And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From: Jan Gordon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> via FN Civil rights panel cuts hearing to 1 day By LEE WILLIAMS Argus Leader published: 11/19/99 An advisory committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is coming to South Dakota to investigate complaints of injustice toward American Indians, but only for one day. Civil Rights Commission members have cut in half the length of their trip to South Dakota to hear testimony on four cases where accusations have been made of disparate justice. The committee will be in Rapid City Dec. 6. The decision has drawn the ire of groups who had hoped the commission's arrival might usher in equality in South Dakota's legal system. "I hoped they could spare at least two days," said Ed Godfrey, an activist from Sisseton. "We won't even scratch the tip of the iceberg." The committee will hear testimony in Indian deaths in Whiteclay, Mobridge, Rapid City and Sisseton. "One day is simply not enough time for all the issues in Indian Country," said Mark White Bull, one of the organizers of the Mobridge-based Justice for Boo Committee. "There's the deaths in White Clay, Rapid Creek, Mobridge, Sisseton and so many others." Civil Rights Commission Regional Director John Dulles said people must decide for themselves if the commission is allocating enough time to South Dakota. "People can draw their own conclusions," he said. "The purpose is fact-finding. The commission reports to Congress and the president." Dulles said the hours allotted for public testimony might be extended, but the committee will spend no more than one day in the state. "We're one of the most underfunded organizations within the federal government," he said. The committee has scheduled a forum from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Dec. 6 at the Rushmore Plaza Holiday Inn in Rapid City. Two hours have been set aside for members of the public to address the commissioners. The rest of the time will be spent hearing testimony from invited guests: federal, state, and local prosecutors and law-enforcement officials, tribal representatives and community leaders. These groups will be divided into panels and will testify during the commission's public forum, open to all who wish to attend. The public may address the commissioners from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., if they have signed up earlier in the day and been interviewed by staff. Four to five members of the commission will comprise the South Dakota advisory committee, including Dr. Mary Francis Berry, the chair of the commission, and Elsie Meeks of Interior. The commission is an independent, bipartisan, fact-finding agency established by Congress in 1957. Though it lacks enforcement power, it does have the ability to subpoena people and documents. Dulles does not foresee the commission issuing subpoenas. "We're trying to get voluntary cooperation," he said. Dulles is finalizing the schedule of invited participants and expects to make it public later. Reach reporter Lee Williams by phone at 605-331-2318 Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. <><<<<<>>>>><><<<<> Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ <><<<<<>>>>><><<<<>
