Cheyenne River Sioux Research Articles

COVID-19 Disease and Chronic Health Outcomes Associated with Nicotine Use in a Great Plains Tribal Community: A Community-Based Study.

The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) is affected by high nicotine use and disease burden. Understanding nicotine exposure is important to recognize what groups may be at higher risk for negative health outcomes, including COVID-19. To compare self-reported health outcomes and nicotine use between exclusive electronic cigarette (e-cig) users, users of combustible cigarettes, dual e-cig/cigarette users, and nonusers among adult residents on the CRST. The CRST "COVID-19 - Wayakta He study" ("Are you on guard against COVID-19?") recruited 562 participants on the reservation who filled out a 97-item survey. Regression models were used to analyze nicotine exposure, demographic characteristics, and health outcomes. Prevalence of nicotine use among participants was 53%. Reported median puffs per day was 15 for e-cig, 100 for cigarette, and 20 for dual users (p < 0.001). The odds of having COVID-19 were lower for nicotine users compared to nonusers (p < 0.001). The odds of hypertension (p = 0.04) and high cholesterol (p = 0.03) were lower for nicotine users compared to nonusers. The proportional odds were higher for nicotine users for longer COVID-19 recovery time (p = 0.046) and lower for more severe COVID-19 infection (p = 0.001). This study provides critical data on self-reported COVID-19, chronic disease outcomes, and exposure to commercial nicotine products. Results from this unique Tribal community-driven study with a large sample size (N = 562 participants from 289 households) will help understand the role that environmental exposures played on increased COVID-19 mortality, help target public health interventions, and inform Tribal public health policies on emergency preparedness and exposure analyses.

Scope-shifting: Bureaucracy, Energy Justice and the Dakota Access Pipeline

Through a study of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) environmental assessment (EA) of the Dakota Access Pipeline's crossing of Lake Oahe near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, this paper explores regulatory agencies’ “interpretive implementation.” We find that, in implementing the National Environmental Policy Act and Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice, USACE “scope-shifted”—facultatively expanding and contracting the scopes of its spatial, scientific and cost–benefit impact analyses—to expedite industrial expansion, contravening the policies’ original intents. In doing so, USACE's EA created various energy injustices by excluding local tribes (especially the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes) and their concerns, e.g. treaty rights, local histories, climate change and especially potential oil spills with impacts on human health and subsistence resources. We analyze this scope-shifting through the lens of Karl Polayni's double movement between socioenvironmental protections and capitalist development. We elaborate this framework further via a triple-helix model that analyses ideologies, power relations and policies (here further complicated by both “law” and “interpretation” threads), as three intertwined strands that pull with or against each other, jointly progressing toward greater rights for vulnerable communities, “retrograding” toward earlier, oppressive conditions or simply stagnating. Ultimately, we argue that understanding scope-shifting and other forms of interpretive implementation as threads within the triple-helix policy strand, in dynamic tension or synchrony with other threads and strands, can help explicate agency decision-making processes. We hope that this conceptualization can elucidate the capacity of seemingly mundane bureaucratic practices for exacerbating, or potentially alleviating, energy injustice.

All Guns Fired at One Time": Native Voices of Wounded Knee, 1890 ed. by Jerome A. Greene (review)

Reviewed by: All Guns Fired at One Time": Native Voices of Wounded Knee, 1890 ed. by Jerome A. Greene Rani-Henrik Andersson "All Guns Fired at One Time": Native Voices of Wounded Knee, 1890. Compiled and edited by Jerome A. Greene. Pierre: South Dakota Historical Society Press, 2020. 360 pp. Illustrations, map, appendix, index. $34.95 cloth. The Ghost Dance and the ensuing Wounded Knee massacre of 1890 continues to interest scholars and the general public alike. In fact, only recently were the Oglala Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux able to convert a considerable portion of the massacre site back to tribal ownership, a major development in the efforts to protect this sacred site. The past decade or so has seen a plethora of new studies of the Ghost Dance and the Wounded Knee tragedy, including my own Lakota Ghost Dance of 1890 (University of Nebraska Press, 2008) and A Whirlwind Passed through Our Country: Lakota Voices of the Ghost Dance as well as Louis Warren's God's Red Son: The Ghost Dance Religion and the Making of Modern America (Basic Books, 2017) and Justin Gage's We Do Not Want the Gates Closed Between Us: Native Networks and the Spread of the Ghost Dance (University of Oklahoma Press, 2019). Jerome Greene published an extensive study of the massacre entitled American Carnage: Wounded Knee, 1890 (University of Oklahoma Press, 2014) only a few years ago. His new book, "All Guns Fired at One Time": Native Voices of Wounded Knee, 1890, continues from where his previous work ended by publishing Lakota accounts of the Wounded Knee massacre in full. As I started reading the book, I immediately thought that this may be based on the materials he collected for his previous work. Indeed, that was the case, as he also indicated in the introduction. There's nothing wrong with that; on the contrary, publishing these materials that could not fully be utilized in his previous work is a genuine contribution to the field. Greene demonstrates his deep knowledge of the sources that he has mined from often random archives and collections. In A Whirlwind Passed through Our Country, I published more than one hundred Lakota accounts of the Ghost Dance, and some of them included accounts of the Wounded Knee massacre. However, I decided to leave accounts discussing only the massacre out of my work. Greene's work thus nicely compliments my work, and together these collections provide other scholars and the general public a comprehensive body of materials conveying Lakota perspectives of this tragic period. "All Guns Fired at One Time" includes several accounts such as Black Elk's or Dewey Beard's that have been published in other collections, for example, James H. McGregor's The Wounded Knee Massacre from the Viewpoint of the Sioux (Wirth Brothers, 1940) or Raymond J. DeMallie's The Sixth Grandfather: Black Elk's Teachings Given to John G. Neihardt (University of Nebraska Press, 1985) and in other more recent works. Still, many of the documents presented here have never been published in full, and some have never been used before. Thus, it is a great accomplishment to have all these Lakota accounts in one collection. However, the general reader might find this book somewhat repetitive and even difficult to read. The documents have been published without much context. To make this book easier to read, the text could have been divided into chapters, for example, by the date when the interview was taken down: immediately after the massacre, later in Washington, or even later by anthropologists, and so on. Even though I am familiar with many of these documents, events, and people delivering them, it would [End Page 106] have been helpful to have more context, maybe a few footnotes explaining key events and key people. I'm left to wonder what a reader who is not familiar with this topic will get out of this book. It serves especially fellow scholars interested in the Ghost Dance or Wounded Knee and, importantly, Lakota communities that still struggle with this difficult past. The main contribution of "All Guns Fired at One Time" is that it introduces these firsthand Lakota accounts to a new...

Mobilization of As, Fe, and Mn from Contaminated Sediment in Aerobic and Anaerobic Conditions: Chemical or Microbiological Triggers?

We integrated aqueous chemistry, spectroscopy, and microbiology techniques to identify chemical and microbial processes affecting the release of arsenic (As), iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn) from contaminated sediments exposed to aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The sediments were collected from Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal lands in South Dakota, which has dealt with mining legacy for several decades. The range of concentrations of total As measured from contaminated sediments was 96 to 259 mg kg-1, which co-occurs with Fe (21 000-22 005 mg kg-1) and Mn (682-703 mg kg-1). The transition from aerobic to anaerobic redox conditions yielded the highest microbial diversity, and the release of the highest concentrations of As, Fe, and Mn in batch experiments reacted with an exogenous electron donor (glucose). The reduction of As was confirmed by XANES analyses when transitioning from aerobic to anaerobic conditions. In contrast, the releases of As, Fe and Mn after a reaction with phosphate was at least 1 order of magnitude lower compared with experiments amended with glucose. Our results indicate that mine waste sediments amended with an exogenous electron donor trigger microbial reductive dissolution caused by anaerobic respiration. These dissolution processes can affect metal mobilization in systems transitioning from aerobic to anaerobic conditions in redox gradients. Our results are relevant for natural systems, for surface and groundwater exchange, or other systems in which metal cycling is influenced by chemical and biological processes.

From White Horse to Boston Children's: One Anesthesiologist's Journey to Help Others Have the Same Chance

Article| March 2022 From White Horse to Boston Children's: One Anesthesiologist's Journey to Help Others Have the Same Chance Delbert J. Lamb, MD Delbert J. Lamb, MD Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar ASA Monitor March 2022, Vol. 86, 16. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ASM.0000823048.33178.75 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Cite Icon Cite Get Permissions Search Site Citation Delbert J. Lamb; From White Horse to Boston Children's: One Anesthesiologist's Journey to Help Others Have the Same Chance. ASA Monitor 2022; 86:16 doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ASM.0000823048.33178.75 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll PublicationsASA Monitor Search Advanced Search Topics: child, equidae, equus caballus My story begins near White Horse, South Dakota, a community of nearly 100 people (not 100,000, just simply 100) in the north central part of South Dakota on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. Born and raised on a cattle ranch a few miles west of this small community, I was instilled with a strong work ethic, a sense of community, and an appreciation of my culture at a young age. This has continued throughout my life, and I am thankful to the ASA Monitor for allowing me to share the story of my journey. Neither of my parents had finished college, so to them, it was imperative that I sought out experiences that could advance my education. Early on, I remember my parents giving me the ultimatum, “either go to INMED or stay home and work on the ranch.” The summer after I was given the choice between a... You do not currently have access to this content.

Cheyenne River Sioux Traditions and Resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline

The No Dakota Access Pipeline resistance movement provides a poignant example of the way in which cultural, spiritual, and oral traditions remain authoritative in the lives of American Indian peoples, specifically the Lakota people. Confronted with restrictions of their religious freedoms and of access to clean drinking water due to construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), members of Lakota communities engaged with traditions specific to their communities to inform and structure the No DAPL resistance movement. A series of interviews conducted on the Cheyenne River Sioux Nation with tribal members reveal that Lakota spiritual traditions have been integral to every aspect of the movement, including the motivations for, organization of, and understanding of the future of the movement.

Active smoking, secondhand smoke exposure and serum cotinine levels among Cheyenne River Sioux communities in context of a Tribal Public Health Policy

IntroductionAmerican Indians and Alaska Natives face disproportionately high rates of smoking and secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure. The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) is among the few Tribal Nations controlling commercial...

A Systematic Review of Environmental Health Outcomes in Selected American Indian and Alaska Native Populations.

Economic and social marginalization among American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) results in higher chronic disease prevalence. Potential causal associations between toxic environmental exposures and adverse health outcomes within AI/AN communities are not well understood. This review examines epidemiological literature on exposure to toxicants and associated adverse health outcomes among AI/AN populations. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Environment Complete, Web of Science Plus, DART, and ToxLine were searched for English-language articles. The following data were extracted: lead author's last name, publication year, cohort name, study location, AI/AN tribe, study initiation and conclusion, sample size, primary characteristic, environmental exposure, health outcomes, risk estimates, and covariates. About 31 articles on three types of environmental exposures met inclusion criteria: persistent organic pollutants (POPs), heavy metals, and open dumpsites. Of these, 17 addressed exposure to POPs, 10 heavy metal exposure, 2 exposure to both POPs and heavy metals, and 2 exposure to open dumpsites. Studies on the Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne; Yupik on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska; Navajo Nation; Gila River Indian Community; Cheyenne River Sioux; 197 Alaska Native villages; and 13 tribes in Arizona, Oklahoma, North Dakota, and South Dakota that participated in the Strong Heart Study support associations between toxicant exposure and various chronic conditions including cardiovascular conditions, reproductive abnormalities, cancer, autoimmune disorders, neurological deficits, and diabetes. The complex interplay of environmental and social factors in disease etiology among AI/ANs is a product of externally imposed environmental exposures, systemic discrimination, and modifiable risk behaviors. The connection between environmental health disparities and adverse health outcomes indicates a need for further study.

SENTINEL COYOTE PATHOGEN SURVEY TO ASSESS DECLINING BLACK-FOOTED FERRET (MUSTELA NIGRIPES) POPULATION IN SOUTH DAKOTA, USA.

As part of the national recovery effort, endangered black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) were reintroduced to the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, US in 2000. Despite an encouraging start, numbers of ferrets at the site have declined. In an effort to determine possible causes of the population decline, we undertook a pathogen survey in 2012 to detect exposure to West Nile virus (WNV), canine distemper virus (CDV), plague (Yersinia pestis), tularemia (Francisella tularensis), and heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) using coyotes (Canis latrans) as a sentinel animal. The highest seroprevalence was for WNV with 71% (20/28) of coyotes testing antibody-positive. Seroprevalence of CDV and plague were lower, 27% and 13%, respectively. No evidence of active infection with tularemia or heartworm was seen in the coyotes sampled. As this study did not sample black-footed ferrets themselves, the definitive cause for the decline of this population cannot be determined. However, the presence of coyotes seropositive for two diseases, plague and CDV, lethal to black-footed ferrets, indicated the potential for exposure and infection. The high seroprevalence of WNV in the coyotes indicated a wide exposure to the virus; therefore, exposure of black-footed ferrets to the virus is also likely. Due to the ability of WNV to cause fatal disease in other species, studies may be useful to elucidate the impact that WNV could have on the success of reintroduced black-footed ferrets as well as factors influencing the spread and incidence of the disease in a prairie ecosystem.

Urine Bisphenol A and Arsenic Levels in Residents of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, South Dakota, with and without Diabetes.

Diabetes disproportionately affects American Indians/Alaskan Natives (AI/AN). Bisphenol A (BPA) and arsenic (As), environmental toxicants which may be associated with diabetes, have not been well studied in this population. Our objectives were to determine if urinary BPA and As are associated with diabetes among adults in the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST), and to compare their urinary levels with the general US population. We performed a case-control study among 276 volunteers. We matched our cases (persons with diabetes) and controls (persons without diabetes) using age. We collected questionnaire data and urine samples which were tested for BPA and speciated As analytes. We used paired t tests and McNemar's chi-square test to compare continuous and categorical variables, respectively, between cases and controls and linear regression to assess the association between self-reported exposures and BPA and As levels. We used conditional logistic regression to investigate the association between case status and BPA and As levels. BPA and As levels among participants were compared with those from the 2011-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The average age of participants was 46 years. The majority identified as AI/AN race (97%) and 58% were female. The geometric means from CRST participant urine specimens were 1.83 ug/L for BPA and 3.89 ug/L for total As. BPA geometric means of CRST participants were higher than NHANES participants while total As geometric means were lower. BPA and As were not associated with case status. The results of this study are consistent with others that have reported no association between diabetes and exposure to BPA or As.

Under Coyote’s Mask: Environmental Law, Indigenous Identity, and #NoDAPL

This Article studies the relationship between the three main lawsuits filed by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and the Yankton Sioux Tribe against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DaPL) and the mass protests launched from the Sacred Stone and Oceti Sakowin protest camps. The use of environmental law as the primary legal mechanism to challenge the construction of the pipeline distorted the indigenous demand for justice as U.S. federal law is incapable of seeing the full depth of the indigenous worldview supporting their challenge. Indigenous activists constantly re-centered the direct actions and protests within indigenous culture to remind non-indigenous activists and the wider media audience that the protests were an indigenous protest, rather than a purely environmental protest, a distinction that was obscured as the litigation progressed. The NoDAPL protests, the litigation to prevent the completion and later operation of the pipeline, and the social movement that the protests engendered, were an explosive expression of indigenous resistance—resistance to systems that silence and ignore indigenous voices while attempting to extract resources from their lands and communities. As a case study, the protests demonstrate how the use of litigation, while often critical to achieving the goals of political protest, distorts the expression of politics not already recognized within the legal discourse.

Contaminant Exposures in Indigenous Communities: Tribal Research Avenues and Health Effects

IntroAmerican Indians were stripped of traditional tobacco upon first contact with settlers, forcing them to use commercial tobacco for sacred ceremonies. Colonization and exploitation of American Indians by tobacco companies contribute to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe&amp;#8217;s (CRST) 51% smoking rate.MethodsTo reduce secondhand smoke exposure in indoor public places on CRST, the Canli Coalition began advocating for a tribal smoke-free air law in 2009. By 2012, 76% of tribal members supported smoke-free air in public. In 2015, the CRST became the third tribe in America to pass a comprehensive smoke-free air policy. Evidence supporting such policies will pave the way for more smoke-free policies in Indigenous territories. The CRST Mercury in the Water Study sought to find exposures to metals through fishing, smoking and land use pathways. Commercial tobacco contributes to heavy metal exposure and poor health outcomes through metal toxicants. Tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure was collected using a survey and cotinine levels confirmed nicotine exposure. 225 adult CRST members participated from 2014-2016 (75 per year). This analysis focuses on tobacco exposure changes after the 2015 CRST Ordinance 77 was passed.ResultsThe year following Ordinance 77, the rate of smokers with high cotinine levels (&amp;gt; 15 ng/ml serum cotinine concentration) was reduced from 83% to 40%. Non-smokers with high cotinine levels reduced from 18% to 13% in the year following policy adoption. The number of cigarettes smoked among current smokers did not change significantly. However, participants with intermediate cotinine levels increased in 2016 for smokers and non-smokers. Detailed home and indoor sampling for nicotine surface deposition and toxicant exposure can be included in future Tribal research agendas to accurately depict the impact of smoke-free air policies in Indigenous communities.

Mercury and Other Toxicants from Mine Waste and Immune System Health Effects: The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe's Concerns

Over 900 silver and gold mines were in operation in the Black Hills area of South Dakota for almost 100 years. Extraction released mercury to the environment and it is up-taken by various fresh water fish. Fishing is vital part of Lakota life that supports subsistence and provides recreation along the Cheyenne River. CRST communities sought academic partnership as early as 2000 trying to address concerns of immunotoxicity associated with metals originated from the drinking water.Our team recruited 225 adults (53% males, 47% females; mean age: 42.9 years (range: 18-77 yrs) regularly fish along CRST waters. Hg considered ubiquitous on the land and arsenic exposures were also estimated via fishing survey. Smoking and various land use activities were assessed using questionnaires. Blood and urine samples were collected for biomonitoring. Indirect immunofluorescence and in-house ELISA techniques were used for serum autoimmunity marker determinations and multiplexing assays were applied to determine serum cytokines and immunoglobulins, components of the human immune response. Percentages of blood lymphocytes were also measured by flow cytometry. Serum cotinine concentrations validated self-reported smoking.Multivariate statistical modeling ascertained that current cigarette smoking and fish consumption were significant predictor variables of increased cytokine productions resulting in an activation of cellular and mucosal immune reactivity (GM-CSF, p&amp;#61; 0.015; IL-2, p&amp;#61; 0.008; IL-8, p&amp;#61; 0.049). Increased prevalence of antinuclear autoimmunity (36% ANA positivity, score &amp;gt;2&amp;#43;) was identified compared to the US national average (13.8%) and showed negative associations with serum cotinine concentrations. These results suggest that environmental toxicants can have complex, both pro- and anti-inflammatory influence. Immune response inhibition via toxicant exposures might play crucial role in chronic disease development in exposed Indigenous communities.

Data as a Strategic Resource: Self-determination, Governance, and the Data Challenge for Indigenous Nations in the United States

Data about Indigenous populations in the United States are inconsistent and irrelevant. Federal and state governments and researchers direct most collection, analysis, and use of data about U.S. Indigenous populations. Indigenous Peoples’ justified mistrust further complicates the collection and use of these data. Nonetheless, tribal leaders and communities depend on these data to inform decision making. Reliance on data that do not reflect tribal needs, priorities, and self-conceptions threatens tribal self-determination. Tribal data sovereignty through governance of data on Indigenous populations is long overdue. This article provides two case studies of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and their demographic and socioeconomic data initiatives to create locally and culturally relevant data for decision making.

Mercury, autoimmunity, and environmental factors on cheyenne river sioux tribal lands.

Mercury (Hg), shown to induce autoimmune disease in rodents, is a ubiquitous toxicant throughout Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) lands. CRST members may be exposed to Hg through fish consumption (FC), an important component of native culture that may supplement household subsistence. Our goals were to ascertain whether total blood Hg levels (THg) reflect Hg exposure through FC and smoking, and determine whether THg is associated with the presence of anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) and specific autoantibodies (sAuAb). We recruited 75 participants who regularly consume fish from CRST waters. Hg exposure through FC and smoking were assessed via questionnaires. Whole blood samples were collected from participants, and THg was measured using ICP-MS. ANA and sAuAb in serum were modeled using demographic and exposure information as predictors. Female gender, age, and FC were significant predictors of THg and sAuAb; self-reported smoking was not. 31% of participants tested positive for ANA ≥ 2+. Although ANA was not significantly associated with Hg, the interactions of gender with Hg and proximity to arsenic deposits were statistically significant (P < 0.05). FC resulted in a detectable body burden of Hg, but THg alone did not correlate with the presence of ANA or sAuAb in this population.

Environmental triggers and autoimmunity.

Environmental triggers and autoimmunity.

Associations among Autoantibodies, Total Blood Mercury, Fish Consumption and Proximity to High-concentration Sediment Arsenic Deposits in Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Members

Associations among Autoantibodies, Total Blood Mercury, Fish Consumption and Proximity to High-concentration Sediment Arsenic Deposits in Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Members

The 2011 South Dakota Equitarian Survey and Comparative Analysis of Equine Welfare on a South Dakota Native American Reservation

Economic stress and geographic isolation are barriers to proper veterinary care for horses on Native American reservations. The 2011 South Dakota (SD) Equitarian Survey was distributed to 135 equine veterinarians in SD to detect perceptions of effectiveness and best methodologies for improving reservation equine welfare. There was a positive correlation (P < .005) between the perceived importance and effectiveness of increased veterinary access and the importance of free care and owner knowledge in changing the health and welfare of SD’s reservation equine population. Thirty-nine percent of respondents claimed to have an interest in providing help for reservation equines; those with no veterinary experience on reservations tended not to have interest (P = .05). Previous experience practicing on a reservation impacted how crucial they believed horse owner knowledge or awareness was in changing the health and welfare of reservation equines (P < .04). The most commonly noted health threat and strength were poor nutrition and the absence of internal disease, respectively. In a subsequent analysis, 299 horses on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation were observed for welfare indicators and divided into groups by use: saddle, production, bucking stock, and performance. Average body condition score was 5 of 9 and did not differ between the four groups. Coat (P < .001) and hoof (P < .007) conditions varied between groups, with optimal conditions in the performance and saddle horse groups, respectively. Variable hoof, coat, and vaccination practices among the groups of reservation equines present an opportunity for health care education and welfare improvement.

Unjustifiable Expectations: Laying to Rest the Ghosts of Allotment-Era Settlers

When the Supreme Court decides whether a tribe has jurisdiction over non-members on its reservation or addresses the related issue of reservation diminishment, it often refers implicitly or explicitly to non-Indians’ justifiable expectations. These presumed non-Indian expectations arise from the fact that, when Congress opened up reservations to non-Indians during the allotment era, it assumed that the opened reservations would soon disappear due to the federal government’s assimilationist policies and that the tribes who governed them would similarly dissolve. Thus, the Court imputes justifiable expectations as to the lack of any possibility of tribal jurisdiction to non-Indian allotment-era purchasers and then bases decisions to deny tribes jurisdiction in part on these presumed expectations. To refute the idea that such non-Indian expectations were justifiable, I examine historical newspaper articles and other historical sources regarding the opening up of reservations to non-Indian purchasers, specifically focusing on cessions by the Sioux Nation and especially the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Such sources suggest that non-Indian purchasers were on notice, in at least some cases, of a potential violation of tribal rights in the allotment and the opening of portions of reservations to non-Indian settlement. Based on my argument that “justifiability” encompasses both reasonableness and justice, this information is used to show that the non-Indian purchasers’ presumed expectations about the disappearance of reservations were not justifiable because the purchasers had notice in many cases that lands were unjustly being taken from the Sioux Nation and other tribes. Because non-Indian expectations of tribal disappearance were, in many cases, not justifiable, such expectations should not be given weight in determinations of tribal jurisdiction or reservation boundaries today.

The Medicine Wheel Nutrition Intervention: A Diabetes Education Study with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe

Objective The Northern Plains Indians of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe have experienced significant lifestyle and dietary changes over the past seven generations that have resulted in increased rates of diabetes and obesity. The objective of this study was to determine if Northern Plains Indians with type 2 diabetes mellitus who are randomized to receive culturally adapted educational lessons based on the Medicine Wheel Model for Nutrition in addition to their usual dietary education will have better control of their type 2 diabetes than a nonintervention, usual care group who received only the usual dietary education from their personal providers. Design A 6-month, randomized, controlled trial was conducted January 2005 through December 2005, with participants randomized to the education intervention or usual care control group. The education group received six nutrition lessons based on the Medicine Wheel Model for Nutrition. The usual care group received the usual dietary education from their personal providers. Participants One hundred fourteen Northern Plains Indians from Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe aged 18 to 65 years, with type 2 diabetes. Methods Weight, body mass index (BMI), hemoglobin A1c, fasting serum glucose and lipid parameters, circulating insulin, and blood pressure were measured at the beginning and completion. Diet histories, physical activity, and dietary satiety surveys were measured at baseline and monthly through completion. Differences were determined using Student t tests, χ 2 tests, and analysis of variance. Results The education group had a significant weight loss (1.4±0.4 kg, P≤0.05) and decrease in BMI (1.0±0.1, P≤0.05) from baseline to completion. The usual care group had no change in weight (0.5±0.5 kg) or BMI (0.5±0.2). There were no between group differences due to intervention in energy, carbohydrate, protein, and fat intake and physical activity. Conclusions The culturally based nutrition intervention promoted small but positive changes in weight. Greater frequency and longer duration of educational support may be needed to influence blood glucose and lipid parameters.