Corps, tribe approve plan to temporarily cover grave sites

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Yankton Sioux Tribe and the Army Corps of Engineers have agreed to temporarily cover but not remove the remains of Indians uncovered last year near Fort Randall Dam.

Under the plan, filed with a federal judge this week, the remains will be left in place and covered before Dec. 7, when water levels at Lake Francis Case will rise.

The corps and the tribe will bring the materials needed for the work, and tribal members will place fabric, soil and rocks over the remains.

''We fought long and hard to get this,'' said Jolene Arrow, a member of the tribe's negotiation team.

The plan will protect the grave sites along Lake Francis Case for up to three years, said Randy Behm, cultural resources manager for the corps.

A more permanent solution must still be reached, he said.

The remains surfaced in a 300,000-square-foot area that had been the site of the St. Phillips Episcopal Church cemetery. When Fort Randall Dam was built four decades ago, the corps agreed to remove the remains before flooding the area. However, remains have been washing up since the 1960s.

After the Yankton Sioux filed a lawsuit in federal court last year, a judge ordered the corps to keep water levels low until the exposed remains could be moved and reburied on a nearby bluff. When more bones surfaced this year, the tribe sought to cover them without having to move them, Arrow said.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol had given the corps and tribe until Wednesday to come up with a plan for handling the remains.

Behm said the corps is working with an engineer selected by the tribe to offer other options that will provide more permanent protection without moving the remains. Covering the area with concrete or creating a wall to keep the area from being hit by waves are possibilities but those projects could cost $3 million to $9 million, said Behm.

Arrow said she doesn't think it's fair to require the tribe to get the funds for the work. Tribal members didn't want the dam built on their land in the first place.

''It's really like a slap in the face to our people,'' Arrow said. ''If they built a dam, they should be able to come up with some kind of engineering.''

A similar lawsuit was filed last month by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe over remains exposed near Wakpala. Another federal judge issued a restraining order to stop the corps from lowering water levels.