Court Opinion

ID: 9490853
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 13:56:22.68354+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:54:21.104686
License: Public Domain

BRIGHT, Circuit Judge,
concurring separately.
I commend my distinguished colleague, Judge Heaney, for his pertinent remarks calling attention to what I believe may be the root cause of child abuse crimes on the South Dakota Indian Reservation; that is, the degraded living conditions of families on the Indian reservations. The government has or will spend well over $50,000 in the criminal prosecution and incarceration of Kermit Miner. Although he will be removed from the family for about two years, I question whether the family situation will be bettered by his absence or improved on his return from prison.
Child abuse on the reservation or anywhere is a serious matter. I suggest in particular on the reservation, improvement in housing conditions and intensive education of parents and children about the problem might reduce the incidence of the sort of abuse that occurred here. All federal agencies interested in the welfare of Native Americans in South Dakota need to focus on rehabilitation, better housing and education opportunities to alleviate the problem of child abuse on the reservation.
The interest and action of federal prosecutors in this regard could well serve as a catalyst for improvement of living conditions at the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation and other Indian reservations in South Dakota and, thereby, reduce the incidence of child abuse.