Amelia Schafer
ICT
The four Oglala Lakota men detained by ICE in South Minneapolis have been partially identified, according to a Tuesday night statement from Oglala Sioux Tribe President Frank Star Comes Out.
Star Comes Out said as of Jan. 13, the individuals last names have not been released, only first names. Tribal leaders are demanding full, comprehensive information from the Department of Homeland Security.
Additionally, the tribe is demanding the immediate release of all enrolled tribal citizens held by immigration, written assurances that ICE will stop detaining Native Americans, and immediate government-to-government consultation.
At least one of the men has been released, but tribal leaders said the remaining three are being held at Fort Snelling, a site historically used as a concentration camp for Native people during the Dakota removal period.
“The irony is not lost on us,” Star Comes Out said in a statement. “Lakota citizens who are reported to be held at Fort Snelling — a site forever tied to the Dakota 38+2 — underscores why treaty obligations and federal accountability matter today, not just in history.”
Star Comes Out said when the tribe requested more information, leaders were told the tribe would need to enter into an immigration agreement with ICE and the Department of Homeland Security.
“The tribe does not intend to enter into an immigration agreement with ICE or Homeland Security,” Star Comes Out said in a letter to the U.S. Government shared with ICT. “We will not enter an agreement that would authorize, or make it easier for, ICE or Homeland Security to come onto our tribal homeland to arrest or detain our tribal members.”
Star Comes Out said the detention of the four tribal citizens is a direct violation of federal law, various treaties and the constitutional protections owed to citizens by the United States.
Citizens of tribal nations became United States citizens in 1924 through the Indian Citizenship Act.
The Oglala Sioux Tribe’s enrollment office is organizing a pop-up at the Minneapolis American Indian Center on Jan. 16 and 17 to assist tribal members in obtaining documentation and IDs.