Death Investigation in South Dakota Indian Country

Abstract

In the first part of the 20th century, Native American tribal reservations were allowed to become self-governing, semiautonomous sovereign nations. Although these tribal governments have the authority to establish their own death investigation systems, in South Dakota, the tribes have largely ceded this authority to the county coroners. The county coroner role at unattended deaths in Indian Country has been largely taken over by law enforcement (the Federal Bureau of Investigation and/or the Bureau of Indian Affairs), leaving the county coroner with limited duties other than signing death certificates. The majority of autopsies ordered on unattended tribal area deaths are procured by law enforcement, in part since law enforcement is the only agency with sufficient funds to pay for autopsies.