Rosebud groups oppose farm settlement

By Steve Miller, Journal Staff Writer | Thursday, April 28, 2005

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Groups opposing two large hog farms on Rosebud Sioux tribal land are not happy about a proposed court settlement that would allow the two farms to remain but would prevent more farms from being built on tribal land.

Concerned Area Rosebud Citizens, the Humane Farming Association and the South Dakota Peace and Justice Center object to the agreement reached last week between the owner of the hog farms and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, according to the groups' attorney Jim Dougherty of Washington, D.C.

The three groups and rancher George England intervened on behalf of the tribe and the federal government in a suit brought by the hog farm owner, Sun Prairie Partnership, which is affiliated with Bell Farms, a North Dakota partnership.

"This is a terrible compromise," Dougherty said Wednesday. "The reason is there really is no case here. Bell Farms/Sun Prairie has no claim legally against the government or the tribe."

A tribal attorney said the federal government's decision to settle the lawsuit left the tribe little choice but to settle, too.

Dougherty said the assent of the opposition groups may not be required for the settlement to be approved by U.S. District Judge Richard Battey of Rapid City. The groups were intervenors, not principal parties in the lawsuit.

Eva Iyotte, co-chairwoman of Concerned Rosebud Area Citizens, also criticized the settlement. Iyotte lives near White River east of the hog farms.

"We never planned on negotiating it," Iyotte said. "The fight is far from over. The people of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe deserve far better than having two sites. We have a right to have fresh water and clean air."

Alfred Bone Shirt of the Grass Mountain Community near St. Francis said several tribal council members voted for the settlement against the wishes of their constituents.

The council voted 9-7 in favor of the agreement April 21.

"In reality, the people don't want this hog farm," Bone Shirt, a member of Rosebud Grassroots Resistance Against Oppression and Injustice, said. He said there are many unresolved environmental and cultural questions related to the hog farms.

However, the tribal council felt forced to settle when the federal government indicated it would admit liability, leaving the tribe on its own, according to tribal attorney Steve Emery. Emery said assistant U.S. attorney general Tom Sansonetti told the council in February that the government would accept liability for acting illegally when it withdrew approval of the hog farm lease.

The tribal council decided to settle to limit the tribe's liability, Emery said.

The complicated dispute dates to 1998 when Sun Prairie signed a lease with the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council to build 13 large hog farms on tribal land. The Bureau of Indian Affairs approved the lease, and two farms were built.

The actions spurred protest from some tribal members and others.

In January 1999, the head of the BIA voided the lease because he said it did not comply with federal environmental laws.

After a new Rosebud Sioux Tribe council and president were elected in late 1999, the tribe switched sides and opposed the hog farms.

The tribe and Sun Prairie then went to court. U.S. District Judge Charles Kornmann ruled in 1999 that the federal government and environmental groups could not interfere with the building and operation of the hog farms.

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Kornmann's order, saying laws dealing with Indian affairs and environmental protection did not give Sun Prairie standing to seek the court order.

In 2003, the tribe asked the BIA to shut down the hog farm.

Sun Prairie again sued to stop the shutdown.

The agreement to end the lawsuit was signed last week by officials with the tribe, Sun Prairie and federal agencies.

If Judge Battey approves the settlement, all other pending litigation would end.

Iyotte said if the court settlement is approved, her group will file another lawsuit, this time targeting the tribe and the BIA as well as Sun Prairie.

Bone Shirt said his group would sue the tribal council members and the BIA.

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Dougherty said Sun Prairie has not paid "a penny" in profits to the tribe, as the lease stipulates.

But Greg Fontaine, CEO of Sun Prairie, said the hog farms have shown a profit for only one year. That year the tribe refused a check from Sun Prairie for its share of the profits.

Under the proposed settlement, Sun Prairie would pay rent to the tribe of $120,000 per year for the two farms and would pay the tribe for water used.

Contact Steve Miller at 394-8417 or steve.miller@rapidcityjournal.com