Many Indian people in Minnesota and the Dakotas say they've come to expect injustice both on and off the reservation. Here are stories from some people who say their rights, and complaints, are ignored. It's been more than a year since a United States Commission on Civil Rights report blasted race relations in South Dakota. Hundreds of Native Americans testified about abuses in law enforcement. The testimony echoed complaints brought before the commission in the mid-1970s, causing many to ask why there's been so little change.
Most people take for granted the right to pray, or worship as they choose.
But for many years, Native Americans were denied that right. In 1890, as part of the U.S. government's assimilation policy, American Indian religious practices were outlawed. Eighty-eight years later, in 1978, Congress passed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, restoring religious freedom to Indian people. The high school diploma is a benchmark that divides those who have from those who have very little. But in Indian country, diplomas are relatively scarce.