The chairman of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, President Frank Starr Combs, called for the immediate release of tribal members detained by Minnesota ICE agents last week. Three of the four arrested tribe members have been transferred to an ICE facility, with the tribe asserting that “tribal members are not aliens” and are protected as U.S. citizens by statute and treaty. Notably, details surrounding their detention are unclear, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe has no intention of entering an agreement with ICE for information sharing.
The tribe’s statement emphasized the troubling history of Fort Snelling, the detention site, which has connections to anti-Indigenous practices and past military conflicts involving Native Americans. This incident follows other recent cases where ICE has detained tribal members, raising concerns about the treatment of Indigenous individuals by immigration authorities.
Tribal and community leaders are advocating for proper identification for tribal members to prevent panic when approached by ICE, highlighting the need for outreach and support in dealing with immigration enforcement.
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