Native leaders in North Dakota urge use of tribal IDs, denounce ICE tactics

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — Tribal leaders in North Dakota are urging their citizens to carry tribal IDs and other forms of identification amid reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detaining Native Americans in Minnesota.

At least five tribal citizens were reportedly detained by ICE last week in Minneapolis, reported ICT, an Indigenous news organization. Four are citizens of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and the fifth is a descendant of the Red Lake Nation, the news organization reported.

Reports of Indigenous people being targeted by ICE agents prompted Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chair Steve Sitting Bear to issue a public safety alert on social media Friday.

Standing Rock is working on a designated telephone line to ensure tribal members know their rights if they come into contact with immigration agents, Sitting Bear said in a statement.

“Our Nation is a sovereign government and our members are not immigrants,” he said. “We are not subject to immigration enforcement on our own lands.”

The Spirit Lake Nation and Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate in a joint statement with the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe said ICE’s activities in Minnesota have “caused fear and uncertainty” among their citizens.

The joint statement also condemned the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent on Wednesday.

“As Dakota people, we are reminded of the sacrifices of our ancestors and the enduring impacts of displacement and violence experienced by our Nations,” the tribes said.

Tribal governments have advised tribal members to carry tribal identification cards, certificates of degree of Indian blood or other official documentation.

The warnings come as at least 2,000 ICE agents are in neighboring Minnesota, with Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem reportedly ordering additional federal agents to the area.

“As tribal nations, our fundamental rights are not granted, they are inherent and written in our treaties, our sovereignty, and our laws,” North Dakota Native Vote Deputy Director Kendyl Harrison said in a statement to the North Dakota Monitor. “Any attacks or discrimination on any Indigenous person is a clear violation and intrusion upon those rights.”

Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Chairman Jamie Azure in a Facebook post also denounced ICE’s activity as “divisive and abhorrent.” He told tribal citizens that ICE cannot go on tribal land without the consent of the tribe.

In addition to the incidents in Minneapolis, ICE reportedly detained multiple Arizona tribal citizens last year, with one woman nearly being deported in November, according to the Arizona Mirror.

Tribal leaders also urged citizens who are approached by immigration agents to contact their respective tribal governments, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Native American Rights Fund.

“We’re seeing the same reports that Native people are being unlawfully detained as U.S. citizens,” said Matthew Campbell, deputy director of the Native American Rights Fund. “It appears that there is certainly unlawful force and violence being used in these detentions.”

He said the organization is investigating the reports. Campbell invited any tribal citizen who has been detained by ICE to contact his organization.

“We certainly welcome speaking to them to understand the issues and what has been happening, and looking at what a lawsuit may look like,” he said.

North Dakota Monitor reporter Mary Steurer can be reached at msteurer@northdakotamonitor.com.