Land Tenure and Livelihoods of the Oglala Lakota - Kathryn M ...

Stromberg 7
federal government. A Sharps Corner woman recalled how her family‟s allotment “was always
leased, and before that it was probably by her mother had it, and it was always leased...they
considered all of our grandparents incompetent, because they weren‟t English speakers, so they
did what they wanted with that land that belonged to the incompetent people. But they were not
incompetent, they were pretty competent to me. We say own, but we never really own it, because
the government owns it technically, we just hold title to the land." A landowner told me, "In
general, it's a long history of why land is held in trust. There were good historical reasons for
land to be held in trust. Whether those reasons are so strong right now or not, I‟m not quite sure.
Legally, I guess, we as Indians are incompetent, that's why the government holds it for us. So to
have to say that we're legally incompetent is kind of problematic.”
This combination of policy elements serves to rob natives of the ability to exercise power
over and profit from one of their most valuable resources. In doing so, it discourages interest in
them. Many of those I interviewed either did not know the size and location of any of their lands,
or of their smaller, fractionated tracts. The response of a Kyle resident is representative:
It's a lot of little pieces of land, it‟s just here and there. I share mostly all of my
grandma‟s stuff with all of my aunts, my brothers, my sister, and all my uncles. There's
like 15 of us, somewhere around there. I'm not too sure actually how many acres that all
is…maybe a little over 20. As far as I know, I think it is leased out actually...because they
get lease checks and stuff…a little bit, a twenty-something dollar check. I don‟t get one. I
don't know why actually. Well actually we have what's called the I.I.M., and that's where
mine goes. I have no clue what that stands for.
The effects of policy have some role in explaining how the Oglala Lakotas of Pine Ridge,
along with some other native groups throughout the country, have become something of an
anomaly: they serve as a class of impoverished landlords. Effectively stripped of the ability to
use their own land or receive fair value for it, they pay to lease land to live on from the tribe,