Oglala Sioux Tribe locks down reservation for three days
July 8, 2020
PINE RIDGE, S.D. (AP) — The Oglala Sioux Tribe has locked down its South Dakota reservation for three days to stop the potential spread of COVID-19.
Tribal President Julian Bear Runner ordered the 72-hour lockdown prohibiting nonessential travel to or from the reservation through Thursday.
A ll tribal employees have been placed on administrative leave except for emergency personnel.
The Oglala and Cheyenne River Sioux have been at odds with Governor Kristi Noem over highway checkpoints on their reservations. Noem demanded that the tribes remove the checkpoints from federal and state highways, calling them illegal.
The tribes began monitoring their borders several months ago in an effort to stop unnecessary visitors who could be carrying the coronavirus.
