prosecutors prove murder when a victim is missing

While proving a homicide without remains can be a challenge, conviction rates are high

Tribal Response

MMIP groups and tribal councils condemn violence by federal law enforcement

North and South Dakota tribes issue joint statement

Armed Federal Agents on Park Avenue in Minneapolis

Standing Rock man assaulted hours before death by train

Hoksila Running Bear was struck by a train following months of threats. His mother seeks answers

Brittney Rough Surface and grand daughter

Chief deputy charged with unlawful arrests of Spirit Lake citizens to make court appearance Jan. 16

Travis Carlson was arrested in July following an investigation into the Benson County Sheriff’s Office

Benson County Deputy Chief Travis Carlson

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe distances itself from former chair’s endorsement of Kristi Noem

Following recent immigration actions by ICE, Chairman Sitting Bear emphasizes Janet Alkire’s support for former South Dakota governor was solely her own

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Native leaders in North Dakota urge use of tribal IDs, denounce ICE tactics

At least five Native people have been reportedly detained in Minneapolis by immigration authorities

Mary Steurer, North Dakota Monitor

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Minneapolis Native community gathers in prayer after intense week of ICE activity

NDN Collective founder calls for tribal nations to work with city and state partners to ban ICE

By Darren Thompson

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FBI investigating two weekend murders on North Dakota reservations

Suspects apprehended in both cases

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Community Organizing

Minneapolis Indigenous community organizes around ICE activity

‘We are under attack right now from our federal government’

By Darren Thompson

Reporters’ Notebook: The year that was

Buffalo’s Fire reporters reflect on their biggest stories of 2025

By Buffalo's Fire

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He Spent Funds Meant for Native Hawaiians on Polo and Porsches. The Federal Government Failed to Stop Him.

This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Honolulu Civil Beat

Nick Grube, ProPublica

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